As mentioned previously in the thread, Bob Hope was infamous for having crap material and relied on old chestnuts that should have been retired decades earlier. It’s interesting to note, however, that his final USO tour/shows were during Desert Storm back in 1990. The USO got feedback from the troops who they’d like to see and one of the names that kept coming up was Bob Hope. When you think about it, though, it might not be quite as strange as it seems. Viewed in the context of the times, it wasn’t so much that the troops wanted to hear some octogenarian comedian tell lame jokes than that they wanted to take part in an almost historical rite. Keep in mind Bob Hope had appeared in hundreds of USO shows from WW2, to Korea, to Viet Nam. Him performing in Desert Storm was all part of the ‘war experience’ and it was tangible proof they were participating in history.
Over Macho Grande? No I’ll never get over Macho Grande. Those wounds run pretty deep.
I quote it all the time.
I happen to think II is exactly as funny as the original. I never knew it wasn’t ZAZ making it, because it seemed exactly the same. (“Why the hell aren’t I notified about these things?”)
If I may jump in late, perhaps it’s because he had seen Airplane! in the interim? The latter two movies are much more like Airplane! than the former two in tone, IMHO.
Another possibility is that, thanks to the success of Airplane, studio execs wanted their parodies to be a little more Airplane!-like, and Mel had to write what would sell. I could almost see Mel turning in a satire of the hero’s quest of Star Wars only to be told “can you add in a few more laugh-a-minute sight gags and the like, kinda like that Airplane! film?”
Incredibly, I’ve encountered a few people who didn’t find “Airplane!” funny either.
I find it implausible that you are serious.
It’s an entirely different kind of movie altogether.
It’s an entirely different kind of movie.
Wait! it’s not! It’s the same thing! It’s so much the same movie I don’t always remember which jokes came from which film.
What’s your impression?
I’m sorry, I don’t do impressions.
But if you liked Airplane II, check out The Newsroom, from the same writer-director. (The Canadian dark-comedy series, not the inferior Aaron Sorkin series that ripped off the name.)
He is serious. And don’t call him “Bill”.
“I miss my ex-wife, but my aim is improving.”
I never got these types of jokes in any era. Even if it’s an ex it’s a person that fits in the rare category of someone YOU chose that also chose you. If that person was in anyway horrible, guess what that implies?
You once made a horrible mistake?
That the divorce was worth every damn penny?
That is like saying The DWI fine was worth every damn penny.
It was to the rest of us.
That’s cool, but OWN the self burn.
Too many comedians think they look cool banging on exes. Chris Rock for one is not shy about discussing his ex and he has nothing nice to say and at no point takes ownership so the comedy routine is really a strange cry for therapy.
Whatever that is, it isn’t funny.
Almost everybody has experienced a less than amicable breakup. It helps to be able to joke about it. We all know that it takes two to tango, but that doesn’t help people feel any better about it when it goes south.
That whole “cry for therapy” has become a bit much. I know it has its antecedent in Lenny Bruce and Richard Pryor baring their souls onstage, but it was degraded by “really out there” Louis CK onstage vs “really really out there” Louis CK in the dressing room. John Mulaney’s last special didn’t make me laugh, just send a get-well card instead. And the only viable alternative seems to be Hanna Gadsby or Hasan Minaj who think we watch them for moral instruction, not laughs. Maybe go back to telling jokes
Chris Rock is worth $60 million. He and everyone he hangs out with has nothing in common with you, but he has to ‘keep it real’ so the jokes land.
Don’t we all have problems with these Gold Digging Whores!?! Amirite!
I enjoyed the special, but it felt like he had to do it more than he wanted to do it. His image irrevocably changed and he had to address it somehow. But it felt performative, like penance.
I actually like some of the deeper stand up specials like the storytelling of Mike Birbiglia, but he’s not really pitching a moral message, he’s working with a theme. The last one I watched he talked about the frustrations of new parenthood and I’ll never forget when he talked about the moment where he understood why men left their families. The man understands storytelling.