I didn’t know any of that stuff about Jada banging her son’s friend before this. And then discussing it with him in public? Holy shit! I mean, fuck Will Smith and every awards show should ban him, but he needs to get away from that woman. The sooner the better.
I did not follow the story closely, but I did hear about it. I think Jada is often seen as a dominating, controlling person. I have no idea what Will is really like.
Well, he resigned from the MPAA and was banned from the Oscars and all other Academy events for ten years, so that’s something. Membership in the MPAA is considered a privilege limited to film artists and requires the sponsorship of two existing members, and only members can participate in Academy Award voting. So Smith didn’t lose his Oscar, but he’s been completely thrown out of this elite club of filmmakers. After ten years he can attend Academy events again, but he may never get the sponsorship to be re-admitted as a member.
I seem to recall from the “Oscar Slap” thread video clips that Smith started chuckling a bit, then got the disapproval look from his wife. Without that nudge, I think he would have just laughed it off. Not that that absolves Smith in any way.
There was also that cringeworthy clip of her filming him in their kitchen with him begging her not to film him without his permission in his home. She went ahead and posted it online anyway.
I didn’t watch it so I can’t comment on the show, but I did see a poorly recorded version of the material relating to the slap. It was 7mins and very Chris Rock style (punchline is shouted, no subtly, hey its his gimmick). It gave me a chuckle, not much more then that. Self aggrandizing, (but again of course it’d be). Smith released a self taped interview that was a way to soft ball self pitying questions to him. I did think this bolded part was on the nose:
I walked into the room where my wife was watching. I said, “why is he yelling so much?” Everything was delivered with maximum volume and energy. I generally like the guy and his comedy, but it would be nice if he turned down the intensity a bit.
ETA: I realize he does not need my advice about how to be a popular comedian.
There are things about his style that I don’t particularly like, but I don’t mind his high energy. The lack of subtlety is just how he works. I object more to his tendency to laugh at his own jokes, as opposed to a genius like Carlin who could deliver his funniest lines with a mock seriousness that made them even funnier. Rock also has a tendency to repeat his zingers, which can get annoying.
Not my favourite stand-up comedian, but he’s OK and generally worth watching, and that’s what this was. I wouldn’t bother attending a live show, though.
I would agree, generally. I find Chris Rock’s high-energy, kind of high voice, to be be frustrating. He used it a lot in Lethal Weapon 4 and it is, at best, funny(ish) in small doses.
It’s kind of his persona. The main thing about Chris Rock is that I kind of like him as a person and think he’s a reasonable and educated guy. I prefer him to a ton of other comedians, though I am kind of glad he has a full special about once every 5 years maximum.
I used to watch George Carlin every other year and wished he had a show every single year.
Yeah, at this point it’d be like getting angry at Mel Brooks for being madcap silly. Or Weird Al for being oddball silly. Or Rodney Dangerfield for being a pervy old man who gets no respect.
Their gimmicks are their niche. Its a calling card, and what sells their profile. All low-level comedians would kill for (even the goofiest) recognizable gimmick. Any brand that sets themselves apart.
I agree with that. I like him even more as a person after seeing that special.
In case anyone missed it, more praise for Chris Rock from one of CNN’s frequent commentators:
So I watched the show live, including the pre-and post-show content, and I gotta tell you: it was like all the air was out of the room when they went to the live panel of comedians/actors immediately afterward. Nobody but nobody wanted to be the one to speak first—it kind of felt like everybody had just been slapped, in a way. Not by a bully—just by some real hard truth that felt realllllllly uncomfortable. I felt really uncomfortable.
In hindsight that was the appropriate response. I’ve seen a million movies where somebody gets their shot to respond to some wrong done to them, and it’s “the perfect“ response, no anger, just usually a perfectly delivered speech, and somehow everyone is healed and on the side of the comeback kid, including the person who wronged them (I’m probably thinking of the most basic afterschool special type of movie here) and then “the world is a better place”.
And Rock’s response was like a delayed reaction version of that for the world to see but it was real and full of anger and not tied up in a bow like in the movies. I couldn’t stop thinking about it afterward.
My wife and I watched it, and laughed quite hard quite often. Not the funniest standup set I’ve ever seen, but definitely worth a watch IMO. Much of it was funny just because it was so outrageous - such as he support for abortion rights. (I want a smoothie! :D) And I loved his take on Meghan Markle!
I haven’t watched a lot of CR, but has he always had the pattern of repeating one line over and over? One example in this show was “There is nothing more powerful than female beauty” (paraphrased). I just thought that unnecessary and unhelpful in terms of pacing. Kinda made it seem like he thought those lines especially profound or something, when to my ear they weren’t anything other than an intro to the next bit.
And, yeah, I’ve seen my share of Black comics and I try to be aware and sensitive to different peoples’ values and experiences, but it is a tad confusing and confounding to this aging white man to hear the n-word bandied about so much in “entertainment.” No, I have no personal desire to use the word. Like I said, I just find it somewhat confusing.
I watched it from beginning to end, laughed hysterically from beginning to end. Except at the abortion bit. I’m not a prude, and I get that he was demonstrating absurdity by being absurd – or something. But it just seemed like he was going for shock value for its own sake.
I’ve been ruminating on his last sentence for a few days now – that his parents taught him not to fight in front of white people. I remember from within the past few years that I saw a Black woman talking about how she and her sister were raised to act differently around white people. I must say, I never considered the idea that (some) Black parents teach their children to act differently around white people. Ignorance fought.
Again, no one can beat George Carlin’s routine on pro-life and abortion. He laid it all out about 30 years ago and it is both funny and spot-on. It’s almost case-closed, not worth another comedian analyzing it.
I wish I’d known of George Carlin when I was growing up. I enjoyed the ‘Alternative’ UK comedy of the Eighties, but could have done with someone so agreeable and wise, yet hilarious.
Lot of love for Carlin here. I never found him all that insightful or humorous. I agreed with everything he said but just though it was kind of obvious observations I already had. I’d find myself just going “yep, thought about that before, yep, thought that too, heh, that’s true also…” but never cracked much as a smile doing so.
Same.
I didn’t laugh until about twenty minutes in; the profanity and the way he repeats every line seemed as if he was trying very hard to fill the hour but, generally, I enjoyed the show.
It was a mediocre special and they set it up so you can’t fast forward through it to get to the final 6 minutes or so where he talks about the Will Smith incident.