Over the past couple of nights I watched “Scrooged” which has always been one of my favorite Christmas movies and one of my favorite Scrooge renditions. As I watched, I reflected that Bobcat Goldthwait nearly ruins the movie with his role in it.
That voice is so annoying. It’s not funny, it’s grating and horrible. Why did he he ever have a film career when so many better actors are getting passed over constantly? Do people really like him?
I’ve often wondered the same thing myself. He uses that same character & voice in his standup, which isn’t much better.
It’s like Stephen Wright. I used to think he was hilarious. I didn’t care for that dead-voice vocal style, but it really worked delivering that kind of joke. Now, I see old footage and think, “Did I ever think that was funny? Why?”
But yeah. Bobcat Goldthwait = nails on a chalkboard. Possibly the only comedian/actor I find more annoying is Gilbert Gottfried.
Try this scene from “Blow”, with Paul Reubens and Johnny Depp (audio NSFW). Great acting from all three of them.
There’s only one Bobcat, and I like him. Just like Sam Kinison. Don’t ask me to explain, and I totally get why people wouldn’t appreciate either man’s humor. Now Carrot Top? He could die in a fire as far as I’m concerned.
He has a long career in voice work. Nice work if you can get it.
Well, he mostly did really, really bad movies, so it’s hard to defend his film career. I don’t really blame him for that, though - i don’t think he had a lot of creative control for those movies. Shakes the Clown was brilliant, though, and I liked him in Scrooged. I find the scratchy voice and rising mania to be endearing. Kind of like Charlie Day from Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Great stand up, too. He’s one of my favorite panelists on Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me.
Mine too, although this is partially because he doesn’t use his stage voice when he’s doing “Wait, Wait.” He’s a genuinely funny guy, and usually pretty hilarious on the show. When I heard he was going to be a panelist, I was worried, because I find his stage voice seriously grating, but he’s turned out to be fantastic.
He’s a much better writer and director. Ever see “World’s Greatest Dad”? Good dark comedy.
There’s a quote from him on his IMDB entry, in reference to an unspecified movie: “That movie looks so bad, I can’t believe I wasn’t in it.”
As per his stand-up act, you’re saying you hate Grover.
He did an interview on the WTF podcast. He explained that he was cast in the Police Academy movies and all of his subsequent roles because the filmmakers wanted to use his "screeching"stand-up persona, not because anybody wanted to give him freedom of acting choices, so he obliged.
Great anecdotes about his times opening gigs for Nirvana too. Apparently he’s a fairly prominent director nowadays.
I guess I’m one of those people who finds him funny. I mean, you can only use him with that voice in certain kinds of movies… but in those kinds of movies, I think he adds a little something.
There are plenty of other comedians who get locked into using their stage personae in their movie appearances. (Honestly, given the way people like Robin Williams and Whoopi Goldberg slowly ceased to be capable of funny, maybe comedians are better off when stuck in a stage persona.)
He talked on the Nerdist podcast about how he doesn’t really know how to do that voice anymore. People will ask him to do it, and he can’t remember how it’s supposed to sound.
I liked his PSA after the incident on Leno.
“Remember, kids, if you’re ever on a talk show… don’t set it on fire!”
That’s gotta be the interview where Bobcat says he’s glad Sam is dead because people confused the two, right?
Gotta be.
I’ve enjoyed all the movies he’s directed–all deeply dark comedies.
I saw him do an interview once where he was talking about his work on the Police Academy movies. He said something like, “I wasn’t in the first one - you know, the good one. I was in the sequel and people said, ‘that’s cool - it’s good exposure for his career.’ And then I did the third one and people said, ‘well…maybe his mother needs an operation.’ And then I did the fourth one and people ‘okay now he’s just a whore.’”
I saw him on program, maybe the “Tonight” show with his father (or a man acting as his father), doing some kind of, uh, “pet tricks?” That is, his father was doing the tricks (like walking thru a hoop). Kinda strange.
This reminds me of when people asked Sigourney Weaver why she did Alien 4. She responded, “Well, they drove a dump truck full of money up to my house. I’m only human.” Something like that anyway.
I’ll check out World’s Greatest Dad, if you guys think it is worth it. I do like dark comedy.
I don’t know what Wait, Wait, don’t tell me is - a talk show? A contest? A game show?
And I will try that scene from Blow that was linked to in youtube.