As you might see from my semi-literate tweetings, we went to see a charity comedy gig on Saturday. It was called OrangAid, and was about saving the Sumatran orangutan.
It was in the New Theatre in Oxford, a pretty big venue that I'd previously only been to to see the Mighty Boosh. On that occasion, we sat in the balcony, which was so high and precarious it felt like watching spangly ants from the top of a weather vane.
This time we were in the stalls, and could have assassinated the acts if we'd planned ahead.
It was a pretty stacked line-up: Stewart Lee and Josie Long (who we'd seen before), Lucy Porter and Marcus Brigstocke (who we hadn't), with Daniel Kitson as compare.
Everyone was great. We saw some new material from Lee and Long. Lucy Porter was really funny too, and I'm tempted to get her DVD from GoFasterStripe as a result. She's much funnier than is necessary for someone so charming. That sounds patronising, but I don't mean it that way.
I wasn't too sure about Brigstocke before the gig. He always seems to have a bit of the Robin Ince-style uber-cynicism about him. But he was excellent too.
Daniel Kitson was Godlike. I can't explain why he's so good. It's almost frustrating. With Stewart Lee, I can look at what I admire, I can analyse his techniques, I can attempt to emulate his style.
But Kitson is just FUNNY.
At one point he was throwing charity chocolate into the crowd, whilst being pelted by coins. You can't beat that.
It was a great gig. We got some of the chocolate, and donated a fair bit to the orangutans.
It's good to go out, have a laugh, and help some apes. It's often difficult to do all those things simultaneously.
Sometimes you go out and help some apes, but find the experience spiritually draining, and you end up weeping onto their hairy necks.
Sometimes you go out and have a laugh, but you're laughing at the dismemberment of a mandrill. That helps no ape. (I know the mandrill is a monkey. But the apes don't like it.)
Sometimes you have a laugh and help an ape, perhaps bathing Clyde from Every Which Way but Loose. But you haven't gone out.
The point I'm trying to make is: uh... y'know. I did all three of those things. At once.
I forget why it's important.
***
We watched Groundhog Day yesterday. I have a weird thing about only watching certain films when they're seasonal. I only watch Christmas films at Christmas. I only watch summer films in summer. And I only watch Back to the Future II when it's the future, or the past. Or the present.
Groundhog Day is a great film. There's almost too many interesting things to explore with that concept.
It would be an amazing film except for one thing:
Andie MacDowell.
What is the point of Andie MacDowell, other than to age slowly?
I don't know if it's her or her character, but she's the most humourless, bland, preachy, whiny, pretentious and repellent female lead in movie history. If I was living the same day over and over, I'd be pleased because it would give me a chance to murder her over and over again.
It could well be the character. But then again, she's equally irritating in Four Weddings and a Funeral.
You know how Dustin Hoffman has a quirky charm that he brings to every role? Andie MacDowell has the same thing, except it's a sense of punchability.
I'm sure she's very nice in real life. But I don't want to see her on screen, unless she's being butchered by Bill Murray in a variety of increasingly sick ways.
There could be a deleted scene where Murray sits in a corner, laughing, as the groundhog devours MacDowell's corpse. It would last for eight hours.
I'm sure she's nice in real life.
I'm not one of those internet people who gets all worked up, and starts hating someone they've never met. It's silly and it's cruel and it's immature.
But tell me you wouldn't love to see a version of Green Card with Gérard Depardieu pummelling her in a meat locker. Tell me you wouldn't!
You would, wouldn't you?
So who's the sick person here?
I think I've made my point.
No comments:
Post a Comment