Today's panel wants to pretend it is about a desire for comedy over drama, presumably because comedy does not require as much introspection or effort from the audience.
But in the end it's actually a metaphor for a larger tension between comedy and drama. It is a requiem for celebrities who won't stay in the pigeon holes we have assigned them, preferring to wriggle free to transform themselves and their careers. It is a lament for the shattered fans they leave in their wake when they abandon what is familiar and safe and venture into the unknown.
Tom Hanks, noted goofball comedy actor from the early to mid-80's (Bachelor Party, Big), made a career transition starting with a role in Bonfire of the Vanities and later Philadelphia. By 2006, he is best known for his work in serious movies, something which contemporary fans of Dragnet could never have predicted.
In making that transition, Hanks did not spare a thought for the people whose sense of identify and self-worth were tied up in being fans of Tom Hanks, comedy actor. People who wore their fandom as an iconoclastic badge of honor were betrayed when he went "mainstream" and proved he could do serious drama work.
Hanks is the seminal modern offender by dint of having succeeded in the transition where others failed. Robin Williams and Jim Carrey spring to mind, men who tried desperately to make the change but in the end only succeeded in damaging their own careers. They ended by losing much of their comedy fan base without gaining a drama fan base to replace them.
Burl and Joy, we can assume, were among the fans of early Tom Hanks, but now feel betrayed and alone. Until along came Adam Sandler to tickle their funny bones and fill the void once again. They can only hope that Punch-Drunk Love is not the beginning of the end.
You've got marginalia:
- Is it just me or are Burl and Joy the wrong demographic to be Adam Sandler fans?
- Unless the woopee cushion reference is an unbelievably oblique (and mis-spelled) pun on Whoopi Goldberg, its purpose in the panel is mysterious to say the least.
- The Dinette Set is completely obsessed with Cialis, a fact which makes me a little queasy.
2 comments:
What's the signifacance of "Lost in Translation" starring the ex-goofball comedy star Bill Murray? Also, why take little Timmy to Deer Hunter?
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