Cringeworthy

Cringeworthy.  I dont't know if I came up with that word or if I heard it somewhere else.  Whatever the case, aren't there times when a performer is doing something that isn't remotely funny or good yet because of the celebrity's stature, everyone cheers as if it's the greatest or funniest performance ever?  I don't know what happend to booing, except that it's probably not PC to do anymore, but why must we encourage a person to continue with an act or performance that is so wretchedly horrible?

Karen and I have seen some movies that, no matter how good the movie, contain some awkwardly cringeworthy moments.  The first time we saw one of these was in the Vince Vaughn vehicle The Dilemma, an uneven movie that couldn't decide whether it wanted to be a drama, a comedy or a dramedy.  Putting that aside for the moment, there was one scene in the movie that just flamed:

Then there was the equally uneven Wanderlust, with Jennifer Anniston and Paul Rudd.  I didn't realize that Paul Rudd was in Anchorman since I'd never seen the movie, but knowing that explains his one scene in front of the mirror:

Unlike Vince Vaughn (and it pains me to say this about a fellow follower of the Indian Head), Rudd has more diversity and texture to his performances.  Vaughn is a one-trick pony.  He should have stuck with drama; apparently, when the ersatz Dan Devine threw him out of practice in Rudy, he must have thought he took that as a cue to leave drama and try his hand at comedy.  His schtick is always the same and it painfully goes on forever.  Rudd should know better than this.

The last example pains me to say this, because we loved the movie Bridesmaids.  The movie is what The Hangover is for people not as inclined to raunchy humor although, of course, there was some of it in there.  It had a sweetness to it that balanced the raunch and the humor was more creative -- most of the time.  Not so in this scene that came straight out of Vaughn's playbook:

I think Kristen Wiig is superior to either Vaughn or Rudd as a comedic actor, but she really blew it in this scene.  Fortunately, the rest of the movie is superior to either of the other two.  That scene where the group tries on dresses after eating at the inferior restaurant is classic.

These are but three examples of what goes on all the time.  Those infernal Twilight movies bring people out in droves but they're pure dreck.  Comedians who either aren't funny or who have ceased being funny continue to get booked and people encourage them; see, Pablo Francisco.  Even the venerable Bill Cosby needs to hang it up.  I admire and respect Cosby, but his days as a comedian are over.  He should just be the eminence gris of comedians and tell war stories instead of trying to do stand-up.  Even Will Farrell doesn't know when to stop sometimes.

It's said that to play comedy is harder than to play drama.  For all I know that's true.  But these people need someone to be honest with them and tell them when something they're doing isn't working.

(c) 2013 The Truxton Spangler Chronicles