The Hudsucker Proxy is my favorite Coen Brothers film. Maybe it didn't resonate at the time, but I'm surprised given their later success, that more people didn't go back and watch it and love it.
Right now, at this exact moment, I m beginning to compose my odes of praise and love for The Hudsucker Proxy, a film which should be in the dictionary next to the phrase "under appreciated masterpiece". If you knew me in real life, you would hear me use the phrase "Sure, Sure" at least two dozen times a day, and when I do, in my head it sounds like Paul Newman. Bring forth part two asap. You know, for kids.
I just saw the movie recently and thought it was great. Then I looked it up on Rotten Tomatoes and was shocked that many of the reviews back then were harsh.
It's a wholesome and sweet movie released into the teeth of the storm of Pulp Fiction rip offs. You're auteur movie was supposed to have dark and gritty realism, and cynical heroes who would never make puns about an Ibex.
Does Always Sunny count as taking on the absurdist genre? I stumbled upon a episode during the first season and my eyes went wide and I literally said “what is this?!” out loud because it was so different than anything else. I was hooked.
It definitely counts, but it is also a character driven comedy like Cheers in that the jokes come out of the volatile lives of the gang members. Its Cheers through the looking glass.
I'm right there with you. From the first season I started buying each season on DVD, so I could rewatch all the episodes at will. Because streaming wasn't even a thing yet, obviously.
Buffalo Bill starring Dabney Coleman was probably another show that was ahead of its time. I also think the premise of the Max Headroom show was probably a bit too esoteric for the mid-late 1980s but would have been a solid hit in the late 1990s once the internet was an actual thing.
Tartikoff was probably a unicorn in the tv industry- he understood how tv work but he was also very aware that it wasn't high art. And he was also willing to take the piss out of himself. I remember he was the host of an SNL (in 87 or 88 I think). As he did the monologue, supposedly talking about how tv was an art form and he believed in quality television, they had scrolling down the screen, a commentary mocking him including listing all of the "quality" shows he greenlit (including 'The Powers of Matthew Star' and 'Misfits of Science') with the punchline being that he allowed "Manimal" to air. It was glorious to watch knowing he was in on the joke.
The BBC still makes decent sitcoms every once in a while. Stath Lets Flats is particularly good. Also, big shoutout to What We Do In The Shadows, which is joke heavy and character-centric at the same time.
“ So…where are the smart, absurdist sitcoms? It seems like we should be swimming in the stylistic descendents of Lookwell, Arrested Development, and 30 Rock, but we’re not.”
Always Sunny seems to definitely have that DNA (although I guess it’s actually older than 30 Rock). So do Curb Your Enthusiasm and What We Do in the Shadows, which ended pretty recently.
Britain and Ireland used to have a pretty consistent track record in absurdist comedy, but I feel like the genre slowly dried up over the 2010s and Philomena Cunk is like a living fossil that somehow keeps getting new series. I'm glad to hear that it's gained an audience overseas but I stopped finding it funny years ago.
It's a real shame Graham Linehan got such bad internet poisoning because he was the most consistently good writer of absurdist sitcoms.
My econ professor at college in 2001 made us watch Hudsucker Proxy and write a brief summary on it, on the pretext that it was educational about economics. I really liked it and told all my friends to watch it. In retrospect it's clear the guy just knew the movie was awesome and was annoyed it wasn't well known.
I think this would've worked better as a sketch than a series, regardless of when it came out. Some of the individual jokes are brilliant, but in a million years, I couldn't have watched 24 episodes of this. As absurdist as Arrested Development and Rick & Morty are, they're still grounded in very relatable family dynamics. Lookwell's character has about as much psychological depth as Pimpbot or The Masturbating Bear.
Bakersfield, P.D., on the other hand...THAT was twenty years ahead of its time. (And also the lowest-rated show on TV):
If you're talking about Magical Mystery Tour the hour-long BBC movie, it didn't click because it wasn't very good. But if you're talking about the album released in America, it did click (#1 on the charts, 6-times platinum), probably because it featured Sgt Pepper's-era singles like Strawberry Fields, Penny Lane, and I am the Walrus.
It’s also an example of another reason there aren’t many good comedies: comedians make dramas now. Ben Stiller has Severance instead of a show about a talking motorcycle 😢
Think about how good that show with the talking motorcycle could’ve been, tho. Except jack couldn’t ride Heat Vision at night due to his headlight flashing every time he talked.
And just hearing Jack Black scream, “I KNOW EVERYTHING” every week would’ve been worth it alone.
The Hudsucker Proxy is my favorite Coen Brothers film. Maybe it didn't resonate at the time, but I'm surprised given their later success, that more people didn't go back and watch it and love it.
I regularly have to re-watch the Benny & Lou diner scene just because it's perfect in every way: https://youtu.be/neiwP6k-Lgk?si=JqGP-4gOsjOI2AUT
Right now, at this exact moment, I m beginning to compose my odes of praise and love for The Hudsucker Proxy, a film which should be in the dictionary next to the phrase "under appreciated masterpiece". If you knew me in real life, you would hear me use the phrase "Sure, Sure" at least two dozen times a day, and when I do, in my head it sounds like Paul Newman. Bring forth part two asap. You know, for kids.
I just saw the movie recently and thought it was great. Then I looked it up on Rotten Tomatoes and was shocked that many of the reviews back then were harsh.
It's a wholesome and sweet movie released into the teeth of the storm of Pulp Fiction rip offs. You're auteur movie was supposed to have dark and gritty realism, and cynical heroes who would never make puns about an Ibex.
Does Always Sunny count as taking on the absurdist genre? I stumbled upon a episode during the first season and my eyes went wide and I literally said “what is this?!” out loud because it was so different than anything else. I was hooked.
True. Maybe better then is Children’s Hospital. That show was basically sketches and it was amazing.
It definitely counts, but it is also a character driven comedy like Cheers in that the jokes come out of the volatile lives of the gang members. Its Cheers through the looking glass.
I'm right there with you. From the first season I started buying each season on DVD, so I could rewatch all the episodes at will. Because streaming wasn't even a thing yet, obviously.
Buffalo Bill starring Dabney Coleman was probably another show that was ahead of its time. I also think the premise of the Max Headroom show was probably a bit too esoteric for the mid-late 1980s but would have been a solid hit in the late 1990s once the internet was an actual thing.
Tartikoff was probably a unicorn in the tv industry- he understood how tv work but he was also very aware that it wasn't high art. And he was also willing to take the piss out of himself. I remember he was the host of an SNL (in 87 or 88 I think). As he did the monologue, supposedly talking about how tv was an art form and he believed in quality television, they had scrolling down the screen, a commentary mocking him including listing all of the "quality" shows he greenlit (including 'The Powers of Matthew Star' and 'Misfits of Science') with the punchline being that he allowed "Manimal" to air. It was glorious to watch knowing he was in on the joke.
The BBC still makes decent sitcoms every once in a while. Stath Lets Flats is particularly good. Also, big shoutout to What We Do In The Shadows, which is joke heavy and character-centric at the same time.
There is no way the people behind Bojack Horseman were ignorant of this pilot.
Bojack Horseman was sublime - incredible work.
I came here to mention Bojack Horseman. That show accomplished what Jeff is talking about and uses almost the same setup.
“ So…where are the smart, absurdist sitcoms? It seems like we should be swimming in the stylistic descendents of Lookwell, Arrested Development, and 30 Rock, but we’re not.”
Always Sunny seems to definitely have that DNA (although I guess it’s actually older than 30 Rock). So do Curb Your Enthusiasm and What We Do in the Shadows, which ended pretty recently.
Britain and Ireland used to have a pretty consistent track record in absurdist comedy, but I feel like the genre slowly dried up over the 2010s and Philomena Cunk is like a living fossil that somehow keeps getting new series. I'm glad to hear that it's gained an audience overseas but I stopped finding it funny years ago.
It's a real shame Graham Linehan got such bad internet poisoning because he was the most consistently good writer of absurdist sitcoms.
Black Books being a prime example
My econ professor at college in 2001 made us watch Hudsucker Proxy and write a brief summary on it, on the pretext that it was educational about economics. I really liked it and told all my friends to watch it. In retrospect it's clear the guy just knew the movie was awesome and was annoyed it wasn't well known.
I think this would've worked better as a sketch than a series, regardless of when it came out. Some of the individual jokes are brilliant, but in a million years, I couldn't have watched 24 episodes of this. As absurdist as Arrested Development and Rick & Morty are, they're still grounded in very relatable family dynamics. Lookwell's character has about as much psychological depth as Pimpbot or The Masturbating Bear.
Bakersfield, P.D., on the other hand...THAT was twenty years ahead of its time. (And also the lowest-rated show on TV):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InhzbeNliCM
I think Lookwell is funniest for people who have their own version of "The Aristocrats" ready to bust out.
Don't get me wrong, I thought it was good, but it has that vibe.
If you're talking about Magical Mystery Tour the hour-long BBC movie, it didn't click because it wasn't very good. But if you're talking about the album released in America, it did click (#1 on the charts, 6-times platinum), probably because it featured Sgt Pepper's-era singles like Strawberry Fields, Penny Lane, and I am the Walrus.
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia! That's all I have to say.
I want to sincerely thank you for showing me LOOKWELL, which is sublime.
I’d throw the almost genius pilot to Heat Vision and Jack onto this list.
Second for Heat Vision & Jack!
It’s also an example of another reason there aren’t many good comedies: comedians make dramas now. Ben Stiller has Severance instead of a show about a talking motorcycle 😢
Think about how good that show with the talking motorcycle could’ve been, tho. Except jack couldn’t ride Heat Vision at night due to his headlight flashing every time he talked.
And just hearing Jack Black scream, “I KNOW EVERYTHING” every week would’ve been worth it alone.
Even Beethoven wrote a crappy piece now and then.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wellington%27s_Victory
https://youtu.be/R_ibES7i-HU?feature=shared