Was Steve Martin ever funny?

[KaneKungFu123]

People tell me he was funny on Saturday Night Live. I wasnt alive back then, but its really hard to believe. I mean, every movie this loser makes is complete garbage.

[miajag81]

You're right, he has never been funny. He's actually a decent actor (see Parenthood), but not funny.

[jgorham]

http://www.impawards.com/1982/posters/dead_men_dont_wear_plaid_ver1.jpg

[AngryCola]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v431/AngryCola/jerk.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v431/AngryCola/DRS.jpg

Both are good movies.

[KaneKungFu123]

Movie List (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000188/)

I liked my Blue Heaven when I was kid, I havent seen it in a long time. Cant find another movie that I liked on this list, but I missed Bringing Down the House.

[trying2learn]

i still think the jerk is f'n hillarious...if you haven't seen it, give that a try.

[mj12]

he was on SNL B4 i was born but i have seen many of those episodes and he was funny. ie his egyptian dance and especially two wild and crazy guys with DAn AKroyd

[Yeti]

Bowfinger was ok from what I remember.

[Eurotrash]

[ QUOTE ]
http://www.impawards.com/1982/posters/dead_men_dont_wear_plaid_ver1.jpg

[/ QUOTE ]



he was great in Impawards.com, i agree. I'm surprised so few others like this one

[TomCollins]

[ QUOTE ]
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v431/AngryCola/jerk.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v431/AngryCola/DRS.jpg

Both are good movies.

[/ QUOTE ]

Also add-
http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000059L9F.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
http://www.famouslocations.com/images/movies/lastory_.jpg

and a decent remake here: http://www.mvps.org/st-software/Movie_Collection/images/2653f.jpg

[tdarko]

come on kane really?

<u>classics</u>

the jerk
planes, trains &amp; automobiles
three amigos
roxanne
dirty rotten scoundrels
father of the bride

[HopeydaFish]

When I was about 9 years old I thought he was hilarious in "The Man with Two Brains"...then I tried watching it again a couple of years ago and couldn't make it all the way through without turning it off.

[AngryCola]

[ QUOTE ]

Also add-
http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000059L9F.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg


[/ QUOTE ]

I can't believe I forgot this one. It's gold.

[Skipbidder]

He was very funny on his Muppet Show appearance. You should me able to find out what the Muppet Show was by using Google.

[KaneKungFu123]

these are all PG movies.

[Clarkmeister]

The first half of The Lonely Guy is gold.

[Sponger15SB]

If you want to find some really funny stuff, you gotta listen to his comedy albums. Try and download them off bearshare or whatever...


http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000002MSY.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

[Cancuk]

[ QUOTE ]
planes, trains &amp; automobiles

[/ QUOTE ]

So funny

[AngryCola]

[ QUOTE ]
these are all PG movies.

[/ QUOTE ]

You're really not helping your image here.

[KaneKungFu123]

[ QUOTE ]
When I was about 9 years old I thought he was hilarious in "The Man with Two Brains"...then I tried watching it again a couple of years ago and couldn't make it all the way through without turning it off.

[/ QUOTE ]

yes. i guess i have to repect that he makes films for kids. i guess i loved him in beethoven, but itd be suicide to watch it now. i still remember the girls name was Rice. Which i never forgot because it is the dumbest possible name i ever heard of, and then beethoven beat up her unfaithful prom date. man, that was classic.

[tdarko]

i have a couple of his live stuff and ther are good but since he is such a physical comedian instead of a verbal comedian i think you lose a lot not being able to see him. i wish i had the DVD for "wild and crazy guy."

[AngryCola]

[ QUOTE ]


yes. i guess i have to repect that he makes films for kids

[/ QUOTE ]

Virtually none of the movies listed in this thread are "for kids."

EDIT-

Time to go watch some football!

[KaneKungFu123]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]


yes. i guess i have to repect that he makes films for kids

[/ QUOTE ]

Virtually none of the movies listed in this thread are "for kids."

[/ QUOTE ]

Bible Thumpers?

[Clarkmeister]

So what ever happened with "your dad getting arrested for murder"

[TomCollins]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
When I was about 9 years old I thought he was hilarious in "The Man with Two Brains"...then I tried watching it again a couple of years ago and couldn't make it all the way through without turning it off.

[/ QUOTE ]

yes. i guess i have to repect that he makes films for kids. i guess i loved him in beethoven, but itd be suicide to watch it now. i still remember the girls name was Rice. Which i never forgot because it is the dumbest possible name i ever heard of, and then beethoven beat up her unfaithful prom date. man, that was classic.

[/ QUOTE ]

So was Airplane. Think thats a movie for the kids?

[AngryCola]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]


yes. i guess i have to repect that he makes films for kids

[/ QUOTE ]

Virtually none of the movies listed in this thread are "for kids."

[/ QUOTE ]

Bible Thumpers?

[/ QUOTE ]

Link (http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showthreaded.php?Cat=0&amp;Number=4099138)

[Godfather80]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
When I was about 9 years old I thought he was hilarious in "The Man with Two Brains"...then I tried watching it again a couple of years ago and couldn't make it all the way through without turning it off.

[/ QUOTE ]

yes. i guess i have to repect that he makes films for kids. i guess i loved him in beethoven, but itd be suicide to watch it now. i still remember the girls name was Rice. Which i never forgot because it is the dumbest possible name i ever heard of, and then beethoven beat up her unfaithful prom date. man, that was classic.

[/ QUOTE ]

Don't be a tool. The actor in "Beethoven" was Charles Grodin. Are you remotely familiar with Steve Martin?

[KaneKungFu123]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
When I was about 9 years old I thought he was hilarious in "The Man with Two Brains"...then I tried watching it again a couple of years ago and couldn't make it all the way through without turning it off.

[/ QUOTE ]

yes. i guess i have to repect that he makes films for kids. i guess i loved him in beethoven, but itd be suicide to watch it now. i still remember the girls name was Rice. Which i never forgot because it is the dumbest possible name i ever heard of, and then beethoven beat up her unfaithful prom date. man, that was classic.

[/ QUOTE ]

So was Airplane. Think thats a movie for the kids?

[/ QUOTE ]

i never saw that one, or any of the ones listed in this thread. i was born in 1986, i guess i have to catch up. Anything post 1992 worth seeing?

[RunDownHouse]

[ QUOTE ]
Anything post 1992 worth seeing?

[/ QUOTE ]
Nope. Nothing at all. Don't bother with anything older, its all completely devoid of talent.

[Yeti]

You have never seen Airplane?

Although I have no idea why it has been mentioned in this thread.

[bwana devil]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
When I was about 9 years old I thought he was hilarious in "The Man with Two Brains"...then I tried watching it again a couple of years ago and couldn't make it all the way through without turning it off.

[/ QUOTE ]

yes. i guess i have to repect that he makes films for kids. i guess i loved him in beethoven, but itd be suicide to watch it now. i still remember the girls name was Rice. Which i never forgot because it is the dumbest possible name i ever heard of, and then beethoven beat up her unfaithful prom date. man, that was classic.

[/ QUOTE ]

So was Airplane. Think thats a movie for the kids?

[/ QUOTE ]

i never saw that one, or any of the ones listed in this thread. i was born in 1986, i guess i have to catch up. Anything post 1992 worth seeing?

[/ QUOTE ]

so how many movies of his have you seen? you call all his movies garbage. if you havent seen the jerk or any of the other films listed why are you commenting? just to type?

bwana

[KaneKungFu123]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
When I was about 9 years old I thought he was hilarious in "The Man with Two Brains"...then I tried watching it again a couple of years ago and couldn't make it all the way through without turning it off.

[/ QUOTE ]

yes. i guess i have to repect that he makes films for kids. i guess i loved him in beethoven, but itd be suicide to watch it now. i still remember the girls name was Rice. Which i never forgot because it is the dumbest possible name i ever heard of, and then beethoven beat up her unfaithful prom date. man, that was classic.

[/ QUOTE ]

So was Airplane. Think thats a movie for the kids?

[/ QUOTE ]

i never saw that one, or any of the ones listed in this thread. i was born in 1986, i guess i have to catch up. Anything post 1992 worth seeing?

[/ QUOTE ]

so how many movies of his have you seen? you call all his movies garbage. if you havent seen the jerk or any of the other films listed why are you commenting? just to type?

bwana

[/ QUOTE ]

more or less

[Clarkmeister]

91 for sure. You've been teetering on the brink for a long time. Thanks.

[Godfather80]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
When I was about 9 years old I thought he was hilarious in "The Man with Two Brains"...then I tried watching it again a couple of years ago and couldn't make it all the way through without turning it off.

[/ QUOTE ]

yes. i guess i have to repect that he makes films for kids. i guess i loved him in beethoven, but itd be suicide to watch it now. i still remember the girls name was Rice. Which i never forgot because it is the dumbest possible name i ever heard of, and then beethoven beat up her unfaithful prom date. man, that was classic.

[/ QUOTE ]

So was Airplane. Think thats a movie for the kids?

[/ QUOTE ]

i never saw that one, or any of the ones listed in this thread. i was born in 1986, i guess i have to catch up. Anything post 1992 worth seeing?

[/ QUOTE ]

so how many movies of his have you seen? you call all his movies garbage. if you havent seen the jerk or any of the other films listed why are you commenting? just to type?

bwana

[/ QUOTE ]

When you believe this man to be Steve Martin, anything is possible.

http://www.probertencyclopaedia.com/j/Charles%20Grodin.jpg

[Blarg]

Whether one likes him or not, along with National Lampoon and its influence on Animal House and Saturday Night Live, Steve Martin was perhaps the major force in American comedy in the last 30 years. Only Richard Pryor and George Carlin come anywhere close to that stratosphere.

His movies have never lived up to his talent, but he was a genius in concert, and his records were very good. He won an Emmy for comedy writing (on The Smothers Brothers) before anybody had ever heard of him and before most people on OOT were even born. He was by far the most popular guest, and a frequent one, on Saturday Night Live when that show was at its height and had no competition in the comedy arena, and he was a major reason for that. His "knowing fool" has become a comedy model people have been doing riffs on and making careers out of ever since.

He wasn't just funny, he has gut-busting, cramping funny at his height. Don't judge him by his movies. His forte is sketch comedy and stand-up.

He has done a few funny movies, like Planes, Trains, and Automobiles with John Candy, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels with Michael Caine, and All of Me, I think it's called, with Lily Tomlin. Those were very good, especially PT&amp;A, but mostly he has settled for more mild, run of the mill family fare for his movies.

[ChipWrecked]

As Sponger and Blarg said, his early standup was gold. I had both of his original albums and played them to death.

Also, he was funny in an over-the-top, goofy sort of way that was sorely needed in those days.

The time of the Carter presidency was like a suicidal nightmare for the U.S. Being able to laugh at Steve's 'happy feet' and arrows through the head and 'wild and crazy guy' probably averted a national implosion.

[KaneKungFu123]

i actually have seen planes and trains. man, that movie was awesome. i take it back. steve martin is a comedic genius, and perhaps the most influential comedien of the last 30 years and especially the carter administration.

[tdarko]

[ QUOTE ]
The time of the Carter presidency was like a suicidal nightmare for the U.S. Being able to laugh at Steve's 'happy feet' and arrows through the head and 'wild and crazy guy' probably averted a national implosion.

[/ QUOTE ]
plus that album was a different direction than most of his predecessors. his roomates and his friends used a more colorful language and talked about edgier issues and continued to push the envelope while steve was the everyman. he touched every household by connecting with everybody b/c he talked about issues and occurences and irony's and problems that happen to all of us. his stand-up was truly original. its why i read his books.

[TomCollins]

[ QUOTE ]
You have never seen Airplane?

Although I have no idea why it has been mentioned in this thread.

[/ QUOTE ]

Because it was PG, but not a "kids" movie.

[evil_twin]

Planes Trains and Automobiles is an all time comedy classic.

[tdarko]

there wasn't PG-13 back then right? cause thats the rating it would have got.

if i remember correctly it was just G,PG,R...

[JihadOnTheRiver]

He has an above average stage presence and is a goodish joke teller. That being said, many on the standup circuits will tell you that he is one of the most infamous joke thieves of all time. I agree with the poster that said he is a good actor.

[Blarg]

His book "Cruel Shoes" was also very funny. He's written some hysterical short pieces for The New Yorker, too.

I saw him in concert back in his King Tut days, and he was amazing. I had his first two albums, too, and my friends and I listened to it over and over again. It was amazing how he could actually nail people's asses to their seats at home, or somebody's home, at the height of a Saturday night, something nobody else and no other show could come close to doing. Steve Martin being on SNL was like a commandment to watch that nobody was too cool or too busy to heed.

[tdarko]

[ QUOTE ]
His book "Cruel Shoes" was also very funny. He's written some hysterical short pieces for The New Yorker, too.

I saw him in concert back in his King Tut days, and he was amazing. I had his first two albums, too, and my friends and I listened to it over and over again. It was amazing how he could actually nail people's asses to their seats at home, or somebody's home, at the height of a Saturday night, something nobody else and no other show could come close to doing. Steve Martin being on SNL was like a commandment to watch that nobody was too cool or too busy to heed.

[/ QUOTE ]
i have agreed with everything you have said in this thread.

[Blarg]

You're selling him spectacularly short. Spectacularly.

All comedians steal jokes.

But his stuff was mostly assuming strange personas in a way that nobody else was into at all at that time. People mostly told jokes in more or less their own persona that time. Martin told jokes in the persona of someone who had never been born.

He also stopped doing stand-up like 25 years ago or more. If he was stealing jokes from people's acts, it was probably before they were born.

If you want a real joke stealer, Eddie Murphy is your man. His whole first concert is about 40% Richard Pryor and 40% Steve Martin, minimum. He was funny, but I was amazed that he was given so much credit since I recognized joke after joke, as that was stuff that was actually still pretty current and extremely well known Pryor and Martin stuff.

[jba]

HE HATES THESE CANS!!!! STAY AWAY FROM THE CANS!!!


funniest [censored] ever

[mj12]

this issue also has a lot to do with context, he is no longer in his cutting edge comedic prime and older stuff does not have exactly the same relevance today. I have seen some stuff on Jerry lewis who was a bigger and possibly funnier comedic phenomenon then anyone else, but much of his humour does not have the same impact now.

[MonkeeMan]

Banjo + arrow = funny

http://www.compleatsteve.com/images/steve/Steve_Martin_250.jpg

[tdarko]

[ QUOTE ]
If you want a real joke stealer, Eddie Murphy is your man. His whole first concert is about 40% Richard Pryor and 40%

[/ QUOTE ]
he has even admitted this. he admitted this saying that he would memorize pryor's language, mannerism's, voice, movements, everything and at the time murphy was only like 15 so he would just tell the same joke but substitute it with what he had experienced so far and that was fart/poop jokes and masterbation. he then says once he got popular (from his pryor style) that it wasn't till then that he developed his own voice b/c he was accepted now.

[ChipWrecked]

[ QUOTE ]
You're selling him spectacularly short. Spectacularly.

All comedians steal jokes.



[/ QUOTE ]

Everybody swoons over George Carlin, whose 'Seven Dirty Words' is a direct Lenny Bruce ripoff.

[CORed]

He did some good stuff on SNL. I also caught his live night club act pre SNL and it was very good.

[4_2_it]

Weird Al wishes he did King Tut. Also, Roxanne is a great date movie.

Martin Pryor were the best two comedians of the late 70's early 80s.

[MasterShakes]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
You're selling him spectacularly short. Spectacularly.

All comedians steal jokes.



[/ QUOTE ]

Everybody swoons over George Carlin, whose 'Seven Dirty Words' is a direct Lenny Bruce ripoff.

[/ QUOTE ]

George Carlin got 15 minutes of my life that I wish I had back. He has a relatively new 90-minute or so comedy special on HBO. I decided to give him 15 minutes to make me laugh on once. It never happened. Channel was changed.

He did a show in Cleveland about 7 years ago (give or take a year) at one of the theaters in the theater district here. It was NOT billed as a rehearsal. As it turned out, it was essentially a rehearsal for a taping of another HBO comedy special he was doing. I didn't go to the show, but a local critic said he was reading from a script for a good portion of the show.

Carlin is made out to be a stand-up comedy god, but he seems like total trash.

[Cancer Merchant]

So, is any of his standup work available today on DVD? I'm cruising Netflix and coming up blank, other than SNL/Muppet Show appearances.

I know he has some stand up on Napster I've listened to some of it and don't find it that funny.

[Sponger15SB]

[ QUOTE ]
George Carlin got 15 minutes of my life that I wish I had back. He has a relatively new 90-minute or so comedy special on HBO. I decided to give him 15 minutes to make me laugh on once. It never happened. Channel was changed.

[/ QUOTE ]

That special was horrible. In his "i'm freeze dried hung out to dry fast forward slowed down" stupid part i don't think I laughed once.

Was he even trying to be funny?

[Blarg]

Carlin can be funny, but mostly in his written stuff these days.

His performing height was about 30 years ago.

[MasterShakes]

[ QUOTE ]
Was he even trying to be funny?

[/ QUOTE ]

I remember thinking that it was a little amusing that he could memorize all that crap, but all that crap wasn't funny. It was supposed to be some sort of commentary on consumer culture, I'm sure, but I have no idea what he was trying to say.

Then he moved on to joking about suicide and how people are too busy to do it. This wouldn't have been funny even if it had any basis in truth, and I don't say that because I thought it was distasteful or anything. It just wasn't funny. None of it.

Isn't social commentary supposed to have SOME basis in truth?

[BigBaitsim (milo)]

Back in the 80s, he was funny.

[ChipWrecked]

[ QUOTE ]
So, is any of his standup work available today on DVD? I'm cruising Netflix and coming up blank, other than SNL/Muppet Show appearances.

[/ QUOTE ]

Steve did one of the original HBO specials. I mean literally HBO was about a month old. Tape of that is probably floating around somewhere.

[Matt Williams]

[ QUOTE ]
these are all PG movies.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hmm... Really? Planes, Trains and Automobiles is PG? Never knew you could tell Mrs. Poole to wipe her f@cking smirk off those f@cking rosy cheeks and demand another rental car in a PG movie.

[samjjones]

I do not throw around this compliment lightly, but Steve Martin really is brilliant.

[UncleSalty]

I am only 30, but this thread makes me feel very old. /images/graemlins/frown.gif

[bobbyi]

[ QUOTE ]
there wasn't PG-13 back then right? cause thats the rating it would have got.

if i remember correctly it was just G,PG,R...

[/ QUOTE ]
PG-13 was created because there was some outcry about the films Gremlins and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom because they contained moderate gore but were rated PG. They received a PG rating since they weren't bad enough for R, but some parents still thought they were inapporpriate for little kids, thus a new "in between" rating was added. Gremlins came out not long after ET and tried to capitalize on that by displaying Spielberg's name prominently and promoting the cuteness of Gizmo, which is why some thought it was a cute Christmas movie and did not expect it to turn into a pseudo-horror movie. Temple of Doom has a guy getting his heart ripped out of his chest which apparently is a good way to get rating systems invented or revised since Kano ripping out hearts in Mortal Kombat years later was one of the reasons we now have the ESRB.

[Blarg]

Nice bit of trivia, me likey.

[andyfox]

I saw him in concert when he was a "wild and crazy guy." Pretty funny. HE made a short movie called "The Absent Minded Waiter" with Terry Garr and Buck Henry that was very funny. Not on the "A" list of funny, but certainly a "B."

[Army Eye]

[ QUOTE ]


Carlin is made out to be a stand-up comedy god, but he seems like total trash.

[/ QUOTE ]

Carlin has gotten old and angry. His current act is indeed bad, but it is a 100% departure from what it used to be. His 60s/70s/80s stuff is gold, and that's why he's a legend.

[Lazymeatball]

"Bowfinger" is really good.

[Skipbidder]

[ QUOTE ]
So, is any of his standup work available today on DVD? I'm cruising Netflix and coming up blank, other than SNL/Muppet Show appearances.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't have an answer to your question...sorry about that.
I just wanted to say that his muppet show episode is definitely worth watching.

[ QUOTE ]
I saw him in concert when he was a "wild and crazy guy." Pretty funny. HE made a short movie called "The Absent Minded Waiter" with Terry Garr and Buck Henry that was very funny. Not on the "A" list of funny, but certainly a "B."

[/ QUOTE ]

I have seen the Absent Minded Waiter and thought it was very funny as well.

Also, regarding George Carlin, his comparison of football and baseball is genius.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

[Dominic]

[ QUOTE ]
When I was about 9 years old I thought he was hilarious in "The Man with Two Brains"...then I tried watching it again a couple of years ago and couldn't make it all the way through without turning it off.

[/ QUOTE ]

are you kidding?

Man With Two Brains is awesome! Ridiculously funny.

[Dominic]

besides all the movie stuff here, before The Jerk, Steve Martin was probably the biggest stand-up in the country. He had two number one albums and his sold out huge arenas all over the place.

He wqas - and still is - very funny and talented.

I think you may be mistaking his "for the money" roles like Bringing Down the House and "Cheaper by the Dozen that he does in order to do the projects he really loves - ala "Shopgirl."

[Blarg]

Yeah, he does more ordinary roles now that don't really showcase his full talent.

But he was without peer in his stand-up days, except for Richard Pryor.

[MrMon]

Not mentioned so far is his small role in Grand Canyon. Interesting movie, he's pretty good in that one.

Another small role is in the original Muppet Movie where he plays a very snooty waiter to Kermit and Miss Piggy. His line, "Would you like to smell ze bottle cap?" has been permanently burned in my brain.

Someone mentioned "The Lonely Guy". Uneven movie, but the Table For One scene is a classic.

Best movie he has been in in the last 10 years was "The Spanish Prisoner". Not a comedy, but an excellent film. Good luck figuring it out.

Now there's a double feature for some of you - "The Spanish Prisoner" and "House of Games" in one night, both by David Mamet. You'll be up a long time figuring those two out.

[Blarg]

Yeah, he was good in Grand Canyon.

I thought The Lonely Guy was very good and liked it a lot. Some of that really hit close to home for anyone who's ever felt even a little lonely, and mixed it with funniness in a cool way.

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid had plenty of slow points, but it was funny in some places too. My favorite part was actually when Steve gets the girl and his sidekick, who got jack, is ecstatic for him like only the lamest sidekick could ever be, saying, "What a guy!" with a huge grin. That dude cracked me up big time there.

I think he's fallen off the funny wagon, a la Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd. But yes, Steve Martin used to be funny IMO....esp. on SNL.

ScottieK

[InchoateHand]

Nope, never really funny. Okay maybe, but nothing special. Funny only in comparison to the manure he provides today.

[bwana devil]

[ QUOTE ]
Funny only in comparison to the manure he provides today.

[/ QUOTE ]

he does a completely different genre of film today. he does family comedy mostly.

the manure that passes as comedy that OOT and the rest of the general population eats up amazes me. adam sandler? chris farley? there were threads a few days ago where people were debating their best movies? they all sucked.

discussing which of their movies is best is like trying to decide what is the best item off the taco bell menu. you lose no matter what you chose.

bwana

[Meech]

[ QUOTE ]
If you want to find some really funny stuff, you gotta listen to his comedy albums. Try and download them off bearshare or whatever...


http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000002MSY.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

[/ QUOTE ]

Definately.


Grandpa bought a rubber.....

[pooh74]

AT the time, he was brilliant on SNL. The jerk is still a very funny movie. Thats about it. He's sucked for the last 20 years or so.

[asofel]

This is actually a great point. I saw some old pryor about his dad being drunk, kickin a dog, and i was just astounded how much murphy took from him.....

[andyfox]

"Now there's a double feature for some of you - "The Spanish Prisoner" and "House of Games" in one night, both by David Mamet. You'll be up a long time figuring those two out."

I loved both. I thought Martin was terrific in The Spanish Prisoner. And both have Ricky Jay in them. It is my understanding that Jay, Mamet, Joe Mantegna, and William H. Macy were buddies in Chicago. Pretty talented group.

BTW, if you liked those two, try Homicide, which I think is Mantegna's best performance. A few people I know who love Mamet think this is his weakest film, but I think it's terrific. Heist is also quite good, with an excellent performance by Gene Hackman.

[MaxPower]

I think most celebrities end up being most known for work that is not their best. Usually they did some great work when they were younger, but young people don't know that stuff so they just seem like hacks.

His early comedy albums were great, but I'm now sure they would still be appreciated today. The Jerk was a classic. He has also made some hilarious appearences on David Letterman's shows.

Steve Martin has lost his edge, which is what made him so funny in the first place. It happens to most performers (but not all).

I still find myself singing "King Tut" every once and a while.

[TheHip41]

[ QUOTE ]
People tell me he was funny on Saturday Night Live. I wasnt alive back then, but its really hard to believe. I mean, every movie this loser makes is complete garbage.

[/ QUOTE ]

Leap of Faith is good.

The wedding movies are decent, but def. chick flicks.

[WDC]

His stand up in the late 70's was freakin' hilarious. It's sort of cerebral humour so you may not get it.

[IndieMatty]

Not Going to Phone it in Tonight

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Performed by (in order of appearance):
Steve Martin, Victoria Jackson, Mike Myers, Julia Sweeney, Tim Meadows,
Chris Farley, Phil Hartman, Kevin Nealon, Joe, Lorne Michaels on 14 Dec 1991
(Steve Martin)


SM: Somethings out there. (whistle) Somethings in the air. (whistle)
Don't know how, don't know why, got a feeling
tonights the night, I'm actually gonna try.
Not going to phone it in tonight,
not going to go through the motions tonight.
This time I'm really gonna do the best I can.
Mr. Cue Card Man put those cards down over there,
but for some reason tonight I care!

VJ: You care? SM: That's right!

That's why I'm not gonna phone it in tonight,
not going to read my screenplay during the songs tonight.
I can walk through my part and still be hilarious,
I've done it so often before.
But look at these faces, look at this fat guy,
he wants more, he wants more!

Fat Guy: Hey, I'm not that fat! SM: Please !?!

So many times I've faked it, just because I could - I'm that good!

VJ: He's that good.
SM: But 20% won't do tonight.
MM: Mr. Martin, I'll do it for you tonight.
JS: Gonna do something different tonight,
something says, not to just do Pat tonight.
TM: I don't have any lines, I'm not in the show,
but something tells me that if I were I'd be rearing to go.
CF: Not gonna get liquored up tonight, Not gonna have a drink tonight,
I'm not gonna drink, till Update is through,
that's a promise to you the viewer.
Yeah, after the show, I'll drink till I spew
but for now, I'm committed for you.
PH: I hide behind these wigs and this makeup,
but tonight I'm gonna let my self shine through,
Yes, Their going to see the real Phil Hartman tonight!
SM: I wouldn't do that Phil. PH: OK.
SM: Follow me everyone, let's go make an effort!

All: Not going to have dead air tonight,
Gonna seem as if we care tonight.
KN: But Steve, why do you care, aren't you rich?
SM: I'm worth 17 million, I could buy and sell you and you and you
a thousand times over, but tonight there's a show to do.
Joe: Five minutes till monologue, Mr. Martin.
SM: Thanks, Joe.
Joe: I can't ever get fired, I've got a union job,
but somehow tonight it doesn't matter that I'm in with the mob.
Stagehands: Gonna move our big lard asses tonight
Gonna move our fat Teamster asses tonight!


SM: Make way.
LM: Steve, what's going on?
SM: Oh, we're going to do our best tonight, Lorne.
LM: Why, the shows on automatic pilot,
I don't even come in until Saturday.
SM: Lorne don't you see, that's not the way it was in the 70's.
Back in the 70's, people cared. They... they believed in something.
Now it's the 80's and everythings...
yuppie, yuppie, yuppie,... spend, spend spend.
LM: Steve, it's the 90's.
SM: Whatever. The point is...
(Singing again) I've always wanted to see,
how good I could be, I just want to know...
LM: (in fake opera voice) Then go, Steve, go and do a great show!
SM: Thank you Lorne. I've never felt so alive!
God, I feel young again, I feel... 38! Come on everybody...

All: We're going to learn our lines, do our parts well,
then we'll go back to coasting, but not while Steve's host,
Cause we're not gonna phone it in tonight
Not going to screw up one line tonight.
SM: I made it happen!
ALL: Steve made it happen.
SM: Now it is time. Live from New York... (pause) Line!...
It's Saturday Night!

[Russ McGinley]

[ QUOTE ]
Best movie he has been in in the last 10 years was "The Spanish Prisoner". Not a comedy, but an excellent film. Good luck figuring it out.

[/ QUOTE ]

Damn, beat me to it. I really liked him in The Spanish Prisoner. I had forgotten that it was Steve Martin that I was watching.

Also, in reference to the recent George Carlin special. Easily the worst Carlin routine ever. I started listening to his tapes when I was real young, like 10-12 years old. I didn't understand half of it but I still found most of it funny, especially the baseball/football comparison and the "fussy eater" bit (I was and still am a fussy eater). This recent one didn't seem like comedy at all. It seemed like he was more interested in just talking about current events.

Also, I hope it was just the lighting, but what was up with his red hand? That creeped me out.

[Blarg]

[ QUOTE ]
I think most celebrities end up being most known for work that is not their best. Usually they did some great work when they were younger, but young people don't know that stuff so they just seem like hacks.

His early comedy albums were great, but I'm now sure they would still be appreciated today. The Jerk was a classic. He has also made some hilarious appearences on David Letterman's shows.

Steve Martin has lost his edge, which is what made him so funny in the first place. It happens to most performers (but not all).

I still find myself singing "King Tut" every once and a while.

[/ QUOTE ]

Agreed and ditto on everything you said there, except I think The Jerk was more iffy. But part of the cool thing about Steve was that he would go so far out there and make stuff like that. Most people only play characters that flatter them. Steve was the opposite of uptight -- he'd do anything and almost always made himself look like some kind of jerk. But usually there was something embarassingly funny that we could relate to in it. His crazy foreigners freely talked as stupidly as we might fear we could on some hellish day, and made all the dating mistakes it terrified us even to think about. His Czechoxlovakian playboys had cool down all wrong and were bizarrely out of step on everything, yet were strangely confident about it all, and you couldn't help laughing as they constantly said and did the worst things you could ever imagine yourself doing. He made characters whose idiocy and missteps you could relate to because they were the part of you that you hoped to god didn't exist or at least would never, ever, ever be discovered, even by you. His stupidity was incredibly distant yet had a recognizability about it you had to love. It was funny as hell and a little hard to imagine doing yourself, because you wouldn't have the guts. Or be anywhere near as funny if you did. Anybody who ever struck a pose of any kind will see it mirrored in the Czeckoslovakian playboy strut and squirm a little. And laugh all the harder for it.

[Blarg]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Funny only in comparison to the manure he provides today.

[/ QUOTE ]

he does a completely different genre of film today. he does family comedy mostly.

the manure that passes as comedy that OOT and the rest of the general population eats up amazes me. adam sandler? chris farley? there were threads a few days ago where people were debating their best movies? they all sucked.

discussing which of their movies is best is like trying to decide what is the best item off the taco bell menu. you lose no matter what you chose.

bwana

[/ QUOTE ]

Well said.

[4_2_it]

[ QUOTE ]
Also, in reference to the recent George Carlin special. Easily the worst Carlin routine ever. ...... This recent one didn't seem like comedy at all. It seemed like he was more interested in just talking about current events.


[/ QUOTE ]

I paid to see him in August (Vegas) and he announced this was the routine he was going to do for an HBO special. He was pwned by the opening comic. After about 20 minutes, people started to leave the theatre. Worst performance I ever seen!!! It was embarrassing how few times people laughed. I think I laughed one time and it was at a comment my brother made that funnier than Carlin's punch line /images/graemlins/ooo.gif

[imported_The Vibesman]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Also, in reference to the recent George Carlin special. Easily the worst Carlin routine ever. ...... This recent one didn't seem like comedy at all. It seemed like he was more interested in just talking about current events.


[/ QUOTE ]

I paid to see him in August (Vegas) and he announced this was the routine he was going to do for an HBO special. He was pwned by the opening comic. After about 20 minutes, people started to leave the theatre. Worst performance I ever seen!!! It was embarrassing how few times people laughed. I think I laughed one time and it was at a comment my brother made that funnier than Carlin's punch line /images/graemlins/ooo.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Carlin was once the funniest comic working. He is now a ranting old man. Sort of a shame.

He did an interview where he talked about how he didn't feel he had to get a laugh a minute anymore, that he felt he could stretch his jokes out a bit and go for a big laugh at the end. I thought that was a really self-serving rationalization from a guy that just wasn't that funny anymore. I haven't watched the new HBO special, a friend of mine says it's just more of the same.

Regarding Steve Martin, one of the coolest things about Steve Martin when he was big in the 70's was the range of people that liked him. His absurdist humor appealed to smart and dumb people, to hippies and conservatives, to Doctors and trailer trash. (I've heard; I was born in '75, so I don't really know firsthand.)

And for all the talk about the Jerk, I think his funniest movie may have been "All Of Me." Jesus, what a riot that movie is.

[astroglide]

[ QUOTE ]
Also, in reference to the recent George Carlin special. Easily the worst Carlin routine ever.

[/ QUOTE ]

"i'm processed, undercooked, medium-sized, super-sized, downsized, upgraded, downloaded, polymer-enhanced, bite-sized WILL SOMEBODY JUST SHOOT ME IN THE [censored] HEAD THIS ROUTINE SUCKS"

[Blarg]

All of Me was very funny and seems to have slipped off everybody's radar. Kind of surprises me, but I think it's just that most younger people, which is most of OOT, don't really like watching movies that are very old, for the most part. They're mostly anchored very firmly in the present, for better or worse.

[astroglide]

back in the bowl

*flush* RRRRRING

i watched that a million years ago, but all of me is the only steve martin movie i guess i quote (when talking with my dad)

[diebitter]

Yeah, All of Me - very intelligent, pretty funny
The Jerk - okay
Roxanne - was okay
The Man with Two Brains - Awesome!
Three Amigos - good
Planes Trains and Automobiles - okay
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels - okay (Michael Caine was better)

the rest were meh or okay but he wasn't particularly outstanding.

[Blarg]

I'd rate PT&amp;A, DRS, and Roxanne higher than you do. Though Roxanne did have a bit of syrupyness that made my teeth hurt. Three Amigos I've never seen, but I've heard a lot of bad things about it.

[4_2_it]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Also, in reference to the recent George Carlin special. Easily the worst Carlin routine ever.

[/ QUOTE ]

"i'm processed, undercooked, medium-sized, super-sized, downsized, upgraded, downloaded, polymer-enhanced, bite-sized WILL SOMEBODY JUST SHOOT ME IN THE [censored] HEAD THIS ROUTINE SUCKS"

[/ QUOTE ]

After that, I did feel like I just ate 4 sticks of butter.

[Skipbidder]

[ QUOTE ]
Leap of Faith is good.

[/ QUOTE ]

Leap of Faith was ruined for me because so much of it was stolen, uncredited, from James Randi's book The Faith Healers. Randi didn't get dime one for it.

(The Faith Healer's is the book where Randi talks about how he exposed religious fraud Peter Popoff. Sadly enough, the country is so filled with credulous morons that Popoff has regained his audience.)