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#83
12-06-2005, 01:04 PM
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Re: Was Steve Martin ever funny?
"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. 
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#84
12-06-2005, 01:10 PM
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Re: Was Steve Martin ever funny?
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.
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#85
12-06-2005, 01:56 PM
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Re: Was Steve Martin ever funny?
[ 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.
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#87
12-06-2005, 03:49 PM
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Steve Martin is Great
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!
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#88
12-06-2005, 04:35 PM
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Re: Was Steve Martin ever funny?
[ 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.
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#89
12-06-2005, 04:42 PM
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Re: Was Steve Martin ever funny?
[ 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.
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#90
12-06-2005, 04:43 PM
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Re: Was Steve Martin ever funny?
[ 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.
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