The Serious Approach

In my review of “Reign Over Me,” I discussed a few names that apart of a new movement in Hollywood. Adam Sandler, Bill Murray, Dane Cook, and Jim Carrey are all comedians who have taken a more serious approach to their acting in the last few years. For some comedians, it is working. Look at Jamie Foxx. The man was Ugly Woman Wanda during his stint on “In Living Color.” Now look at him. He won an Academy Award for playing Ray Charles, he was nominated a second time for his role in “Dreamgirls,” and he is friends with Oprah. That is how you know that you have made it. When you and Oprah are chillin’ at one of her homes, you know you got it good. Let us now take a closer look at some of the people taking a more serious tone in their careers.

Adam Sandler is a name that I never thought I would have added to this list. The guy was on SNL for years, has released countless dirty albums (funny as hell though, remember The Goat?) and started his career with “Billy Madison.” Sandler did transition nicely into a different genre however. I remember it first happening in “Big Daddy.” He played a majority of the ending with more serious overtones. He started making his goofy characters seem more sympathetic. His movies slowly started to get more emotional and he changed into a more dramatic actor. Then came his first dramatic role. He played Barry Egan in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Punch Drunk Love.” I loved this movie because it was classic Sandler in a different environment. Due to the plot and situations surrounding him, suddenly you felt sorry for him. Then years later he did James L. Brook’s “Spanglish.” The script for this one was not as good, so Sandler did not really have much to work with. He did as much as he could have done with that role. Recently, he starred in the outstanding “Reign Over Me.” I have never used the term “gut wrenching” to describe a performance before, but Sandler did it. This is the movie I will always remember him for, and not necessarily because of his Bob Dylan hairstyle. He brought depth, emotion and sympathy to a role that could have easily been mediocre at best in the hands of another actor. I never thought I would say this, but I would love for Sandler to do more serious roles in the future.
Dane Cook. It is no secret that I have no love for Dane Cook. I have read reports that the man pays off other comedians because he shares “similar material.” I do know this to be the case with Louis C.K. I heard a side by side comparison of some jokes once, and clearly, Cook was shopping around to get his material. That is here nor there and if he can make a cool million off of ripping people off, then more power to him. People in Hollywood rip one another off all the time. I will admit that I did enjoy “Waiting…” which did feature Dane Cook, just not enough to matter. I recently saw previews for “Mr. Brooks,” which is about Kevin Costner as a successful, and likeable, business man who doubles as a murderer. Dane Cook plays the photographer who attempts to blackmail Costner. The audience found his recent role to be quite humorous. The acting looked horrible. I am not saying that Cook should ever do anything serious, but I am saying it is too soon. He is not the best actor in the world right now and should be honing his craft first before making the leap to Mr. Serious Douche Bag.
Bill Murray was someone who I was against for many years. I love all the old school Murray classics. How can one go wrong with “Meatballs,” “Stripes,” “Ghostbusters” or even “Groundhog Day.” Hell, I even love Bill Murray in “Space Jam.” So when he started doing movies like “Lost In Translation” and “Broken Flowers,” I was pissed. I was very much against seeing any sort of dramatic Bill Murray movie. It was only recently that I caught “Lost In Translation” on cable, and man was I blown away. Bill Murray was actually good. It also might have been that I had just watched “Garfield 2,” so anything I watched after “G2” would have been a masterpiece. Murray had the Sandler thing going on. He played a very respectable character that I actually rooted for. Seeing as how I wanted Murray to fail big time from the opening credits on, I would say that is a huge accomplishment.
Ready for a bitch fit? Here comes a bitch fit. Jim Carrey used to be a funny guy. He really did. I loved both “Ace Ventura” movies, liked “Dumb and Dumber,” and even laughed out loud when I saw “Me, Myself and Irene.” He definitely has a gift for physical comedy. Not to mention he gained a huge following of fans from those films. Now? Now nobody cares about Jim Carrey. Why? Because he is an asshole. Someone had to say it. For years he has gone on record saying that he is above comedy. Saying that he would never return to his old style of comedies because he was “better than that.” Those movies made you, pal. Without “Ace Ventura,” you would be nothing. So try to show a little respect, okay? (Disclaimer: I am very aware that Bill Murray held out of doing “Ghostbusters III” for years, but he has since agreed to reprise his role in the CGI version of “Ghostbusters III.”) This could have been avoided had he taken the Sandler route. If Jim Carrey had done a comedy, then a serious movie, then a few more comedies, etc, he would have been fine. Give the audience what they want, then surprise them with something new. Instead he dropped the comedy all together (“Dick and Jane” was not comedy, it was shit) and stuck with moves that nobody ever saw. I mean come on, has anyone seen “23?” I had a free ticket and I didn’t even go.
So in summation, fuck Jim Carrey and hail Adam Sandler. The man is living the career that Jim Carrey wished he had.