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STANDING THE TEST
OF TIME, OR NOT
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Back in April, when everything was shut down and the world was
reeling even more than it is now, I gathered my four children and their
spouses around me and announced I had a surefire way to cheer everyone up.
"You're distributing our inheritance early?" asked
one wisecracking child.
"No, and I'm feeling fine, by the way," I replied.
"Instead, we're all going to watch the movie, 'Airplane,' which happens
to be one of the greatest comedies of all time."
They weren't quite as excited as I was to watch this 1980
classic. They'd never seen it, and I hadn't seen it in about 30 years. But I
clearly remembered many of the scenes, and couldn't wait to share the belly
laughs with them.
It didn't happen. Oh, we watched the movie, or at least I did.
About 20 minutes into the screening, I looked around at my audience and all
of them had their phones out, investigating something or other. There had
been a couple of minor chuckles, and then disinterest. And I couldn't blame
them.
"Airplane" had lost its mojo over time. As my kids
drifted away, I pictured my parents sitting me down to watch a Charlie
Chaplin comedy, eagerly telling me how much I'd love his screen persona,
"The Little Tramp," and then realizing it wasn't nearly as funny
as they remembered.
Some movies stand the test of time, some don't. I had tears in
my eyes from laughing so hard when I saw "Airplane" in 1980. What
changed?
I decided to investigate further over the next six months,
since I had nothing better to do. Surely, other comedy classics must have
aged better than "Airplane."
First up was "Animal House," one of my all time
favorites. John Belushi never gets old. I watched it by myself this time,
and was devastated to realize that those belly laughs I enjoyed when it was
released in 1978 were nowhere to be found. Very disappointing.
Next in line was Caddyshack, the 1980 Bill Murray/Chevy
Chase/Rodney Dangerfield classic golf film. Nope. Just a lot of dumb, silly
jokes that were only mildly amusing. Not the great comedy that I remembered.
My wife and I gave "The Jerk" a try. The 1979 Steve
Martin tale about a mentally challenged white man who grew up in a poor
black family and inadvertently struck it rich was a big hit, and again I
remembered some hilarious classic scenes. This time we turned it off after
30 minutes. So dumb, and so bad.
Speaking of dumb, I tried "Dumb and Dumber," the 1994
Jim Carrey movie about two ridiculously stupid knuckleheads who are chasing
a beautiful woman. It's another movie I remembered as hilarious, but it just
didn't work anymore. Not as bad as "The Jerk," but close.
Naturally, many people will theorize that the reason I don't
find these movies as funny anymore is that I've matured. Sophomoric humor is
in my past. I've attained a level of sophistication in my later years that
prevents me from laughing at silly, slapstick comedies.
I present as evidence to the contrary, ladies and gentlemen,
"Naked Gun." We watched this Leslie Nielsen/Priscilla Presley/O.J.
Simpson (yes, that O.J. Simpson) 1988 classic a couple of months ago and it
was as good or better than remembered. Just as silly and ridiculous as the
movies mentioned above, but for some reason it stood the test of time. Belly
laughs and tears were flowing.
The same held true for "There's Something About
Mary," the 1998 hit starring Cameron Diaz and Ben Stiller. Hilarious
and even better the second time around.
So what's the explanation? How could a movie that you loved so
much 30 years ago be so bad today? And how could others in the same genre
get better with age?
These are the questions that keep me up at night. It may seem
inconsequential to some, especially to those who never liked any of those
movies in the first place, or to those who watched them recently and still
think of them as classics. Maybe you'll sleep better.
All I'm saying is be prepared to be disappointed by old movies,
especially comedies. Some are best left wallowing in your memory, favorite
scenes eternally replayed in your mind without the silly clutter of the
other 95% of the movie.
That's why I'm not going to watch the first Austin Powers movie
again, just in case. My research is complete.
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