In praise of absurdist humor (Part 2)

Dear reader - please give yourself some time and space to absorb this post - the videos linked below will brighten your day…and I encourage you to take a moment to enjoy.

In Part 1 of this series, I relayed my love of absurd humor. I described the roots, influences, and formative artists and madmen that cemented my appreciation. Looney Tunes, the Muppets, The Far Side, Monty Python, and more.

As I described, what makes this tangent of comedy most compelling to me is that it depends on the idea. The absurdity of something that just doesn’t make sense - that challenges your expectations and stretches your brain…concepts that juxtapose the impossible and explode with sheer creativity and originality.

You laugh, and then think, what the hell?

So today I’ll continue with some of my favorite examples in this vein - leading to more recent times...

To begin, we must start with the stand up comedy of Steve Martin. I don’t recall when I first encountered his act, probably sometime in high school or early college. There simply has never been - nor ever will be - a phenomenon like the ‘Wild and Crazy Guy” of the 70’s.

Steve Martin famously studied philosophy and begin his showbiz career as a magician. He thought hard about what humor actually is - and dug deep into the human psyche to find new comedic veins to mine.

To get a taste, I recommend the following:

And of course, Balloon Animals, which can be found here around minute 38:20. (If you haven’t seen Steve’s act already, I recommend watching the entire video). I’ll never tired of the bit of filling the balloons with curse words….that combined with his supreme physical comedy never disappoints.

Speaking of the 70’s, other artists of the absurd were also peaking - Blake Edwards and Peter Sellers with the Pink Panther movies. Much of the laughter derives from Peter Sellers character driven genius, but absurd set pieces were mandatory in each feature - especially the wonderful bit where Cato attacks Inspector Clouseau in each film:

The filmmaking and pacing of these fight scenes are unparalleled - and just outright goofy. With the super slow-motion, distorted voice effects, the transparent but somehow charming light racism, and of course the comedic violence that always ends with a phone call. Hook it to my veins.

Next, I present the work of Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker. These wise men gave us several of the most absurd motion pictures ever to exist. Surely you know what’s coming next…

I give you, Airplane!

This kind of thing would not pass muster today, I fear. A little too racially on edge, a bit misogynist and sexist at times, even just dumb at points. But by god, this movie makes me laugh. From there, the team followed with Airplane II, but reached possibly their peak powers with the Naked Gun:

Speaking of politically incorrect humor that was also absurd, you have to include Mel Brooks, and in particular Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, and History of the World - Part 1. One specific example I’ll reference is the end of Blazing Saddles, where the movie breaks the fourth wall and spills over into the next studio, pitting cowboys and bandits against a flamboyant men’s chorus line. Mel Brooks is a national treasure and absurd agent of chaos.

There were many imitators of Brooks, Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker. But it seems that sometime in the 90’s the world started getting more serious and absurd humor took a back seat in our society. It becomes harder to find the pure artists - although threads of absurdity pop up here and there.

Notably the Cohen Brothers take up the cause - with their twisted dark humor and sarcasm, they often find a moment to step back and indulge in the crazy.

As evidence, I give you possibly the greatest chase scene ever put to film, a movie within a movie, telling the story of a man who simply is trying to procure some diapers for his recently adopted son:

As the 80’s trickle into the 90’s you see flashes of absurdity here and there…the immortal film The Blues Brothers takes it in a musical direction. I mean, come on...James Brown as a church pastor? Wes Anderson dabbles in the absurd, but it’s not his primary tool.

You have to wait until the 2000’s and the emergence of one of the most absurd gentlemen to grace our planet - Will Ferrell - for things to heat up again. Starting with Saturday Night Live, Will just reinvents absurdist humor without shame or second thoughts:

Whatever the vehicle, Will delivers. Two more examples that I will share include the Newscaster Gang Fight from Anchorman:

And from Talladega Nights, the Blessing:

For my money, the Blessing Scene above is one of the most astute, satirical, poignant, and devastating critiques of modern American society you’ll ever find. And it is so, so damn funny.

A couple of recent highlights of the absurd include Weird: The Al Yankovic Story…with its meta sendup of the biopic genre and numerous conceits that include Madonna as the head of an international drug cartel.

Another recent example comes from the film Everything Everywhere All at Once:

But alas, true absurdity still takes a back seat these days. Things crop up here and there, but gone are the days when Monty Python, Ted Stryker, Daffy Duck, or Steven Wright roamed the land like Gods.

Perhaps I understand why…political polarization, global warming, egomaniacal billionaires pushing their Ayn Rand warped agendas on us all. It’s hard to laugh at the silliness when there is so much bullshit all around.

But laughter is our best defense. It inoculates us from despair, deflates the pride of the powerful, and gives us a reprieve from reality. And embedded within the humor of the absurd are the ideas and innovations that drive social change, that illuminate the craziness of our world, and can save us all.

To that, I say “Dear 8 pound, 6 ounce newborn infant Jesus, don’t even know a word yet, just a little infant and so cuddly, but still omnipotent, we just thank you…”

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Disclaimer:

All content and opinions are solely those of the author (Jack), and not representative of my employer, former employers, clients, anyone in Congress, my family, former college roommates, Baptists, the good citizens of Colorado, or my dog Mabel.