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Friday, February 10, 2006 12:00 AM

When good comedians go bad

Remember when Steve Martin, Albert Brooks and Woody Allen were funny? What on earth happened to our favorite funnymen?

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  • Friday, February 10, 2006 02:45 PM

    Old folks ain't funny

    I ask you to sample the following films:

    The Marx Brothers in "Go West"

    Laurel and Hardy in "The Bullfighters"

    Bob Hope in "Cancel My Reservation"

    Jerry Lewis in "Hardly Working"

    Bad movies by aging comedians are a tried-and-true tradition in Hollywood. Any writer or performer who's been working for at least thirty years will inevitably have fewer and fewer ideas and fewer and fewer things to actually say. And when the writer does not have the foresight to re-invent himself or herself and instead relies on the same old schtick, it'll get even worse because they're BORED with it. Wouldn't you be bored with it? Albert Brooks and Steve Martin are both pushing 60 and Woody Allen just turned 70 and I can't imagine that any of them are happy with The In-Laws or Cheaper-Dozen or Anything Else. It's a disservice to their legacies that they continue attempting comedy the same way they did it thirty years ago. Once this sad period is over, we can appreciate their old, great works again, just as we can appreciate "Duck Soup" again.

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