On Sun, May 1, 2011 at 10:20 AM, David Bruggeman <[email protected]> wrote:
> It would seem that Myers and his writers were really aiming for the room > (and succeeded), which seems consistent with the Lewis Black quote. The > WHCA wants Leno-like, but probably doesn't feel they can get away with using > Jay every year. > > Really, though, it's kind of sad that pretty easy jokes about The Donald > are the comedy equivalent of Paul Ryan being all 'adult' and 'serious' with > his budget plan. > > Kudos to the C-SPAN camera operator who captured the perfect angle of The > Donald and the hair. > ------------------------------ > *From:* Kevin M. <[email protected]>** > ** > > The HuffPo jokes were funny. And I liked the dig about the Obama of > 2008, though I think it was based on a logical fallacy -- I don't > believe the two Obamas would like each other at all. > > I don't know Seth Meyers well... does he usually smile and pause > during jokes he's proud of, even if they aren't funny? > > I don't mean to imply that he didn't do alright... he did, because his > jokes are so predictable, bland, and Leno-like that they played well > with that audience (really, a joke about Trump's hair... they were > telling those when I was in high school). I used to love watching the > WHCD just for the lengthy, awkward silences between jokes by Don Imus > or Bill Maher. Though he was talking about the CCD, I agree with Lewis > Black's assessment that for such an occasion, one has to recraft the > act to consist entirely of knock-knock jokes. > That is a bit of a distortion. Meyers was several notches above average on the Leno meter. He was not one of the best (though I did not really like either Imus or Maher either), certainly not as good as Colbert. Both Kevin and David have referenced the Trump hair jokes - I think there were two of those. But most of Meyers jokes, while aimed to please that room, would not have played, or been attempted, on a late night tv monologue. I would give him about a "B". I particularly liked the "stop using my tax dollars to take care of me" line. I think Meyers was going for the space between self-depreciating laughter and awkward silence, and hit it pretty often. When Meyers took over Update I really did not like him, but he has gradually earned my respect. He has gone from recyling lines from Leno and Dave to a take on politics that is sharper than anything on television not presented by Comedy Central. His attacks on the Obama administration have often been biting and unforgiving - I think the main criticism that could be made about his set last night was that he seemed to soft peddle that quite a bit. The line that Kevin references (but changes, as Meyers point was not that the 2 Obamas would like each other, but that the current one might like the former one, who was idealistic and hopeful) was as close as he got to this, but even so was a bit tepid. As I understand it Meyers does not have a history as a stand up comic, and yes, he often does have an awkward delivery, and plays to the camera a lot. Obama actually has a more professional stand up stage presence than Meyers. -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
