Was there really a need to make ANY joke out of Debbie Reynolds' death? ("Too Soon" IS the rueful motto most comics know by heart). Was there any need to make it a "how white folks differ from black folks" deal?
Say what?
And so it was, that D.L. took the heat off Steve Martin (the Carrie Fisher non-joke sincere tribute) a few days ago. The Twitterverse began to turn on D.L. and question what the hell he was trying to do.
The answer is that comics are iconoclasts. Also compulsive class clowns.
He either figured it was ridiculous for people to mope about Debbie's literal "heartbreak," and was going to do a sarcastic slap, OR, he had that compulsive need to make a comic statement out of anything and everything big in the news.
"Too Soon." There's a time to just shut the fuck up.
Comics often don't know there IS such a time. They take up the challenge of "say something funny about this tragedy." They forget Steve Allen's scholarly bit of comic math: "Comedy is tragedy + time."
If Kinison was still alive, he would've felt compelled to snicker to his audience of drunks and bikers about poor Debbie.
Something like: "Debbie Reynolds...heh heh...I think I saw this before in a necrophile porn film: DEBBIE DOES CARDIAC ARREST! Heh heh...just family values, guys. Heh heh...somebody said to me, Sam, could you make a really bad taste joke about America's sweetheart and...uh...necrophile porn? OH OHHHHHHHHH!!!! I just did, man!"
If Gabe Kaplan or Robert Klein was just starting out, maybe one or the other would be compelled to put a Jewish spin on the story, like D.L. tried a black spin:"I'm Jewish, if my sister died, my mother wouldn't have a heart attack. She'd say, 'How come YOU are still alive?' She'd noodge ME into having a heart attack for her!"
Something like that.
I feel a bit sorry for D.L. and all comics who have a monumental fail like this. When they get off a good one, all they get is laughter. The joke is forgotten the next day. Tell a bad one, and there's massive resentment.
It's not much different in any entertainment media. Talking about black spin, Serena Williams might put a spin on a drop shot, and land it 99 times out of 100. The one time it hits the net? Everyone is saying she's losing it. She's through. It might even be the only photo from the match that gets into print.
Too bad Hughley isn't more like Burress, who I'm sure was too busy doing his "observational humor" in a small urban nightclub, chuckling about rap singer booty, to think up a gag about a white icon from the 60's dropping dead in grief over her daughter, the "Star Wars" icon.
A new danger these days is indeed, TWITTER. Funny people can't try out a joke on an audience first. Or, don't realize that jokes don't always work well on the page. It's possible D.L. quipped that line to some pal of his, who chuckled and said, "Post it on TWITTER!" Written and not spoken...no, not funny at all.
We've seen all kinds of celebs rush to TWITTER and post something they either have to apologize for an hour later. Comics have to delete the bomb, or live with the damage.
For me, the most offensive thing is the video that opened up on the news page.
WHAT does Debbie Reynolds, in a clip from "Singing in the Rain," have to do with D.L.'s unfortunate misfire? NOTHING.
It forces me to study and study more and more about APPS and BLOCKERS and finding a way to prevent idiot websites from bothering me with VIDEO POP-UPS that instantly begin to play when I do NOT want them to.
I get the idea this nefarious, tasteless crap of inserting VIDEOS into news stories, is to keep me "on the page" longer, so that there's more website revenue.
CUT IT OUT.
I'm here to READ A STORY. If I wanted to watch a film clip I'd go to YouTube.
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