I think we all need at least one really nice positive thing about the entertainment business every single day of the year, including weekends. Sometimes it may be something simple, like a video that showcases something fun and sometimes it may be a movie poster that embraces the aesthetic we all want Hollywood to aspire to. Sometimes it may be a long-winded diatribe. Sometimes it’ll be from the staff and extended family of CHUD.com. Maybe even you readers can get in on it. So, take this to the bank. Every day, you will get a little bit of positivity from one column a day here. Take it with you. Maybe it’ll help you through a bad day or give folks some fun things to hunt down in their busy celluloid digesting day.
1.25.11
By David Oliver: Author Page
What I’m Thankful For
The infrequency of Dana Carvey interviews
I generally consider myself the type to not be a hater. At least, it’s not my aim to try to be, even if I sometimes find myself falling into the category. Such is the case with Dana Carvey, unfortunately. I simply cannot stand to watch an interview with this guy. And the reason is simply because every damn sitdown feels like it’s coming out of 1990, because all the same shit I saw back then I still see now. Case in point, last night Carvey was on Leno promoting, I believe, his upcoming hosting gig on Saturday Night Live. Back when he was on the show, I enjoyed his work. He did some pretty entertaining characters, most notably the Church Lady, Hans and Franz, George H.W., and of course, Wayne’s World. I also liked the first Wayne’s World movie from what I can remember of it. After he left SNL, Carvey became an enigma of nature: he refused to evolve.
I pretty much lost sight of Carvey after SNL. I heard about his heart problems and botched surgery. I caught an episode I think of The Dana Carvey Show, way back when, but that’s about it. I understand The Master of Disguise was a deep fried abortion; it looked it from the promos I remember. Occasionally he’d pop up on Leno or some other talk show and you could almost do a pool as to how long it’d take before he’d break out the H.W., Church Lady and Hans and Franz standards. It was clockwork. Hell, it was atomic clock-work. Carvey’s become the Rich Little of the 21st Century. Go on a talk show, do the same few characters over and over and over again and become less and less relevant with every appearance. Last night he whipped out the Carson, the Regis and of course, the Leno.
So last night during the interview, I caught H.W., and Schwarzenegger as expected. I fast-forwarded through some of it because I wanted to catch the Maggie Q segment. So she comes out, looking nice in a simple black dress. And Carvey continues with more shtick during her segment. I don’t know if he was seeking a gig as Leno’s Andy Richter or what. But it just makes me dislike him even more. Q was charmed by him, though, which makes me think she’s an easy audience. So like I said, I don’t set out to hate, but a Dana Carvey interview riles it up out of me every time. A Dana Carvey interview parallels a Robin Williams interview for cringe factor. They’re insufferable; and I’m thankful I don’t catch them very often.