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Post by JangoB on Dec 27, 2023 0:23:26 GMT
Also, I really admire Phantom Thread and Day-Lewis in it, but it's not a comedy and DDL isn't giving a comedic performance in it. It's a dramatic performance laced with humorous asides. Where do people come up with this shit . He's not even doing comedy in A Room With A View. He's just playing a fop. He can be humorous in dramatic roles, but any dramatic actor who can't do that isn't worth much to begin with. I don't count Training Day and Inside Man as comedy, even though Denzel is at times very funny in both films. Proper genre comedy? Never seen DDL do it well. Pedro Almodovar famously said DDL couldn't do comedy, and he's right, only to the point that he hasn't really done it successfully yet, but he worked so little, that he didn't give himself enough opportunities to find out if he could. www.indiewire.com/news/general-news/pedro-almodovar-says-daniel-day-lewis-cant-do-comedy-and-neither-could-marlon-brando-98536/I'm not especially eager to take part in The Great Denzel Wars of MAR but I really have to take umbrage with this post: 1) To say that DDL is not doing comedy and is merely playing a fop is just a wildly disingenuous misrepresentation of his work in A Room with a View. Acting is all about choices and he could've chosen to play that role completely straight and reserved but instead he's giving a masterclass in stiff upper lip comedy where stoicism meets heightened, humorous pomposity. He's both ridiculous and completely believable, annoying and sympathetic, silly and real. It's a comedic masterclass the likes of which Denzel has never given. 2) I literally finished watching The Preacher's Wife minutes ago (because of how often it's been brought up on this board lately!) and Denzel's performance is absolutely NOT "a hoot". Nor would I say that it's him doing "proper genre comedy". He ain't pulling a Jim Carrey or Eddie Murphy. There's about 15% of comedy there but the bulk of the performance is Denzel being either charming or inspirational, something we've seen him do a whole bunch of times. And the movie is a goddamn awful slog. Now, don't get me wrong - I do think Denzel can be naturally funny but to me he's at his funniest when that's an additional quality of his characterization. If he's a hoot anywhere, it's in Training Day.
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Post by pacinoyes on Dec 27, 2023 0:25:34 GMT
Also, I really admire Phantom Thread and Day-Lewis in it, but it's not a comedy and DDL isn't giving a comedic performance in it. It's a dramatic performance laced with humorous asides. Where do people come up with this shit . He's not even doing comedy in A Room With A View. He's just playing a fop. He can be humorous in dramatic roles, but any dramatic actor who can't do that isn't worth much to begin with. I don't count Training Day and Inside Man as comedy, even though Denzel is at times very funny in both films. Proper genre comedy? Never seen DDL do it well. Pedro Almodovar famously said DDL couldn't do comedy, and he's right, only to the point that he hasn't really done it successfully yet, but he worked so little, that he didn't give himself enough opportunities to find out if he could. www.indiewire.com/news/general-news/pedro-almodovar-says-daniel-day-lewis-cant-do-comedy-and-neither-could-marlon-brando-98536/I'm not especially eager to take part in The Great Denzel Wars of MAR but I really have to take umbrage with this post: 1) To say that DDL is not doing comedy and is merely playing a fop is just a wildly disingenuous misrepresentation of his work in A Room with a View. Acting is all about choices and he could've chosen to play that role completely straight and reserved but instead he's giving a masterclass in stiff upper lip comedy where stoicism meets heightened, humorous pomposity. He's both ridiculous and completely believable, annoying and sympathetic, silly and real. It's a comedic masterclass the likes of which Denzel has never given. 2) I literally finished watching The Preacher's Wife minutes ago (because of how often it's been brought up on this board lately!) and Denzel's performance is absolutely NOT "a hoot". Nor would I say that it's him doing "proper genre comedy". He ain't pulling a Jim Carrey or Eddie Murphy. There's about 15% of comedy there but the bulk of the performance is Denzel being either charming or inspirational, something we've seen him do a whole bunch of times. And the movie is a goddamn awful slog. Now, don't get me wrong - I do think Denzel can be naturally funny but to me he's at his funniest when that's an additional quality of his characterization. If he's a hoot anywhere, it's in Training Day.What are you doing me now? Pffft
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Post by JangoB on Dec 27, 2023 0:30:23 GMT
I'm not especially eager to take part in The Great Denzel Wars of MAR but I really have to take umbrage with this post: 1) To say that DDL is not doing comedy and is merely playing a fop is just a wildly disingenuous misrepresentation of his work in A Room with a View. Acting is all about choices and he could've chosen to play that role completely straight and reserved but instead he's giving a masterclass in stiff upper lip comedy where stoicism meets heightened, humorous pomposity. He's both ridiculous and completely believable, annoying and sympathetic, silly and real. It's a comedic masterclass the likes of which Denzel has never given. 2) I literally finished watching The Preacher's Wife minutes ago (because of how often it's been brought up on this board lately!) and Denzel's performance is absolutely NOT "a hoot". Nor would I say that it's him doing "proper genre comedy". He ain't pulling a Jim Carrey or Eddie Murphy. There's about 15% of comedy there but the bulk of the performance is Denzel being either charming or inspirational, something we've seen him do a whole bunch of times. And the movie is a goddamn awful slog. Now, don't get me wrong - I do think Denzel can be naturally funny but to me he's at his funniest when that's an additional quality of his characterization. If he's a hoot anywhere, it's in Training Day.What are you doing me now? Pffft Sounds dirty But yeah, great minds think alike and all that. I couldn't stop cracking up when I was recently rewatching Training Day, all due to him.
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Post by pacinoyes on Dec 27, 2023 0:34:48 GMT
Maybe we should hae this thread ask a different question? Who CAN'T be funny? Like Ullman is a GOAT maybe who doesn't have it much on her resume - but of course you can argue almost everyone as sort of funny.......big deal.......the key is if they are often funny......like you know was in a BP Comedy (The Sting), Oscar nominated or Globe nominated or in a big hit.....etc What DiCap has done in comedy in the 2010s is a whole lot different than what Damon has done in comedy in th 2010s......this bullshit that "oh he can be funny" is actually a major diss at comic acting tbh.......
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Post by futuretrunks on Dec 27, 2023 0:46:29 GMT
I don't really see a difference in the skillset. That was much clearer when comedy was not synonymous with lowest common denominator buffoonery (some of which is still very funny). Jim Carrey would struggle his ass off in a Sullivan's Travels or Annie Hall.
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Post by pacinoyes on Dec 27, 2023 0:52:57 GMT
I don't really see a difference in the skillset. If there wasn't a difference in the skill set then everybody would pull it off to a comparable degree as drama tbh ........ I mean there's nothing to suggest that Emma Stone's gifts at drama translate to comedy - and different kinds of comedy no less - to the degree that they do......
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Post by pupdurcs on Dec 27, 2023 1:19:00 GMT
Also, I really admire Phantom Thread and Day-Lewis in it, but it's not a comedy and DDL isn't giving a comedic performance in it. It's a dramatic performance laced with humorous asides. Where do people come up with this shit . He's not even doing comedy in A Room With A View. He's just playing a fop. He can be humorous in dramatic roles, but any dramatic actor who can't do that isn't worth much to begin with. I don't count Training Day and Inside Man as comedy, even though Denzel is at times very funny in both films. Proper genre comedy? Never seen DDL do it well. Pedro Almodovar famously said DDL couldn't do comedy, and he's right, only to the point that he hasn't really done it successfully yet, but he worked so little, that he didn't give himself enough opportunities to find out if he could. www.indiewire.com/news/general-news/pedro-almodovar-says-daniel-day-lewis-cant-do-comedy-and-neither-could-marlon-brando-98536/I'm not especially eager to take part in The Great Denzel Wars of MAR but I really have to take umbrage with this post: 2) I literally finished watching The Preacher's Wife minutes ago (because of how often it's been brought up on this board lately!) and Denzel's performance is absolutely NOT "a hoot". Nor would I say that it's him doing "proper genre comedy". He ain't pulling a Jim Carrey or Eddie Murphy. There's about 15% of comedy there but the bulk of the performance is Denzel being either charming or inspirational, something we've seen him do a whole bunch of times. And the movie is a goddamn awful slog. Now, don't get me wrong - I do think Denzel can be naturally funny but to me he's at his funniest when that's an additional quality of his characterization. If he's a hoot anywhere, it's in Training Day. It is proper genre comedy. The genre in question being romantic comedy. If he was acting like Jim Carrey in Liar, Liar (or most of his comedies) or being a complete goofball for the whole movie, he'd be failing the assignment. Denzel gives everything a romantic comedy lead needs to be. He's charming as he needs to be, occasionally silly, but not too much so that he turns off the women in the audience he's supposed to be appealing to. And the comedic timing is there when it needs to be. The balance is there. It's a very, very good rom-com performance. High level. Like I said, it's obvious Denzel could have successfully milked the genre to death and made a killing, the way Matthew McConaughey did before he started taking his career seriously. No one ever claimed Washington was Buster Keaton or Eddie Murphy in the broad comedy stakes . But he's clearly capable of being an idealised romantic comedy lead. And whether you like The Preacher's Wife or not (that film would never be this board's cup of tea ) it's clearly held up as a beloved classic in it's genre by people who do like that sort of thing. So the claim that he's never had any successful comedy films (and rom-coms do count) are patently false. There are different kinds of comedy. Being a good romantic comedy lead isn't about yukking it up and trying to crack jokes every second. You need to give the right kind of comedic performance in the kind of comedy you are in. Here's an example... Will Ferrell is a great comedic actor, but I don't think he's a great romantic comedy lead, because he's too goofy and struggles to get the balance right. Doing what Washington did in The Preacher's Wife isn't neccesarily as simple as you make out, especially if it doesn't come naturally. I'd argue that DDL would really struggle to do it anywhere as well ( his biggest problem with his casting in Nine. He needed a lighter comic touch in that role, which I just don't think comes naturally to him). I disagree about A Room With View, but respect your opinion.
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Post by mikediastavrone96 on Dec 27, 2023 1:34:52 GMT
Since we're talking about Denzel being funny, I just wanna throw out Much Ado About Nothing as my go-to in my head when I think of him in lighter fare. And for a dramatic performance with comedic elements, Mo' Better Blues.
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Post by JangoB on Dec 27, 2023 2:04:17 GMT
I'm not especially eager to take part in The Great Denzel Wars of MAR but I really have to take umbrage with this post: 2) I literally finished watching The Preacher's Wife minutes ago (because of how often it's been brought up on this board lately!) and Denzel's performance is absolutely NOT "a hoot". Nor would I say that it's him doing "proper genre comedy". He ain't pulling a Jim Carrey or Eddie Murphy. There's about 15% of comedy there but the bulk of the performance is Denzel being either charming or inspirational, something we've seen him do a whole bunch of times. And the movie is a goddamn awful slog. Now, don't get me wrong - I do think Denzel can be naturally funny but to me he's at his funniest when that's an additional quality of his characterization. If he's a hoot anywhere, it's in Training Day. It is proper genre comedy. The genre in question being romantic comedy. If he was acting like Jim Carrey in Liar, Liar (or most of his comedies) or being a complete goofball for the whole movie, he'd be failing the assignment. Denzel gives everything a romantic comedy lead needs to be. He's charming as he needs to be, occasionally silly, but not too much so that he turns off the women in the audience he's supposed to be appealing to. And the comedic timing is there when it needs to be. The balance is there. It's a very, very good rom-com performance. High level. Like I said, it's obvious Denzel could have successfully milked the genre to death and made a killing, the way Matthew McConaughey did before he started taking his career seriously. No one ever claimed Washington was Buster Keaton or Eddie Murphy in the broad comedy stakes . But he's clearly capable of being an idealised romantic comedy lead. And whether you like The Preacher's Wife or not (that film would never be this board's cup of tea ) it's clearly held up as a beloved classic in it's genre by people who do like that sort of thing. So the claim that he's never had any successful comedy films (and rom-coms do count) are patently false. There are different kinds of comedy. Being a good romantic comedy lead isn't about yukking it up and trying to crack jokes every second. You need to give the right kind of comedic performance in the kind of comedy you are in. Here's an example... Will Ferrell is a great comedic actor, but I don't think he's a great romantic comedy lead, because he's too goofy and struggles to get the balance right. Doing what Washington did in The Preacher's Wife isn't neccesarily as simple as you make out, especially if it doesn't come naturally. I'd argue that DDL would really struggle to do it anywhere as well ( his biggest problem with his casting in Nine. He needed a lighter comic touch in that role, which I just don't think comes naturally to him). I disagree about A Room With View, but respect your opinion. Thanks for the reasonable response! I guess I just have a problem with the movie itself - it's positioned as a romantic comedy but it barely gives Denzel any opportunities to really dive into that because it's just all over the place with its subplots. There's no focus. Felt to me like most of it was Courtney B. Vance running around and solving his problems with occasional scenes of Denzel kinda falling for Whitney Houston, most of which is relegated to the second half of the lethargic two hours. I'm sure he would've killed it had he been given more chances to turn on his rom-com engine but those moments are way too sporadic. Like Mike (hehe), I first think about Much Ado when it comes to him being properly comedic. Although I haven't seen it in years.
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rhodoraonline
Badass
Your Generosity Hides Something Dirtier and Meaner
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Post by rhodoraonline on Dec 27, 2023 2:06:06 GMT
Hey ya'll, don't forget Jake Gyllenhaal's delightfully maniacal Mr. Music in that Mulaney kids' special under this topic discussion!!!
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Post by pupdurcs on Dec 27, 2023 10:22:15 GMT
It is proper genre comedy. The genre in question being romantic comedy. If he was acting like Jim Carrey in Liar, Liar (or most of his comedies) or being a complete goofball for the whole movie, he'd be failing the assignment. Denzel gives everything a romantic comedy lead needs to be. He's charming as he needs to be, occasionally silly, but not too much so that he turns off the women in the audience he's supposed to be appealing to. And the comedic timing is there when it needs to be. The balance is there. It's a very, very good rom-com performance. High level. Like I said, it's obvious Denzel could have successfully milked the genre to death and made a killing, the way Matthew McConaughey did before he started taking his career seriously. No one ever claimed Washington was Buster Keaton or Eddie Murphy in the broad comedy stakes . But he's clearly capable of being an idealised romantic comedy lead. And whether you like The Preacher's Wife or not (that film would never be this board's cup of tea ) it's clearly held up as a beloved classic in it's genre by people who do like that sort of thing. So the claim that he's never had any successful comedy films (and rom-coms do count) are patently false. There are different kinds of comedy. Being a good romantic comedy lead isn't about yukking it up and trying to crack jokes every second. You need to give the right kind of comedic performance in the kind of comedy you are in. Here's an example... Will Ferrell is a great comedic actor, but I don't think he's a great romantic comedy lead, because he's too goofy and struggles to get the balance right. Doing what Washington did in The Preacher's Wife isn't neccesarily as simple as you make out, especially if it doesn't come naturally. I'd argue that DDL would really struggle to do it anywhere as well ( his biggest problem with his casting in Nine. He needed a lighter comic touch in that role, which I just don't think comes naturally to him). I disagree about A Room With View, but respect your opinion. Thanks for the reasonable response! I guess I just have a problem with the movie itself - it's positioned as a romantic comedy but it barely gives Denzel any opportunities to really dive into that because it's just all over the place with its subplots. There's no focus. Felt to me like most of it was Courtney B. Vance running around and solving his problems with occasional scenes of Denzel kinda falling for Whitney Houston, most of which is relegated to the second half of the lethargic two hours. I'm sure he would've killed it had he been given more chances to turn on his rom-com engine but those moments are way too sporadic. Like Mike (hehe), I first think about Much Ado when it comes to him being properly comedic. Although I haven't seen it in years. As with most things, your enjoyment of a movie may determine how you feel about all aspects of the movie. Coincidentally enough, there was an hour long podcast released a few days ago from Hit Factory about The Preacher's Wife. They liked it a lot more than you did, and subsequently were a lot more impressed by Denzel's performance and his skill as a light comedian than you. They praise his comedic timing, and especially his dancing scene in Lionel Richie's club. They act like it's one of the funniest things they've ever seen That movie and his performance hits for them in a big way, particularly since the people on the podcast had mostly only seen him in intense dramatic parts like Malcolm X and Training Day (and like me they don't really see it as evidence of him doing comedy, just because his character can be funny) . For them it's such a complete and successful change of pace for Washington, that they say he's "the complete packgage" (ie, he can do everything, comedy included). They do however point out like you, that Much Ado About Nothing is probably the only comparable role they've seen him in, due to the lightness of touch and the fact that it's also a comedy (albeit a Shakespearean one). But personally, I think Denzel is showcasing a lot more light comedy skill in The Preacher's Wife than in Much Ado. He's light and amusing in Much Ado About Nothing in parts, but other's are doing more of the comedic heavy lifting in that film. If Denzel doesn't pull it off as a light comedic lead in The Preacher's Wife, that movie isn't getting on lists like Rolling Stone's 30 Greatest Christmas Movies Of All Time or become the beloved holiday staple it is today. Anyway, it's a good podcast. Might add a bit more to your perspective about the film:
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