There’s no doubt that Chris Kattan‘s Corky Romano will get at least some, if not many, scathing reviews from movie critics. Especially from those movie critics who consider themselves above the level of humor that stupid, gross-out comedy movies represent. (Do you hear me New Yorker magazine?) I am willing to bet that most of these condescending pans will say that Kattan is as talentless as he is idiotic.
Certainly Romano has its weird, clunky moments, but it won’t even come close to being the most reviled movie of the year. That honor is reserved for Tom Green‘s Freddy Got Fingered, which received an incredible amount of bad press, with one notable exception, A.O. Scott of The New York Times.
Surprisingly, Scott called Green an artist. Even more surprisingly, Scott may be on to something.
Green–like Ben Stiller in Zoolander and Kattan in Romano–has hit on the fact that there is a void in the media today. No longer is there a segment of the media that takes our collective prejudices and fears and turns them on their heads, revealing to us our own lunacy.
In the ’50s and ’60s, sci-fi movies (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Thing) helped illuminate our cold-war phobias. TV took over in the ’70s with shows like All in The Family and Three’s Company blasting the facade covering our racial prejudices and sexual prudishness.
Those moving pictures helped us realize that while we may find our desires revolting and our fears unspeakably horrifying, at the same time we gratify those self-same needs. It seems that base, crass, lowbrow fare may have taken up the slack.
It’s not to say that all stupid, gross-out comedies are good, but perhaps they are needed.
In Tomcats, for example, a group of guy pals go into shock and vow to stay single for life after attending a friend’s wedding. Though the film has very few redeeming qualities, it plays on one of men’s greatest phobias: the fear of commitment.
Okay, the subject matter is not dealt with in the most intelligent manner, but it does strike a familiar cord with single men across the nation. And Tomcats certainly speaks to the male population of this country more directly than Nine Months or Four Weddings and a Funeral.
The successful teen comedy American Pie not only brings up the important issues of male virginity, it also opens the door to talking about teen sexuality, something on every teen’s mind. Besides, it also acts as a counterbalance to the abstinence stance taken by teen pop idols such as Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson.
Apart from bringing important issues to light that might otherwise remain in the shadows, these movies also make us laugh.
Eddie Murphy‘s Sherman Klump also makes us laugh.
A victim of his own obesity, Klump tries everything imaginable to shed some of those pesky 400 pounds. In doing so, he makes us aware that being the fat man on campus isn’t easy. It also highlights the Nutty Professor’s constant battles with addiction and self-image. Klump substitutes love with comfort food–and pays the price–but ultimately shows that being thin does not make him a better person.
In The Animal, Rob Schneider‘s character is constantly getting beaten up or picked on by co-workers, neighbors, seniors and dogs. He’s a nice guy who just can’t do anything right–and that’s fun. However, as much as we laugh at his inability to stand up for himself, we also are forced to realize that maybe we need a little more self-confidence ourselves.
Bullies are bullies, even if they’re 85-years-old.
Gross-out movies may be tasteless at times and they may be even somewhat humorless. But what they never fail to do is push the boundaries of what is common or accepted. And perhaps that’s just what we need–to be hit in the face with tasteless humor–to remind us of exactly what our prejudices are and what issues we need to examine more closely.
Hollywood.com staffer Guylaine Cadorette contributed to this feature
