Matt Shea
RubySoho
Morgan Bell
Cibbuano
David O'Connell
Mountain Fog
Jerry Seinfeld's Bee Movie
November 19th 2007 23:00
Seinfeld, to me, is one of the masters of comedy without vulgarity. After Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock, it seemed inevitable that comedy was going to be dirty and foulmouthed, but Seinfeld has always walked on his side of the line.
The advantage of playing that game is, naturally, that it's a stable long-term strategy... Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy and Steve Martin have all disappointed their critical fans by playing to the broader family market, and even Richard Pryor went weird in Superman III.
Seinfeld, on the other hand, has been nearly universally heralded as one of the greatest comedians of our time. I listened to a bootleg cassette of his farewell comedy performance, I'm Telling You For The Last Time, one rainy night in Montreal, and it blew me away how effortlessly he hit perfect timing and intonation.
The other appeal of Jerry Seinfeld, to me, is that he's never 'on' or 'turning it up'... he is who he is: Jerry Seinfeld. I'm reminded of a bit on the show:
"Jerry: I don't have to be funny, I don't care.
George: You don't?
Jerry: No way! It's completely under my control.
Elaine: No, it's not. You cannot not be funny.
Jerry: Of course I can, am I being funny now?
Elaine: A little.
Jerry: Oh, this is funny? I'm being funny?
Elaine: Yeah.
Jerry: George, is this funny?
George: It's funny! (To Elaine) and it wouldn't kill you to not be so funny
either."
That defines Seinfeld. He's funny, all the time.
Bee Movie reflects all these sensibilities... on one hand, it's a classic Dreamworks animation: kid-friendly characters, bright colours, silly slapstick, but with enough nudge-nudge humour for the adults. The secret X-factor is Seinfeld, who starts off a little slow at the start of the movie, but by the end, he's getting laughs by the pound.
A vague storyline would be: Seinfeld voices Barry B. Benson, a bee who rebels against the status quo and talks to a human, voiced by Renee Zellweger, then sues the entire human race for stealing honey from bees.
The animation is so appealing that everything seems edible. The honey factory in the hive is outstanding, with bright colours and all that delicious, sweet sweet honey everywhere. I've got half a mind to stick my fist into a bee hive and suck the nectar off my wrist after seeing this movie.
All around me in the State Theatre, little children were laughing gleefully at the silly characters making faces and the bees getting knocked around. The sound of laughing children can be ominous at times, but in the echoes of these hallowed halls, it was almost festive.
I was expecting bad things from this movie, perhaps because all the media hype surrounding it was giving me a dull ache in my frontal lobe, but I surprised myself by spurting out laughter, often with the crowd, but sometimes in utter silence. Was I alone in my enjoyment - or did I appreciate something under the current?
Bee Movie turns out to be a delightful movie, one for the kids, but with enough humour, some of it subtle, to keep you interested. While the fresh colours and joyriding flight scenes may be uplifitng in the dreary black winter of North America, it's almost a taste of things to come in Sydney, as we're on the tiptoe of another gorgeous harbourside summer.
I say: I'd be thrilled to take my kids to this movie, and we'd snicker and knee-slap until we choked on over-buttery popcorn.
See it for: Food is looking good these days in CGI... the cake and the sugar cube look divine!
*this image is from IMDb
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Comment by Damo
Kidding.
I was told years ago of a story about a comedian who was criticized for not telling dirty jokes. His reply was that was what comedians do when they are no longer funny. He said that he was still funny.
Crap story anyway.
Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
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Fat Cult
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Comment by Damo
Irony for America was such a rarity before he came along.
Comment by KylieW
Celebrity Obsession
Comment by Jickle
I'm kind of curious about this film though, despite the mediocre reviews.
Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
kylie, yes, a lot of skill. He works the audience really, really well.
jickle, you didn't like his standup? Well, he's finetuned it for years.. the final result is pretty good, I feel. Also, he's very comfortable in front of a crowd, which makes it easy for him to deliver lines...
Comment by Miss Natalie
Comment by Miswanderlust
Killer Beats
Ramble On
Hipnotherapy
I adored this movie so much. Well done post. I agree 100%
Mis
Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Comment by Miswanderlust
Killer Beats
Ramble On
Hipnotherapy
It was VERY enjoyable!
Mis
Comment by Anonymous