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When it comes to comedic parody, few rival Christopher Guest. Sasha Baron Cohen, perhaps; Peter Sellers, certainly. But when it comes to musical parody, nobody holds a candle. (Sorry, “Weird” Al.) Check out these four wildly disparate songs, all parodically pitch-perfect and played with the straightest face imaginable. Not only do they parody a musical genre, they way they’re shot and designed parody the eras which produced the genres he parodies. (Whew!) We should also mention that these songs are collaborations with Michael McKean and Harry Shearer, brilliant comedians in their own right, and Guest film regulars.
“(Listen to) The Flower People”
“Hell Hole”
More after the jump!
“Eat at Joe’s”
“Square Dance”
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actually, that last clip is, according to the dialogue in the movie, called “covered wagons.”
(sorry–just had to point that out, as waiting for guffman is, in my humble opinion, the most entertaining and wonderful movie ever made.)
posted by Kay on 1-19-2007 at 3:31 pm
Actually, the proper way to write it is “Weird Al,” not “Weird” Al. (Loser status confirmed.)
posted by Sillstaw on 1-21-2007 at 9:02 pm
What’s that noise? Oh, it’s Peter Sellers giving you a raspberry from the grave.
No offense to Ransom or anyone else who likes Sasha Baron Cohen, but I thought “Borat” was about the least humorous comedy film I’d seen in several years. And I like almost ALL types of humor. I even think Emo Phillips and Bobcat Goldthwait are funny. Heck, I laughed whenever Morey Amsterdam pulled out his cello on “The Dick Van Dyke Show.”
But “Borat” just bored me to tears. I laughed once or twice, but not out loud. I love “mockumentaries,” too. All of Guest’s are brilliant… even “Drop Dead Gorgeous” is pretty hilarious, IMHO.
Sigh… maybe I’m just getting old.
Regardless, here’s a prediction: The 2014 Borat comeback tour, with special guest stars Yahoo Serious and the Unknown Comic.
posted by Sandy on 1-22-2007 at 8:31 am
I’ve been a Christopher Guest fan for a very long time…anyone remember his recurring skits on SNL with Billy Crystal? Those two guys who were always injuring themselves? (”Yeah, so I decided to sniff the sink, and then I flipped on the garbage disposal. Eew, I hate when that happens.” Spinal Tap, Guffman, et al, are classics, and to mention that one-note Borax or whatever his name is in the same breath is just….wrong.
(I notice some current TV commercial is using Spinal Tap’s “Gimme Some Money” as its hook – how cool is that?)
posted by Oriole on 1-22-2007 at 2:43 pm
“Waiting for Guffman” is genius, however, as is “Best in Show.”
Whenever I send Kara out on an errand, I always toss out the line from the movie with the list of vital road-trip instructions: “If you get tired, pull over. If you get hungry, eat something.”
Weird how that doesn’t sound funny by itself. In context of the film, though, it’s hilarious.
posted by Sandy on 1-22-2007 at 2:57 pm
bad news, not even one of those videos is still playing.
posted by moonablaze on 12-24-2007 at 9:32 pm