RE: The Last Movie You Watched
July 17, 2022 at 4:07 pm
(This post was last modified: July 17, 2022 at 4:19 pm by Rev. Rye.)
This week in the Deep Hurting Project, I was hoping to take on the 1998 Avengers movie, but the VPN crapped out after about ten minutes and it's basically just the most stereotypical British spy thriller in history. At least for the 10 minutes I watched it before ExpressVPN's Japanese server crapped out and I couldn't watch it.
So, this week, I'm on my backup, Joe Piscopo: A Night at Club Piscopo. For the record, Piscopo was one of the many former cast members of SNL whose career peaked on the show. But his time was too early for him to just coast on Happy Madison movies. Indeed, during the darkest days of the series, he was one of the few saving graces of the show. Well, him and Eddie Murphy. And once Eddie Murphy left the show for greener pastures, Piscopo's left adrift. So, he ends up wallowing in obscurity. And in 2012, Showtime decides to film two nights of his nightclub act. I actually watched King of Comedy because one of the few reviews of the special I could find compared Piscopo in this special to Rupert Pupkin. But, then again, when that movie actually gets to show Pupkin's act, it's at least a little bit funny.
This special, despite everything I've just mentioned about how Piscopo is potentially talented, is extremely dull. There's some SNL stories, but they're not all that interesting. There's stories about how he met some celebrities who seemed to just barely tolerate him, whether it's Sinatra or Jay-Z. And frustratingly, the flow is broken up by these stupid fucking interview spots that barely have anything to do with anything. And while he does have a good point about how frustrating it can be to get copyright to cover some songs, when he gets into the subject, you come to the realisation that a lot of this set is just going to be him covering public domain songs in the style of artists like Frank Sinatra and Johnny Cash. I strongly suspect that for the prices Joe Piscopo charged, you could probably get a better Sinatra (&c) impersonator and he'd even play the proper songs. And after about a third of the special goes on, you start to figure out that it's just going to be songs and lead-up to songs. At one point, they even have him rapping and even Brian Wilson made a better rapper than Joe Piscopo:
And when he does his Letterman impersonation, I find myself wishing for the public domain songs yet again. Though, I have to admit, his cover of Gymnopedie #1 on flute is at least barely passable. And he's also a somewhat better pianist, though his sax leaves much to be desired. And the special ends with him impersonating Johnny Cash and running the line "just to watch him die" straight into the ground. Next week is Shark Week so it's Shark Exorcist.
So, this week, I'm on my backup, Joe Piscopo: A Night at Club Piscopo. For the record, Piscopo was one of the many former cast members of SNL whose career peaked on the show. But his time was too early for him to just coast on Happy Madison movies. Indeed, during the darkest days of the series, he was one of the few saving graces of the show. Well, him and Eddie Murphy. And once Eddie Murphy left the show for greener pastures, Piscopo's left adrift. So, he ends up wallowing in obscurity. And in 2012, Showtime decides to film two nights of his nightclub act. I actually watched King of Comedy because one of the few reviews of the special I could find compared Piscopo in this special to Rupert Pupkin. But, then again, when that movie actually gets to show Pupkin's act, it's at least a little bit funny.
This special, despite everything I've just mentioned about how Piscopo is potentially talented, is extremely dull. There's some SNL stories, but they're not all that interesting. There's stories about how he met some celebrities who seemed to just barely tolerate him, whether it's Sinatra or Jay-Z. And frustratingly, the flow is broken up by these stupid fucking interview spots that barely have anything to do with anything. And while he does have a good point about how frustrating it can be to get copyright to cover some songs, when he gets into the subject, you come to the realisation that a lot of this set is just going to be him covering public domain songs in the style of artists like Frank Sinatra and Johnny Cash. I strongly suspect that for the prices Joe Piscopo charged, you could probably get a better Sinatra (&c) impersonator and he'd even play the proper songs. And after about a third of the special goes on, you start to figure out that it's just going to be songs and lead-up to songs. At one point, they even have him rapping and even Brian Wilson made a better rapper than Joe Piscopo:
And when he does his Letterman impersonation, I find myself wishing for the public domain songs yet again. Though, I have to admit, his cover of Gymnopedie #1 on flute is at least barely passable. And he's also a somewhat better pianist, though his sax leaves much to be desired. And the special ends with him impersonating Johnny Cash and running the line "just to watch him die" straight into the ground. Next week is Shark Week so it's Shark Exorcist.
Comparing the Universal Oneness of All Life to Yo Mama since 2010.
I was born with the gift of laughter and a sense the world is mad.
I was born with the gift of laughter and a sense the world is mad.