In the words of the often-overquoted Sigmund Freud, "sometimes a banana... is just a banana."
The entire overwrought and overlong skit is simply the setup for Alex Borstein to deliver her "the phone just rang and rang" line and for Marlee Matlin to flip her off. Nothing more. Seriously. That's all it is.
I'm pretty sure I wrote this skit over 25 years ago for a high school drama class. We didn't really shred things back then, perhaps someone found my script in a dumpster and gave it to Seth McFarlane. Yep, that explains it perfectly. #sethmacfarlane
WOW!!!! They were politically incorrect!!!! Political incorrectness is a sacred, elusive deity who can cure cancer, impregnate Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie simultaneously and grow your penis to the size of a baseball bat!!!! Seth McFarlane has seriously big balls!!!!! Alex Borstein is a Cool Chick!!!! Wait, inspiration just struck me!!!!
Holocaustbabyrapeusedtampon!!!!
OMG!!! Now I'm a Funny Genius Free Speech Champion American Hero too!!!!
I will now laugh at how quadriplegics suck at driving. This will make me an Officially Cool Person. Lesser beings, don't forget to high-five each other before you orgasm from the sheer hilarity. And from now on, greet each other with "Deaf people are stupid cos they're like deaf and shit". Every time you say this, a humorless feminist will spontaneously abort her fetus. Hey, you fucking girl, that's a joke. Because it's politically incorrect, you libtard. Look at me mom, I just offended those people!!!! Wow Political Incorrectness, I just came all over my keyboard from that glorious exercise in masturbationand you just bought me a new house?? You are the greatest of demi-gods for a ballsy iconoclast such as myself. #sethmacfarlane
I thought, overall, that the skit was pretty reverent of Matlin. Borstein name-checked her accomplishments, Matlin illustrated just how crude and simplistic it is to caricature the speaking voice of the deaf through her broad imitation of Borstein, and in the end it was the original butt of the joke who got the last laugh. Not breakthrough stuff, but still, Matlin left the stage with not only her basic dignity intact, but as a real star in her own right.
It's not what I'd call High Art (like maybe the Def Poetry vid I'm including, which is insanely awesome, and also features an imitation of deaf speech), but I think the sketch was respectful, substantive, and funny. #sethmacfarlane
The only joke I found crossed the line was the notion that if it wasn't for the Holocaust, Alex Borstein and Sarah Silverman would have had a lot more competition, so they should be thankful it happened. Wow, trying to put a positive spin on the Holocaust - that's trying to be shocking, not funny #sethmacfarlane
@weekly: That and the whole Edelweiss thing - just so damn weak. And their collective smugness at how edgy they are. Singing. On national television. On Sunday night. On a major network. *eyeroll* #sethmacfarlane
I do kinda love the commentors who take offense at this. What part of "politically incorrect" + "deaf actress Marlee Matlin" = "feel bad about laughing" didn't maybe tip you off not to, umm, click on it? #sethmacfarlane
@manchops: it's not offensive because of alleged political incorrectness (which balloon they pretty much deflated by bringing Matlin herself on). It's offensive because it's not funny, and the fact that they think we're going to think it's funny means that they must think we're all kind of dim. #sethmacfarlane
There is a parallel universe where Seth MacFarlane and Alex Bornstein are considered wildly funny, but that is because they are the only two inhabitants of said universe. #sethmacfarlane
You seriously thought that was funny? That was terrible. The whole freaking show was terrible. Seth Macfarlane's only bankable talent is in his voice acting and probably singing. Neither of which I care for. #sethmacfarlane
How unfunny was this whole show? Very. And the Marlee Matlin bit was the low spot of the whole thing--I wasn't offended, it just wasn't funny. #sethmacfarlane
Someone really needs to tell MacFarlane that no one watches anything he does because they like him singing songs. The singing was the most boring part of a mostly unfunny show. #sethmacfarlane
@yikes: thanks-- I thought the same thing. The whole show was just, well, not funny. I'm not the biggest Family Guy fan, but I enjoy it when it's on. This-- this was just terrible, though. It seemed like just the thing they would make fun of on the cartoon.
It seems like Adrian is trying to explain why this is funny. I thought the golden rule of humor is that if you have to explain why something's funny, then it probably isn't funny.
Smarmy white guy makes good, gets swelled head, goes overboard, implodes in front of millions.
He should have calmed down after American Dad. The Cleveland Show isn't that funny, nor does it look sustainable for a long-term run. As for this odd half-hour, I turned it off once Alex started doing Marlee's "Poker Face". It had already gone off-the-charts bad by then. The fact that Matlin was waiting backstage to help out doesn't suddenly make it funny. In fact, while I've loved Matlin's work, I find her decision to do this a little bizarre.
Stay tuned for Seth's meltdown, followed by a confessional book and interview with Katie Couric, probably in record time.
In summary, if a joke is so artichoke-like in its layers that writers have to explain to the audience why they should have thought it was brilliantly funny, it's not worth the trouble.
The only thing about MacFarlane that's offensive are his attempts to label himself as a geek and relate to his fan base, all while sporting veneers and a Mystic Tan.
@noonecaresowen: I once sold Seth MacFarlane a pair of sunglasses when I worked at Bergdorf Goodman and you're totally right: he's not some cool-funny-smart pot-head geek, he's some horribly fake-tanned, teeth-capped, smelling like Drakar Noir douchey kind of guy. He was also with some bimbo who I am sure is the basis for the Jillian character on Family Guy. #sethmacfarlane
11/09/09
The entire overwrought and overlong skit is simply the setup for Alex Borstein to deliver her "the phone just rang and rang" line and for Marlee Matlin to flip her off. Nothing more. Seriously. That's all it is.
I'm pretty sure I wrote this skit over 25 years ago for a high school drama class. We didn't really shred things back then, perhaps someone found my script in a dumpster and gave it to Seth McFarlane. Yep, that explains it perfectly. #sethmacfarlane
11/09/09
Holocaustbabyrapeusedtampon!!!!
OMG!!! Now I'm a Funny Genius Free Speech Champion American Hero too!!!!
I will now laugh at how quadriplegics suck at driving. This will make me an Officially Cool Person. Lesser beings, don't forget to high-five each other before you orgasm from the sheer hilarity. And from now on, greet each other with "Deaf people are stupid cos they're like deaf and shit". Every time you say this, a humorless feminist will spontaneously abort her fetus. Hey, you fucking girl, that's a joke. Because it's politically incorrect, you libtard. Look at me mom, I just offended those people!!!! Wow Political Incorrectness, I just came all over my keyboard from that glorious exercise in masturbationand you just bought me a new house?? You are the greatest of demi-gods for a ballsy iconoclast such as myself. #sethmacfarlane
11/09/09
11/09/09
It's not what I'd call High Art (like maybe the Def Poetry vid I'm including, which is insanely awesome, and also features an imitation of deaf speech), but I think the sketch was respectful, substantive, and funny. #sethmacfarlane
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What are we, in middle school? Did someone just tell a dead baby joke? #sethmacfarlane
11/09/09
Oh, and the Cleveland Show blows. #sethmacfarlane
11/09/09
oh, i'm going to hell, aren't I? guffaw.
11/09/09
Essence Magazine Video Application = funny. Clips above = "meta-jokes" ≠ funny. #sethmacfarlane
11/09/09
He should have calmed down after American Dad. The Cleveland Show isn't that funny, nor does it look sustainable for a long-term run. As for this odd half-hour, I turned it off once Alex started doing Marlee's "Poker Face". It had already gone off-the-charts bad by then. The fact that Matlin was waiting backstage to help out doesn't suddenly make it funny. In fact, while I've loved Matlin's work, I find her decision to do this a little bizarre.
Stay tuned for Seth's meltdown, followed by a confessional book and interview with Katie Couric, probably in record time.
In summary, if a joke is so artichoke-like in its layers that writers have to explain to the audience why they should have thought it was brilliantly funny, it's not worth the trouble.
11/09/09
11/09/09