Wednesday, November 2, 2011

(perfunctory blog post) PLAY IT AGAIN, BOB!

Woody Allen (Rick Moranis) and Bob Hope (Dave Thomas) talk comedy in Play it Again, Bob.

While I am wallowing in NaNoWriMo hell, I thought I'd put a little something new on the blog today. And by new, I mean three decades old. It's a sketch from SCTV entitled "Play It Again, Bob," and I think it's an all-time comedy masterpiece. It's a parody of Play It Again, Sam the play (and later film) in which Woody Allen's nebbishy character receives romantic advice from the ghost of Humphrey Bogart, his idol. In this skit, the real-life Allen (played by Rick Moranis) wants to collaborate on a film with one of his comedic idols, Bob Hope (played by Dave Thomas). It quickly develops that Woody and Bob are not compatible, and the skit documents their clash of wills. I can't say enough good things about "Play It Again, Bob." The performances by Thomas and Moranis are eerily good, and the writing is spot-on. It's weird to think that these two jokers are also the McKenzie Brothers of Strange Brew fame. Be on the lookout for a nice supporting turn by Joe Flaherty as Bing Crosby.




Current NaNoWriMo word count: 863. Not good.