Word: comic
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...Smith, but they peter out. There are promising hints of giddiness in Farrow's lovelorn posturings, but they too get lost in the toils of the plotting, and nothing much comes of doctor, lawyer or Communist. Even Poirot's fastidiousness and egocentricity are not used to full comic effect, Shaffer electing to go for the easy, running gags that involve the traditional difficulties of the British with the French language and everyone's insistence on confusing Poirot's accent with his nationality-he's Belgian, as he has to keep reminding them...
Although Jews constitute only 3% of the U.S. population, 80% of the nation's professional comedians are Jewish. Why such domination of American humor? New York City Psychologist Samuel Janus, who once did a yearlong stint as a stand-up comic, thinks that he has the answer: Jewish humor is born of depression and alienation from the general culture. For Jewish comedians, he told the recent annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, "comedy is a defense mechanism to ward off the aggression and hostility of others...
...angriest and most frustrated Jewish comedians, according to Janus, are the "Catskill comics" who have never been able to break away from the Jewish resort circuit and play to outside audiences. Says the psychologist: "There are 30 to 40 of them you've never heard of, all making over $100,000 a year. They all say, 'Don't mention me as a Catskill comic...
Mayron as Susan, on the other hand, simply charms the camera. She may not look as good as Jill Clayburgh in bikini panties and t-shirt, but she is by far the superior comic actress. Who else could convincingly pull off a brief affair with a 50-year-old rabbi? She's not only good with a funny line; she uses her extraordinarily expressive face and body, too, captivating Rabbi Gold (Eli Wallach), and the audience as well...
...critics have tried to treat the film as a sophisticated surrealistic masterpiece; that kind of analysis, while plausible, just misses the point. Duck Soup works because it whisks away the hypocritical veneer of rationality which policymakers too often use to conceal the real meaning of their actions; like all comic materpieces, it reveals truths the existence of which we find discomforting...