Word: laughed
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...supposed to be going; he is the only spokesman for his misadventures and he says he feels better and better. But along the way, Everett's novel develops a severe case of enforced sit-com wackiness. Jokes wag the tale; characters seem willing to do anything for a laugh track. -By Paul Gray
Many politicians are natural performers (Glenn is a notable exception), as hungry for audience approval as any Las Vegas comic. "It's a very heady experience when you get people to laugh," says Buchwald. Reagan, of course, spent most of his life performing. There is a humor specialist among the six White House speechwriters, but Reagan is apt to crack his own jokes spontaneously, as he did with mixed success last week...
...court jesters believe jokes are being overused. "I think it's a mistake for [Reagan] to use humor as much as he does," says Orben, who worked full time for Gerald Ford. "Humor is great, but people now want solutions." Yet they also like to laugh. "Whatever else an American believes or disbelieves about himself," E.B. White wrote, "he is absolutely sure he has a sense of humor." So why shouldn't the Commander in Chief have one too? Says Drayne: "Presidents without a sense of humor make me nervous...
Even such tired schticks as the magic fingers bed gone haywire, the supermacho highway patrolman sniveling over a small animal, and the kids catching mom and dad making whoopie, bring a laugh because Chase and Beverly D'Angelo (Mrs. Cariswold) do not try to overplay the scenes...
Chase is another story altogether. Given a script for the first time that is not inane, he does not have to resort to his own antics to get the laugh. The performance is his best since he left Saturday Night because he plays a character--not himself. This is not a Chevy Chase movie, as were his past star vehicles with dwarves and dogs and the like. If Chase lacks a distinctive comic persona, his schlep routine served him well as the cause of his success. But it has also revealed his limitations as an actor. When Chase's characters...