05/08/2009
I’m going to have to disagree. I think it’s pretty decent take on an accepted joke form. Weird Al of course works almost exclusively with in the song parody form — but I don’t see a problem with him doing a spin on the “legendary man” joke too. Charles Nelson Riley himself is a decent punchline — I once got his autograph as a gift for my parents 25th wedding anniversary,
Congrats Mike and Karen.
25 years, WOW!!!!
Charles Nelson Riley
I think that’s funny, so I guess you might say I’m biased. To me CNR is good addition to the pantheon of “legendary men” jokes.
Brad Neely’s work is certainly near the top of the heap. Washington was really funny. So was JFK.
Bill Brasky is great too, I think because it added so much to the form and didn’t depend on preconceived notions of the character to be funny. The joke was based on preconceived notions of old drunk accountants or real estate agents or salesmen — although that became a little less important in the later sketches.
The Chuck Norris thing got out of control and overplayed for sure — but it’s a great meme, that in it’s own way challenges you to come up with something that’s not on the list. To me, it’s akin to developing a new “yo, mama” joke — the form itself becomes so trite and overplayed you have to switch the script a bit to keep it funny. The problem with a meme is that you have to wade through all the junk that doesn’t work to get the real gems.
As with anything, some attempts are more successful than others, but I still think form has some legs. For example, did you know that all squirrels can fly, but most choose not to out of deference to Steve Bekkala’s air supremacy?
Again, some work better than others.
In closing and in summation, I think “CNR” is pretty successful. The video adds a lot to the song and imo the whole thing is worth it for the “giddy up Gene” joke.
Last but not least, there is nothing less funny than the dissection of a joke — so I apologize.
Carry on.
“Weird Al” Yankovic - CNR
I have mixed feelings about this, which surprises me as much as having feelings about it at all surprises. One: i like the White Stripes, but why not write a song about how crazy and weird they are? Have some balls, Al.
Two: I like Charles Nelson Reily and think making him into a folk hero is funny, but it’s just a rip off of George Washington. He just switched around what animals are used in the jokes.
Three: I loved Weird Al when I was 10 and wonder what he would have thought of this. Would this have been my summer jam?
Video posted at 13:41
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