Mike Myers is BACK, BABY!

[Valeyard]

A 90ish minute Sprockets movie. I liked Sprockets a lot but man.

 

[Incandenza]

The best thing Myers has ever done:

My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low-grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a 15-year-old French prostitute named Chloe, with webbed feet. My father would womanize, he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy. The sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament. My childhood was typical. Summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring, we'd make meat helmets. When I was insolent, I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds. Pretty standard really. At the age of 12, I received my first scribe. At the age of 14, a Zoroastrian named Vilma ritualistically shaved my testicles. There really is nothing like a shorn scrotum. It's breathtaking. I suggest you try it.

 

[geniusMoment]

I think Myers being much funnier in his 20s and 30s isn't really unusual though. I kinda think that's the general pattern in life in general. I feel like you could make a similar thread about most comedians and most of their good stuff was earlier in life.

Eddie Murphy
Adam Sandler
Dan Aykroyd
etc...

Even people who held on to that comedic wit longer eventually aged out by about 50.

Letterman
Stern
Carrey

Sure, rarely you have a Bill Murray or a Paula Poundstone. But, even Murray after 50 transitioned into some dramatic roles and the comedy he was involved in changed.

So, yeah, chances are a comedy involving a 58-year-old Mike Myers will suck.

 

[King Kamala]

More like AgeistMoment am I right, folks?

 

[Dandy]

28 - 32 is prime. After that, you decline.
Do you acknowledge this?

 

[geniusMoment]

28 - 32 is prime. After that, you decline.
Do you acknowledge this?

Actually, below are the official rankings:

Rock Star--prime 22-27
Comedian -- prime 27-35
Athlete -- prime 23-28
Pro Wrestler -- prime 28-35
IWC forum poster -- prime 18-25

 

[Epic Springs]

So literally every poster here is over the hill? I've been on a comeback tour since 2015!

 

[geniusMoment]

So literally every poster here is over the hill? I've been on a comeback tour since 2015!

Unfortunately, officially, yes. Nothing I can do about it.

 

[King Kamala]

Ageism accusations aside, I would say most stand up comedians peak after 35. And there plenty of great stand up comedians who are 50 and older. Eddie Murphy-esque prodigies aside, you normally need a lot of life experience and perspective (plus a healthy dose of cyncism and failure that come with age) to become a truly elite level stand up.

I think issue with film comedians as they age is a lot of movie comedy is based on looking and acting like an ass, which is socially acceptable when you're in your 20s and even up to your mid 30s or so but everyone gets annoyed as hell usually when a middle aged guy acts goofy and wacky.

 

[geniusMoment]

I think for anything involving creativity 50 is a big point. It's also harder for people over 50 to understand and grasp current pop culture in the way someone in their mid 20s does, so that probably plays a role.

 

[King Kamala]

Rodney Dangerfield didn't make his first TV appearance until he was in his late 40s and he didn't become a superstar until he was in his late 50s. I feel like age effects your ability to relate to the massive mainstream media but there's plenty of great, writers, and directors in their silver and even golden years. I'm certainly not gonna tell Scorsese to fuck off forever and go feed the pigeons.

 

[geniusMoment]

I mean there are exceptions, but I think in general most people over 50 would tell you they don't have the same creativity and energy that they had in their 20s. There is a reason what Rodney did is so rare.

It's one thing if you are already a star and you're just doing what you've done for the past 30 years. But, to totally reinvent yourself at that point is hard. Same with striking it big for the first time with a breakthrough in comedy.

 

[King Kamala]

Successful older people are definitely the exception and not the rule (and I think a lot of it can be attributed to society's ageism as much as anything) but I think wisdom and lived experience sometimes can make up for the loss of energy and vitality.

 

[geniusMoment]

I think part of it is also comedy many times doesn't age well. It's really a time and place art (kinda like wrestling).

So as society changes it is probably harder for someone like Mike Myers to have his finger on the pulse of what is funny compared to when he wrote Wayne's World.

 

[cobainwasmurdered]

The best comedy (like the best wrestling) is timeless though. It doesn't matter what year it is, Buster Keaton trying to build a house is hilarious.

 

[Valeyard]

I have no problem with things getting dated historically, but I have a problem with shticks that won't even try. Mike Myers doesn't seem like a guy who would evolve, or could evolve.

 

[geniusMoment]

I'm not the biggest fan, but man, I didn't realize this place had such ill will toward Mike. Is it mainly the attitude issues or the annoying aspect of his comedy that caused it?

 

[Valeyard]

He isn't Scottish so he's crap

 

[geniusMoment]

Take all the movies and other stuff out. What are your thoughts on SNL Myers? Sprockets, Wayne's World etc...

 

[Valeyard]

Except for Wayne's World his SNL run got hurt by the movies. There are literally line-for-line jokes that made it into an Austin Powers movie or something if you watch his whole run, basically every other bit where he uses an accent. Wayne's World doesn't age all that much, but I don't mind a lot of Sprockets in moderation (Dieter's Dream is a top ten SNL bit for me). I can't fucking stand Coffee Talk. He's also one of those who stayed too long and the style sticks out huge in the later seasons.

That bit with Mick Jagger is great, too.