Physical Comedy

I had a nice weekend. On Friday night I visited music friends who have an outdoor theater. They rented The Three Stooges movie, and five or six people came over and we sat around a fire and watched it.

At one point during the evening I felt a huge slimy thing on my leg. It was crazy. It was so huge and slimy I started screaming. In my hysteria I exclaimed there was an alien baby on my leg. People said it was probably a slug, but I'd already peeled it off and flung it somewhere. So I don't know.

The movie was great. The actors playing Moe, Curly, and Larry just nailed their roles. I really enjoyed Moe's character. He is an eccentric bully who fights others in very unconventional ways. His moves were ridiculous and inventive and mesmerizing. I laughed a lot.

There were old-fashioned sound effects used in the fight/scuffle scenes. They were like the sound effects used in Saturday morning cartoons from the 80's. It hyperbolized every pinch, poke, prod, hit, and kick, and whatever other unidentified stooge ninja tactic I saw.

I loved when Moe would get really annoyed by someone, and he would pinch inside that person's nose and pluck out a patch of hair instantly.

I have a new-found respect for physical comedy after seeing this film. I wonder how many times these actors had to rehearse each scene. I wonder how they kept in character throughout the nonsense. They were remarkable. 

While I'm on the topic of physical comedy, I'll give a shout out to Bryan Cranston for his role as Hal (the Dad) in Malcolm in the Middle. Cranston has played more serious roles since then, but I think he does physical comedy best.