Mike Myers’ new movie, “The Love Guru,” opens this week, and reviewers agree that it’s unfunny and painful to sit through. Many reviews are downright antagonistic; A.O. Scott of the N.Y. Times called it “anti-funny.” From the trailer alone, it looks like the humor is more tone-deaf than deft. For my part, Myers’ aggressively energetic style wore thin a few years ago, sometime after Austin Powers 2.
That got me thinking about other leading comedic actors with the same ego-driven style: guys like Myers, Jim Carrey, Eddie Murphy, Robin Williams (and to a lesser extent) Dan Aykroyd, men who battered us with relentless energy and sustained successful films centered around dominant, whacky characters. They all made hit after hit for several years straight. And all of them very suddenly became very not-funny anymore.
What’s more, the tipping point from “hysterical box office gold” to “painful bombast” seems to be right around the 40th birthday. Mike Myers turned 40 in 2003 (“Cat in the Hat,” anyone?). Robin Williams fell off the cliff around “Shakes the Clown,” which happened to land on his 40th in 1991. Dan Aykroyd, same year, same age. Jim Carrey’s rough patch started with “The Grinch” when he was 39. Even Jerry Lewis’ box office hot-streak came to a halt in the mid-60s, right as he was hitting 40. Eddie Murphy had his ups-and-downs, but really nosedived with “Pluto Nash,” “Showtime” and the “Haunted Mansion” in 2001-2002 … when he turned 40.
Why the comedic biological clock for frenetic, ego-driven male stars? It could just be that most comedic actors make it big in their early 30s and after 8-10 years we get tired of their schtick. But most likely, the style humor wears thin, because it is no longer fresh. He can no longer force you to laugh just by strength of will. You can only see a guy mug for the camera so many times before you get inured to it. Satire becomes self-parody and it’s just a guy on the screen making a fool of himself.
Maybe that’s it: maybe making a fool of oneself for a living is a younger man’s game. It’s not cute any more to get winked at when middle age is creeping around those same eyes.
Ben Stiller (43), Adam Sandler (42), and Will Ferrell (40) would seem to be the next guys lined up at the precipice. But Stiller and Sandler both benefit by looking relatively young. Ferrell is hard to dislike, because he understands that the movie isn’t all about himself <<Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy>> and doesn’t seem to take himself so seriously <<Jim Carrey and Robin Williams>>.
Mike Myers should have learned the lesson: when 40 looms, head for ensemble movies and tone it down a notch or two.
Update (June 9, 2009): It looks like Will Farrell can join this infamous gang.
Filed under: Entertainment | Tagged: Comedy
I think this is terrible. The idea that hitting 40 means you are past your prime is offensive and unoriginal. No offense to the blogger; I just think this is a narrow-minded view.
Yes, but women are funnier after 35. So stop complaining.
Are you implying that young women aren’t funny? Is that a shovel in your hand? Is this a graveyard?
Not at all, not at all. Simply that female humor gets better with maturity while sophomoric male humor wears out with age.
(And it’s apples to oranges anyway … the post is only about the specific type of male comedic leading actor who tries to carry whole films on the force of his personality. Fewer female comediennes in that category.)
Are you talking, or is that just the sound of your biological clock ticking?
Kidding, kidding.
I do disagree with you, though.
I was just kidding about the women. The only even marginally relevant point in all of this is that the “personality-driven” male lead comedic stars seem to lose their mojo around 40. That’s it. End of point.
[...] year, I wrote a post about how a lot of leading comedic male actors who thrive on energy or a wacky personality lose their box office mojo in their …. Think Mike Myers, Jim Carrey, Eddie Murphy, Robin Williams, Dan Ackroyd, [...]