Beyond the limits of civility there is a little place that in its native language sounds like "laughing at the SAHD."
And that is where you'll find Alberto Luperon's Stay at Home Dad.
Man (with kids) about town, he has mad social skills
Ironically enough, if you haven't or never plan to grow up, then Grown Ups might be for you. One time fountain of weeny and whiny Saturday Night Live characters, Adam Sandler continues to write himself parts as the outcast hero — in this case mogul husband to dream wife Salma Hayek and dad of two spoiled kids — who, playing out situations that make 10th grade boys and 5th grade girls chuckle, teaches the "normals" how we're all just people.
Sandler
Another Father's Day past. Another Father's Day video adding to the odd but intriguing (and amusing) oeuvre of the Perry Brothers, boys who grew as men to love their father in ways they didn't realize they would as boys.
A movie and near tragedy remind one that a father's death can be comic, but it can never be totally funny.
Getting very mixed reviews is Death at a Funeral, a Hollywood remake of a British comedy about the posthumous unraveling of a man's life — very, very complicated, secretive and slightly scandalous life — and how it unravels his family as well.
In real life, also comic without really being funny, is Mullion' (somewhere near Cornwall) Andrew Wythe, 52, whose life was saved by his son spritzing a bottle of Coke all over him. Wythe set himself aflame while trying to start a fire by using gasoline. Son Nicholas grabbed a 2-liter bottle, shook and sprayed away. Comic? Absolutely. Funny? Not so much.
How much do we blame the fathers for seven minutes of smooth-but-utterly-vacuous?
Years ago Massachusetts senator-elect Scott Brown's father's Bruce was hired by alleged comedian Jay Leno. The Lenos even had a dog named Bruce Brown. The result these many years later is the painful to watch meeting of daddy's boys:
Often, what passes for amusement comes directly from tragedy.
First example is thanks to the Colorado Springs, Colo., son who happened upon his dead dad and, "because he didn't want people to see him that way," puts him out with the trash. Hard as it is to believe when thinking of the what an idiotic criminal would look like, so far the son, who not surprisingly does have priors on his arrest record, has been charged only with tampering with evidence, not yet patricide.
Second, we have the bemusement that comes from poor writing. A Texas marine suffered the horrible tragedy of his premature baby daughter. The day after she came home from the hospital she died. Nothing funny at all about that — in the same way a son who kills his father draws no smiles. However, reduced only to a poorly written headline, A Dallas tv station writes up his memorializing his daughter by running a marathon with the headline, "Marine to Honor Daughter Who Died of SIDS in Marathon." The struggle, of course, is that of a reader trying to understand how a child young enough to die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome was running a marathon, not at all in the wonder of why her father would honor her.
As father-of-four Mark Twain said, "humor is tragedy plus time," to which he might also have added "distance" as that does seem to make it all safer.
Fathers and children may role play — one a businessman by day, the other a daytime math student, for example — but ultimately they are who they are. So it is when Mike and Jessica Weiss (South Brunswick, N.J., father and daughter combo of "Grandma Hates Technology") take to the stage. They improvise a variety of situations with comedy as a goal, but their relationship always comes through, and no time more truly for the father than when his daughter verbally flips him off and he responds, "I'm a little slow, but I [finally, after nine years] got it..."
The self-proclaimed parody of a 50's sitcom by Delphia Entertainment can make one a bit uncomfortable when it moves to pops explaining/demonstrating the lascivious manner in which he evened the score between his son and a bully. Still, at least someone with a video camera is (re)thinking the father-child sex talk.
Advice for new fathers come in all forms. There are the columns of collected wisdom such as the easy column for new dad journalists to phone in. And then there are the men who want to talk of themselves as they talk of their kids. Presumably with tongue stuck somewhere in his cheek is unacceptableface, offering "My thoughts on this momentous occasion. Probably one of the most important, inspiring videos on youtube." Including such revelations as:
Celebrating Foul Language Friday we highlight two fathers in the news. First is Louis CK, the comedian who brought his life to the stage as a married guy (and father of two daughters) and has just been signed to take on life as a divorced father, his current relationship status, for a series on Fox to begin shooting in the late fall. It's pretty clear he loves his kids, but also somewhat evident why his comedy hasn't worked on network tv so far. His take on his daughters:
Also spitting out NSFW language (but with a fine backbeat) is rapper Lil' Wayne, who is now on his fourth kid while stuntin like his daddy — two in 2009 — with four different moms. The question to be answered is how many of them will be making him proud stuntin like their daddy (and real daddies, don't try this at home):
Where in tough economic times can you look for cheap, easy financial remuneration? Why in family exploitation, of course.
Exploit your dad; exploit your kid; exploit the father-child relationship. Just remember, people have to laugh if there's any chance of money being in it for you:
The Sundance premiere is set for World's Greatest Dad [Earlier: On the One Hand, On the Other ...], which will no doubt inspire at least a couple thoughts on the fathersomeness of Robin Williams.
He made for a great film cousin perhaps from his Mork & Mindy self and a heckuva a screen mom as shown with Mrs. Doubtfire, but he certainly hasn't made much of a dad impression. He is the real life father of three, but once again we must face that life is harder than it appears on screen. Williams can be funny, but that doesn't seem to be helping out in the World Best Dad contest, in case that suggests anything about his Oscar chances. Any chance he has passed it along in the genes?
Perhaps he just needs more focused source (and not biographical) material about being a father? If that is the case, he could do a lot worse than take a look at the new Granta 104 (the British literary review), with its theme of dads and kids.
The stars have aligned, but the geography is a mite off. Unfortunately, the California father-son legal eagles Peter and Justin Goetsch, who have just been sworn in together, are 3000 miles from the New Hampshire father-son Kmart shoplifting team of Marco Rodriguez-Diaz and his unnamed son, who have just been arrested.
If only the lawyers could counsel the thieves to learn from the Japanese father who teaches his son the value of an apology
Like grandfather like son like daughter — except the son isn't that funny and the daughter has yet to be tested. But tonight, Saturday Night Live tests whether its recent popularity in the ratings is a pre-death spasm or revivification by unveiling its first third generation actor.
Abby Elliot, granddaughter of the comic genius Bob Elliot (who is best known for his work with Ray Goulding) and daughter of Chris Elliot, who perhaps in reaction to his father's act is best known for playing unlikeable characters in movie and tv cameos as an SNL alumnus and catalyst for the "Get a Life" sitcom disaster.
One can only hope she has more to offer than two other multigenerational "stars," whose father has been something of a disappointment. English Princes William and Harry are saddled with poor Prince Charles, still tied to his mother's purse strings, and one hopes that while they referred to him as "an inspiration" on his 60th bday, that his example will turn out to be something they use for good, rather than as a model for their own behavior.
Certainly the burden of carrying fame is too great for some. And it is never as wonderful as when a father and child discover fame together, although for the Leas (father John and son Ken) it probably would have been nicer if it came before dad was a collection of ashes floating in the ocean.
Dad is not always what [he] seems.
"I hope they know I love them," said a Nebraska father of nine. "I hope their future is better without me around them" continued the man who lost his wife, quit his job to take care of his children and, overwhelmed, abandoned the kids (five boys and four girls between 1 and 17) under a "safe haven" law.
And what is there to think about a father scraping a living out in the jungle with his three boys by stealing scrap who takes off with police in pursuit, but leaves the his boys to the law?
Finally, don't be confused. D.A.D. was not begun as a musical band of fathers. It was originally Disneyland After Dark, but had to change its name under threat of lawsuit. Which doesn't mean the four guys haven't morphed into fathers, just that like every man they didn't start out that way and the idea of "father" may not be a completely accurate description of everything they are and mean to their kids.
Even Notorious Dad may not be what you think:
The more pervasive and unfortunate strain of fatherly humor is the laughing at dad the dolt type of jokes that make up much of the oeuvre of Seth MacFarlane — he of Family Guy and American Dad — now unleashing in conjunction with Google, a "calvalcade of cartoon comedy:
Expect lots of dumb dads to work their way into the rotation.
Perhaps such excesses of dross make the funny, smart dad even more of a revelation and blessing. Kudos and relief therefore for the more subtle and funnier musings of such as Matt Mendelsohn, whose Father Knows Best brings the rare light touch of political satire to the wisdom of pols' pops.
Offering even greater surprise by finding humor in the nexus of rap and SAHD stories is the Jon Lajoie video celebration of the joys of raucous poop metal, "Stay at Home Dad:"
Laugh last. Laugh best.
Too much zealousness and the father spoils the child, who becomes resentful. Too little fatherly zeal and the child and the child also becomes resentful. Finding the right balance is a dad's quest and one that is making the television airwaves sing in a new way.
From Canada came The Tournament
which ran on the CBC January and February 2005.
Now, updated and revised a bit comes the BBC series about overzealous sad dads of Britain and their pursuit (I mean, their kids' pursuit of Under 11's) The Cup.
Since, it does seem possible that fathers' sports dreams could be played out in their kids around the globe — and that when it is someone else who is doing this it is often hilarious — expect that fathers who can't quite find the balance of cheering for their kids and keeping their own internal sports demons where they belong will be television fare localized for its comedic potential in every country soon.
Most kids have the experience to claim, as does Bill Cosby on this week's objet d'eBay, the LP "My Father Confused Me."
Although through his television show and books Cosby has come to be thought of as everydad, at one point his material included much more about being a son. While the reviews for this particular 1977 release suggest this may not have been Cosby at his best, it might still be worth considering both for what the comedian did with the material he had as well as for the idea of what he could have done if only his dad had become a woman and then married another ex-dad who had also become a woman.
Now that would truly be a dad who confused.
The late George Carlin be remembered by most not as a father, but more like the off-center uncle. But for all his fame he will forever be the father of one, Kelly Carlin-McCall — whose world view was shaped by both the light of his mind at times when he (for example) explained that the sun had exploded as well as living in the shadow of his fame.
Perhaps he never felt completely comfortable with the idea of a dad. Sure, he took his turn as a father in Jersey Girl, but the staple comedic target of "dad" was missing from most of his comedy, although it did rear its (slightly skewed) head in the the last episode of The George Carlin show included the skit of a son learning his dad played for the other team during the war. But maybe he stayed away from the subject — and seems to have left his daughter with both connection and distance — from his own experience of having a bullying, drunken dad [fortunately] skip out on him.
He could say the things dads couldn't and in ways they wouldn't and and sure make fathers laugh. Blessings to him and sympathy and condolence to Ms. C-McC.
Like father, like child.
Like son. Carl and son Rob Reiner are preparing to be fêted by LA's Film Society with a joint 2008 Achievement in Film Award. Carl, is at least much funnier publicly — having been a genius behind the Dick Van Dyke Show and partner with Melvin Kaminsky; Rob, much more involved with movies such as "This Is Spinal Tap," "When Harry Met Sally" and "The Bucket List."
Like daughter. Jim Beal, 43, and daughter Rachel, 18, are both members of the Lisbon Falls (Me.) Fire Company. He's a 10-year vet, she a volunteer since age 14, who couldn't wait until she could join and now plans to make it a career.
Like president? Admiral John Sidney McCain II, the senior military official in the Pacific region from 1968-72, believed the U.S. "lost" the fighting in Vietnam by not staying long enough and fighting hard enough. Among the many other similarities, Senator, Son and author "Faith of My Fathers" JSM III is committed to pursuing his father's Vietnam experience (?)/policy (?) in Iraq should he be elected Commander-in-Chief. [Earlier: War Daddy]
