"I grew up in Europe, where the history comes from."
-- Eddie Izzard
In January I bought and watched a box set of all six of the shows that Eddie has published, without getting sick of him, I don't think that's possible with very many comedians. This guy rocks. He is not angry like many stand-ups, and he is not political, thanks god. He actually talk a lot about unlikely stuff like the ancient romans and philosophy and whatnot... but mostly he just talks rubbish, as he describes it himself. It gets very abstract and nonsensical, which I love. A very funny man.
11 comments:
Eddie Izzard is my favoritest of favorites. I like the bit about the Church of England being the church for people with "lazy elbows."
That must have gone over my head. What does it mean?
Welcome back, F.I.
Hey-hey, look whose lovely smile is back! :-D
And you haven't changed on bit, from the looks of ya. ;-)
You want a very good comic? Try "Courtemanche", a man from Quebec.
He's an international talent by definition, because his humour uses no words. Just faces (a worthy equal of Jerry Lewis and Jim Carrey), mimics and mime. His bit on "the Iron Weight Lifter" had me in stitches instantly. Sheer brilliance. A silent movie Ace Ventura, and then some.
When I'm rich, I plan on buying his entire collection on DVD. It's the stuff you can tirelessly watch over and over again, like Mr Bean. :-D
Of course, he's kinda hard to quote on a blog...
Say, the letter verification just saked me to enter "epokxy". Maybe it's also trying to say "Final, STICK around"?
I can't find Courtemanche DVDs on Amazon... ?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Courtemanche
He hosted the 1996 "Just for Laughs" Gala in the U.S. Maybe the links on his french Wiki page may help too:
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Courtemanche
I found this http://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_ss_d/702-6210452-7868821?url=search-alias%3Dvideo-aps&field-keywords=Michel+Courtemanche&Go.x=7&Go.y=6 on the Canadian Amazon.
It's odd, there should be more. Especially his one-man-show(s).
I found this http://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_ss_d/702-6210452-7868821?url=search-alias%3Dvideo-aps&field-keywords=Michel+Courtemanche&Go.x=7&Go.y=6 on the Canadian Amazon.
It's odd, there should be more. Especially his one-man-show(s).
Thanks.
Does he speak French? (Mine is too weak for that.)
In case someone's interested, there are several Eddie Izzard clips on YouTube.
I found his bit about Stonehenge ("one of the biggest henges ever built") particularly funny.
Eolake,
His one-man-shows are silent mime. Well, he makes sounds, but zero talk from what I've seen.
I expect the comedy movies he produced later on are in French. I have no idea if they are as good, though. Just like
Rowan Atkinson's other work doesn't feel half as hilarious as Mr Bean.
The bit about "lazy elbows" is a physical gag. In one of his HBO stand-ups, he (Izzard) lolls his shoulders and elbows in the manner of an aging socialite, sort of a totally ineffectual blue-blood type. Standing there with arms draped loosely, and elbows "slack," he says in blue-blood CofE accent, "Oh hello, Cake or Death?"
Lazy elbows. It's a bodily position that mimics the mental rigor ...
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