Mike Myers v. Dana Carvey (with video!)

What are the odds that both late-'80s-early-'90s-era Qualler-approved Saturday Night Live stars Mike Myers and Dana Carvey regained a level of pop culture relevency at the same time? Over the weekend, two comedy specials aired -- HBO's Dana Carvey: Squatting Monkeys Tell No Lies (and neither do my kids!) and NBC's SNL: The Best of Mike Myers (and also, please watch my new ill-conceived comedy The Love Guru). As a result, it has been a weekend of reminscing, laughing, thinking "Holy crap, they're old!", laughing, crying, hurling (tag line!), and naturally, comparing the two -- who holds up better in the '00s? Both comedians have had their high highs and their low lows since they left SNL so many years ago. Whose career is better off?

Dana Carvey
Best known as the resident impressionist in his years as an SNL cast member, Dana Carvey epitomized his era with whacked-out characters, which naturally included the silly George H. W. Bush, whom I imitated in the Qualler family tribute video to Grandpa Qualler's 80th birthday. Of course, he as Garth of "Wayne's World" is what he is best known for.

Long-lasting legacy:
He, along with Phil Hartman, was probably the funniest cast member that helped bring SNL officially into its first "Hey, this show is funny again!" phase (see also -- mid-to-late 90s Will Ferrell era, the last two years Bill Hader-Kristin Wiig-Andy Samberg era). The Church Lady also played drums, which was great. The short-lived but often still quoted prime-time era sketch show The Dana Carvey Show may have helped, if not pave the way, then at least help open the door wider, for other more offbeat sketch comedy shows like Mr. Show And of course, Garth. Yes, Mr. Carvey's a funny guy, right? Someone who could not have committed...



...an Unforgivable Pop Culture Sin
In 2002, Mr. Carvey made a movie called The Master of Disguise where he played a detective? Who turned into a turtle as a disguise? And his character's name was Pistaschio Disguisey? Panned by critics, the movie managed to still make $40 million, but tarnished his sterling reputation, making me a little wary of his...

...Total Redemption in Qualler's Heart
Maybe not total per se, but Carvey's very funny special this weekend made this viewer realize that his career moves post-Dana Carvey Show were likely more on the personal level than professional, and that he could still be funny if he wanted to be. His riffs on Crazy Religious Beliefs, funny-sounding doctor names, etc., are not necessarily groundbreaking, but his delivery is as energetic as it was when he was on SNL. I'm quite proud of his evolution.



Mike Myers
Between the two, Myers has obviously had the more lucrative, long-lasting career. But as a whole, who has the advantage?

Long-lasting Legacy:
Myers had a great career on SNL as well, but he is probably most widely known as Austin Powers, a character he invented after leaving the show (and spawning way too many bad pop cultural references for years and years to come.) However, as his SNL special that aired this evening proved, his sketches were very excellent as well (pun INTENDED!) However, in his comeback, he may have committed a number of...



...Unforgiveable Pop Culture Sins
Unfortunately, his special on NBC was more or less a long commercial for the new movie The Love Guru. Now, I have not seen many commercials for movies that have actually made me anti-laugh more than the commercials for these (and I'm not the only one.) But what is it exactly about it that is just so painfully unfunny? Is it the out-of-comedic-fashion little people jokes? Is it the fake beard that he wears? Is it the silly accent? The incessant and annoying promotion in different places? The mere presence of Jessica Alba? To me, it is all of those forces combined. And a surprisingly negative piece was published in this week's Entertainment Weekly which hinted around at the fact that many Hollyweird insiders are rooting against him in this so-called comeback. (Of course, the article never gets much proof of this other than quotes from Wayne's World director Penelope Spheeris discussing how she thought he whined a lot through the movie shoot.) Will there be any kind of...

...Total Redemption in Qualler's Heart
I don't know if there ever really will be complete redemption, but his return to the pop culture limelight, along with Dana Carvey, has brought back fond memories, new laughs, and a realization that comedy has changed a lot since they both fell off their collective radar screens. Today's more popular style of humor seems to be more conceptual and more experimental, whereas Mike Myers and Dana Carvey built their comedic careers on characters. Regardless, seeing them together at the MTV Movie Awards was great. Who doesn't love them some Wayne's World? Of course, how bizarre is it to see Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron in the audience laughing at two 40-to-50-year-old guys dressed up in wigs?

This entry was posted by Unknown, on Sunday, June 15, 2008. You can leave your response.