Watching comic legends, movies, and plays taught me the fine art of directing comedy. I could instinctively hear those silent beats necessary to hit the punchline of a joke in perfect form. Ba-boom, boom. It is engrained inside my soul so much that if anyone misses the mark, my body shudders in the loss of the moment. I have spent hundreds of hours listening to those silent breaths necessary to be funny. It is not easy. Comedy is bold. It is daring. A performer must be patient to deliver the laugh perfectly every time, and each audience is different, requiring even more special tuning to nail the bit, the action, or the line easily and confidently.
I used to make my students count like musicians when reading their music. Nothing was left to chance. I was relentless, because there are few things worse than a missed opportunity to keep an audience in the palm of the hand (At least, not to a director). I never considered myself a stand-up comedian. I could not tell joke after joke, but I have the power to tell those around me when they hit or let the audience free-fall. John Barrymore once said, “Dying is easy. Comedy is hard.” Truth.
In the 50s, “television was live, and comedy was king.” Every Saturday night, twenty million viewers would tune in to watch YOUR SHOW OF SHOWS with Sid Caesar on NBC. Many great playwrights and future comedians started working at 30 Rock, including Mel Brooks and Neil Simon. Those were often considered some of the best comedy years, and most current funny men stand on their shoulders. Some might consider 1954 the best year, when actually MY FAVORITE YEAR was created and premiered in 1982 to highlight the “Golden Age of Comedy.”
MY FAVORITE YEAR was nominated for a slew of awards including Peter O’Toole for Best Actor as the iconic, made-up, legend Alan Swann. Alas, he didn’t win, but it was a role mirrored after the one and only Errol Flynn, a swashbuckling, larger than life, boozy actor. O’Toole loved playing this character and insisted on doing most of his stunts. Watching him jump across a rooftop hanging by a fire hose or galloping on a horse through Central Park at full throttle over bridges and traffic was a hoot.
My fave was of course, the sword fighting in full Musketeer attire. Every movement was duplicated from Flynn’s original film, THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD. O’Toole took fencing lessons for months to make it effortless. O’Toole was brilliantly in his portrayal of a has-been who has forgotten who he really is beneath Hollywood’s lights, camera, and action. His timing is impeccable. His naturalness and grace gave this film its heart and funny bone. “I am not an actor. I am a movie star.” Yes, indeed. He commands audiences to attention each and every frame.
Mark Linn-Baker as Benjy Stone was O’Toole’s perfect foil and straight man. Baker’s part was modeled after the infamous Mel Brooks, so there were still many moments of physical comedy involving Baker. He cracked me up with his Brooklyn outlook of life. He represented EVERYMAN and how film stars are raised up before our eyes. His monologue at the end was priceless. “Whatever you were in the movies mattered to me. I believed it. I needed the Alan Swanns as big as I could get them. I don’t need them life-size.” People who are film addicts genuinely agree.
Richard Benjamin was a first-time feature director. His last name was how Baker’s character got named. He was a comedy actor before switching careers. So he understood the nuances and finite details of how to make a great, memorable, comedic film. Of course, having a stellar, supporting cast that includes Joseph Bologna, Bill Macy, Lainie Kazan, Selma Diamond, Cameron Mitchell, and Jessica Harper doesn’t hurt. Bologna played King Kaiser (modeled after Sid Caesar) and the Comedy Cavalcade. He was outstanding with his broad, loud impressions. It makes me wonder how much was based on reality within the writers’ room.
MY FAVORITE YEAR is a wacky classic that pays homage to a golden era. This type of film can be compared to a fine wine. It is something to be savored. It can pull those nostalgic feelings from deep inside, bubbling over with smiles and laughter. Baker says that anyone can tell a joke. I disagree. A great comedian is something not everyone can be. It is imperative for us to remember the good ones while waiting for the Ba-boom boom.
MY FAVORITE YEAR is available on TCM.
