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HOME/Archive/Hubbs/Books/Obits/Shorts/Links/Contact The Decline of Western Civilization in Post-Apatowan America by M.G. Wood EDITOR'S NOTE: Regarding the title of this piece, "The Decline of Western Civ-, well you know the title, I had intended to write about how Judd Apatow had influenced comedy in film in recent years, but after I tripped upon Christopher Guest's relevance to the piece, I could not turn back. And it's such a great fuckin' title, I could not not use it. It’s hard to believe that Judd Apatow as a brand name has only been around since 2004. Prior to `04 Apatow worked in television with mixed ratings results; The Good: “The Ben Stiller Show" (1992-1993), The Great: “The Larry Sanders Show" (1993-1998), and The Classic: “Freaks and Geeks" (1999-2000). It didn’t hurt that one of Apatow’s first motion picture producing jobs was ANCHORMAN (2004), an early vehicle in a long stream of vehicles that helped fortify Will Ferrell’s career.
But it was THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN (2005) that stamped Apatow’s signature style on the silver screen for good. That style being toilet humor: fart jokes, sex jokes, homophobia, sexism, racial stereotypes, etc. You know, comedy. But, what elevates Apaptow’s work above the standard Adam Sandler-pre-adolescent-man-child bologna, is his insistence on placing within these parameters good-hearted, lovable losers. Apatow’s writing is only as sharp as his characters, remove the honest depiction of the man in the mirror, and all your left with is the latest Rob Schneider joint. Prior to the rise of Apatow, the bright shining hope for all humorous humankind was Christopher Guest. As writer and producer and star of his own small budget docu-comedies complete with an ensemble cast that included among others Fred Willard, Catherine O Hara, Eugene Levy, Parker Posey, and Bob Balaban, Guest produced the best squirm-inducing moments this side of Larry David’s brilliant television hit CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM. But, what made Guest’s films so unique, other than the fact that they were funnier than anything else produced in the “mainstream”, was Guest’s uncanny ability to transform one-dimensional cartoonish characters into sympathetic human beings. As soon as you were comfortably guffawing at these ridiculous people on the screen, Guest would inject just the slightest, most subtle hint of humanity to make you think. And just as WAITING FOR GUFFMAN (1996) would become a touchstone for Christopher Guest aficionados, VIRGIN would be the film that true fans would point to when discussing the ascension of Apatow. For those of us who loved and heralded WAITING FOR GUFFMAN, begged and pleaded with friends and family to see this movie, it ultimately became a cult classic; where as THE FORTY YEAR OLD VIRGIN was a moderate hit, it is re-run on a continuous loop on cable tv (with major editing). In classic “burying the lead” fashion, I would argue, to the dismay of some (Eric M. Harvey), that THE FORTY YEAR OLD VIRGIN and WAITING FOR GUFFMAN are two of the best comedies released in the last 20 years. The main similarity between GUFFMAN and VIRGIN is the fact that both were followed by more commercially successful movies: Guest’s BEST IN SHOW (2000) and Apatow’s KNOCKED UP (2007). And for those that hadn’t seen GUFFMAN or VIRGIN, BEST IN SHOW and KNOCKED UP were revelations. Critics and movie-goers wet themselves, and begged and pleaded family and friends to see these films. Only problem was, BEST IN SHOW and KNOCKED UP were good, and at times great, but neither film could hold a flame to their predecessors. It could be argued that Guest and Apatow shot their wads with their debut efforts; each successive movie was an effort to re-imagine that original formula with varying degrees of success. And with Judd Apatow, it’s hard to argue with success. Each film seems to be more profitable than the last, and there is definitely a level of consistency and quality that is hard to find in most modern movies. THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN (2005), TALLADEGA NIGHTS (2006), KNOCKED UP (2007), SUPERBAD (2007), WALK HARD (2007), FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL (2008). And the beat goes on, DRILLBIT TAYLOR (2008), STEP BROTHERS (2008), and PINEAPPLE EXPRESS (2008). We have not seen such an amazing run by a comic writer/producer/director since Mel Brooks’ supreme reign in the 1970's with BLAZING SADDLES (1974), YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (1974), SILENT MOVIE (1976), and HIGH ANXIETY (1977). Interestingly, just as Apatow’s star was rising, Guest’s seemed to wane. Christopher Guest’s last two efforts A MIGHTY WIND (2003) and FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION (2006) had flashes of greatness, but ultimately pale in comparison to WAITING FOR GUFFMAN and BEST IN SHOW. But, we loyal and rabid Christopher Guest fans hold out hope that the best is yet to come. EDITOR'S POST SCRIPT: I feel the need to acknowledge another great comic force forgotten in this Post-Apatowan society; The Farrelly Bros. shot to the top with the 1998 classic THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY. For the record, MARY was the only time in my long and storied movie-going experience in which the laughter was so loud in the theater, that many jokes were left unheard. The Farrelly Bros. other great works: KINGPIN (1996) and SHALLOW HAL (2001).
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