Her humor is not timeless.
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Carol Burnett
GunsmokeRocks — 18 years ago(July 23, 2007 08:21 AM)
In it's time, when I was a kid, I watched and loved "The Carol Burnett Show", but like many variety shows (and sitcoms too) it's just not that funny to me anymore. It's not that I do not like older showsI prefer them over much of the new stuff that is out today.
One reason I have an issue with her show is that it tried to rely on the rural appeal that many shows had in that time. Her parodies of "The Waltons", "Gone With the Wind" and her Eunice sketches were evidence of that.
The difference is that her comedy used rural people as the butt of her jokes, instead of being the source for humor like "Green Acres", any Mayberry series, and "The Beverly Hillbillies." There is a difference. Her Eunice sketches were particularly mean-spirited and were basically based on Hollywoods perception of the South vs. what the South really is. I grew up in Louisville, KY, and those sketches never made me laugh. When I was a kid, I did not know why that was, but now I do.
I don't even think that Burnett was even the best talent on her show. Tim Conway and Harvey Korman were light years ahead of her.
Fred -
3_Beekman_Place — 18 years ago(July 24, 2007 09:03 PM)
I agree about the Eunice sketch, but I think the point was alcohol was a part of that family. It's not the south she's "poking fun" at but her own upbringing I think. She was born in Texas and isn't really making fun of the south, just pointing out the ugliness in some families no matter where they live. Carol's mother had an alcohol problem and Carol was raised by her grandmother. Maybe that dialog is Carol's mom yelling at her mom! The southern drawl you hear is just a part of Carol. My friend had a grandmother who'd get a few beers in her and start talking with a southern accent! Born and raised in Pennsylvania! Many of the Eunice sketches ended on a serious, somber note not a laugh. Maybe that's why you have a negative memory of that character.
The dance numbers and song medleys from her show are very dated. It's the main reason she doesn't release complete shows to the mass public. I think she once replied when asked why her complete shows weren't available, "they weren't all good"!
I pointed out in another thread to go on youtube or google videos and type "carol burnett no frills airline" and "carol burnett kidnapping" and that humor is timeless! If you are a classic film buff, her parodies of the late, late, show movies and the Mickey & Judy "barnyard musicals" are timeless because those classic films are timeless. I remember a skit she did on a cruise ship where a man and woman meet and fall in love. She has a terminal illness and he is going to the electric chair. They meet again on the ship as ghosts! That was an actual movie I saw on Turner Classic Movies! I forget them name, but I watched it and kept laughing, though it was a serious film!
There's also a medley with Carol Burnett and Cher floating around youtube that is so campy it's timeless! -
SeemsSensible — 18 years ago(November 06, 2007 07:55 AM)
I agree that her humor is not timeless; it's broad, anachronistic slapstick. Hers was probably my favorite show growing up, and I remember being excited when they started putting the show out on VHS and running those half-hour "Carol & Friends" shows, where just the comedy bits were extracted from the hour-long shows.
Man, was that a memory that was so much better in childhood. The guest starsdespite a few quality departureswere mostly hokey, middle-of-the-road D-listers or has-beens: Steve Lawrence, Eydie Gorme, Ken Berry, Jim Nabors, etcThe only parts of the show5b4 that hold up are the movie parodiesand the Family sketches.
The Family sketches were classic (a lot of them, if not all, are on YouTube, and they're hilarious). I'm from Kentucky, also, and lived in Louisville for most of my adult life, and I actually really appreciate them. Rather than findng them offensive, I've often thought Mama and Eunice were my mother and grandmother all over. And I Burnett isn't stereotyping (at least to me); on her PBS American Masters profile, she said the writers originally did not have make the family Southern. She insisted, wanting to draw upon her west Texas upbringing.
I wish CBS, or whoever owns the show, would put out compilations of just the Family sketches, along with that 3-act special that ran sometime later. (But definitely NOT anything to do with the wretched Vicki Lawrence show.) -
Clothes-Off — 18 years ago(November 07, 2007 01:13 PM)
I just saw her featured on
American Masters
and even the brief clips they showed had me laughing. Think they had a hard time harvesting clips that would still be funny today? I doubt it!
Tim Conway was hilarious and the brains behind the Mr. Tudball-Mrs. Wiggins sketches, but HARVEY KORMAN?! Mr. Unprofessional-cannot-keep-a-straight-face-even-when-it-isn't-that-funny Korman "light years" ahead of Burnett?! Please! The man was good as a foil, and as part of ensemble casts (
High Anxiety, Lord Love a Duck
) but IMO he's the luckiest comic actor in the business having been elevated along with others for most of his career.
And he was annoying as the voice of that green alien on
The Flintsones
. His presence marked that show Jumping the Shark.
"Well, for once the rich white man is in control!"
C. M. Burns -
gbennett5 — 18 years ago(November 08, 2007 11:27 AM)
You're all CRAZY. Big time. Burnett was, and remains, a genius. The
sets and clothes may be dated, but Burnett's talent IS timeless.
As for the "Eunice" sketches, Burnett did something amazing. She brought
depth and character to comedy in the vein of Gleason. As she said, they
were like one-act plays. Every character she came up with was, and remains,
hilarious.
Too bad the world has become so jaded that minor "talents" (Chris Farley,
Chevy Chase, David Spade, etc.) are now called "geniuses" because they're
cynical, "cool" and hip. Combined, these morons aren't fit to polish
Burnett's shoes.
Rubbish. A thousand years from now, Burnett will be watched, laughed
at and compared to Chaplin and Ball. She was, and remains, unique. -
grey_eyed_grrl — 18 years ago(November 10, 2007 11:27 AM)
Her Eunice sketches were particularly mean-spirited and were basically based on Hollywoods perception of the South vs. what the South really is. I grew up in Louisville, KY, and those sketches never made me laugh. When I was a kid, I did not know why that was, but now I do.
Her Eunice character was Southern because she was born & raised in San Antonio, Texas. They weren't meant to be funny but they did have funny moments because life has funny moments. These sketches were based upon a domineering mother who was never supportive of her daughter and how the daughter (Eunice) spent her life trying to gain her mother's approval. The sketches were very poignant and sometimes heartbreaking. Ever see the one where Eunice was on the Gong Show?
As for Carol not being the best talent on the show I'm curious as to why you say this? -
rachel_anne_foster — 17 years ago(April 27, 2008 08:44 PM)
Carol Burnett is genius and Eunice is her most genius creation. My grandmother has stacks of VHS tapes of the Carol Burnett Show and I grew up watching them after school. I always thought Eunice was funny. Then as I got older, Eunice changed into a tragic character. Now I can't think of Eunice without feeling a little tug on my heart. I just wanted to hug her and tell her she's talented and beautiful.
As for Carol Burnett's true comedic moments, anyone who makes it through "Went With the Wind" without letting out a couple horse laughs needs to check their pulse. And the timing between her and Tim Conway in the Mrs. Wiggins skits?! They kill me. Remember how Mrs. Wiggins sharpened the pencils?! Oh. My. God. That's genius. And I vaguely remember an amazing skit that took place at a bus stop and had no dialog at all. Does anyone remember that?
Not only is she comic perfection, she seems like a really nice person who I could sit and have lunch and a few laughs with. (that would be great!)
Carol Burnett is timeless. If you ever run across the PBS special about her, definitely watch it. Your sides will ache - especially when she's with Gary Moore. -
shoyt_2001 — 17 years ago(June 18, 2008 12:30 AM)
OP and a few others need to check out their childhood issues and get them settled before they lose every bit of their sense of humor.
Carol Burnett was and is timeless in her every single show over the past 40+ years. The fact that she du5b4g down and displayed mean spirited behavior, exposed it, then covered it over with humor is a testament in itself to the value of humor in all life.
Life is hard. Humor makes life bearable and good. -
pjpurple-1 — 14 years ago(January 10, 2012 03:39 PM)
I'm not a southerner and I never thought Carol Burnett was making fun of southerners. The Family sketches made fun of families and all the baggage that people carry around in relation to family members. Who else can drive you totally crazy except the people who know you best and know how to push all your buttons!
Whenever Mama would say something mean, both my mom and I would scream with laughter "That's Gram!" Mama reminded us so much of my grandmother. I swear they based the character on her. lol Both were cranky and very difficult to please and still, very funny. That's not a southern trait. It's a human trait. -
SimplemindedSociety — 13 years ago(April 26, 2012 01:50 AM)
'I don't even think that Burnett was even the best talent on her show. Tim Conway and Harvey Korman were light years ahead of her'.
how come?
Carol had a way with line akin to Lucille ball and Mary Tyler Moore. It's not just the physical humor that Carol excelled at.
I question of certain users have even seem most of her shows.
The timeless quality depends on the sketch.