August 15, 2005

Courtney and the Pamela Anderson Roast.

I finally got around to watching the Pamela Anderson Roast I'd taken the trouble to TiVo. As you may remember, I wanted to watch it because of the fuss that was made over Courtney Love's behavior. Well, the show was excruciating, with second rate comics making one bad anatomical joke after another. It was supposedly a charity event for PETA – man, I remember when a politically correct operation like that would not sully itself with rank sexist material – and many, many of the jokes connected the kind of animals PETA cares about with the animal names that are used as slang for a woman's genitalia. So the show was utter crapola but somehow everyone wrote about Courtney, because apparently it's so fun to attack her. Interestingly enough, it turned out that Courtney had the best control over how to do a celebrity roast right. Everyone was holding a drink and badly faking high spirits, but she outdid them all, convincingly displaying a roasty attitude. When it was her turn to speak, she did her part perfectly. She played the rocker who deigned to stop by to give Pamela real rock cred because she loved her. She did her lines and her moves and then she kissed Anderson's high-heeled foot. Well played, Courtney! Chez Althouse, we love you!

UPDATE: Putting Pam and Courtney side-by-side made me want to spin out an analysis similar to the comparison between Jackie Kennedy and Liz Taylor in "Jackie Under My Skin" (by Wayne Koestenbaum). You have two icons and one is pure and idealized, the other is tainted and dirtied. In the Pam/Courtney comparison, both represent sexuality and self-indulgence, but Pam has some how made what was dirty into something utterly polished and glossy – essentially fulfilling the Playboy dream. Courtney is the real-life version of sexual indulgence: this is what trying to live that fantasy will really make you look like. Well, now I'm thinking of another book.

10 comments:

Troy said...

Not only was it utter crapola, but it did adequately highlight Ms. Anderson's career. Courtney is in desperate need of some help. Either her brain is permanently fried (which is highly possible) or she was "three sheets to the wind" or she was on crank.

Her comments were the best -- and highlight why the Friar Roasts are good as opposed to these Comedy Central "slap-dash" affairs. The Friar's roasts are funny because the roasters know (and at least he/she has a long show biz career) and actually have professional respect for the roastee. I'm sure there are exceptions, but a roast of Buddy Hackett, Jerry Stiller, Alan King (or even those old Dean Martin jobs)is highly superior and just as profane and vulgar -- with love.

And the Milton Berle "big penis" jokes were much more clever than the Tommy Lee versions.

Wave Maker said...

Really Ann, I can't believe that you watched the same show as I did. Ugh, how repulsive and cheap.

price said...

Thank you for liking Courtney too! She is exactly what I enjoy in a celebrity, and drug problems aside is an extremely intelligent and even hilarious woman.

DannyNoonan said...

I heard they're rebroadcasting it without the bleeps this week some time. I actually thought some parts were pretty funny. Jeffrey Ross and Sara Silverman are always good for a laugh. But the old friar's club roasts are way better. I think it loses a lot when the roasters don't actually know the person they are roasting. They seem limited to the obvious.

I thought that having Courtney on stage was a smart move by Pam since she's an even easier target for the roasters.

Ann Althouse said...

Danny: Over on the TWOP forums, Silverman is being savaged. As for putting Pam and Courtney side by side, I'm going to put something in an update.

Troy said...

Putting Pam and Courtney side by side... Do you know what that gets you???

2 raging cases of genital warts.

Pam Anderson showers every once in awhile -- Courtney doesn't -- that's the main difference -- oh! and Courtney actually has some talent.

DannyNoonan said...

"Over on the TWOP forums, Silverman is being savaged. As for putting Pam and Courtney side by side, I'm going to put something in an update."

Wow. They sure are. And they're being pretty tough on Jeffrey Ross too. I guess everyone has a different sense of humor.

"and Courtney actually has some talent."

Being Kurt Cobain's widow is a talent?

Troy said...

Noonan...

I just said "some" talent. Yeah staying with Kurt Cobain is more talented than getting with Scott Baio, Kid Rock, dude from Poison,and Tommy Lee.

Pam got Hep C from her deal. Courtney has sweet Nirvana royalties.

DannyNoonan said...

I see your point.

Anonymous said...

"man, I remember when a politically correct operation like that would not sully itself with rank sexist material – and many, many of the jokes connected the kind of animals PETA cares about with the animal names that are used as slang for a woman's genitalia."

I know what you mean. It's like Peta doesn't have any dignity any more. Besides, the fact that real beavers and women's beavers are both delicious is purely coincidental. Just because cats like milk, and they are sometimes called pussycats, doesn't mean you have to make a joke about getting milk all over that pussy... It's just childish is what it is!

It reminds me of a joke I once heard about sex with younger people. It went:
Q-"What's so great about sex with twentyfour year olds?"
A-"There's twenty of them!"
I mean, pedophilia is not funny anymore, not even when it's a member of the clergy.