I'm not here to argue for or against the comedic talents of current box-office champs Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. No, what I'm here to ask is: why do people dislike them so much? I'm not talking about people who just say that the two of them aren't funny; I'm talking about people who think that the two of them were the worst thing to happen to SNL, the comedy genre, and the entertainment world in general.Case in point: this somewhat obtuse essay praising Poehler on Slate.com. In the process of reviewing Poehler's cartoon, The Mighty B!, writer Troy Patterson goes through some verbal gymnastics, like calling the ASSSCAT show she puts on at the UCB Theater "a Dadaist party trick," among other head-scratching terms. But what's interesting is the virulent reaction his review gets in the comments section.
Besides the commenters complaining about Patterson's densely-worded review, we got gems about Poehler, like this one: "maybe it is just me, but Amy Poehler is not funny. Amy Poehler has never been funny. Watching Amy Poehler on SNL (or movies with former SNL cast members) is the equivalent of hearing nails on chalkboard." Another said, "Why anyone would back a movie built around her and Tina Fey, when the two of them have been largely responsible for the most dismal period in the history of SNL (exceeding even the Anthony Michael Hall years of the 1980s, which is saying a lot) is beyond me."
And it doesn't stop there. Under Slate's review of Baby Mama, commenters called Poehler "unattractive" and "thin-lipped but rather plain-looking."
Wow. Even Dane Cook and Larry the Cable Guy don't generate such extreme reactions. To be fair, a number of the commenters here and on other sites (even Slate) like both women and enjoy their work. But it seems like the exposure that these two women are enjoying right now rubs a lot of people the wrong way.
Is the reaction happening because they're women? It makes me wonder.
Please, if anyone can enlighten me in the comments, please do so.
21. poehler was MUCH funnier when UCB was on the air - she worked well as an ensemble member with specific characters instead of trying too hard like she does on WU.
there's a constant cycle of peaks and valleys for any show that's over 30 years old, but SNL has devolved overall, and the comedy seems so forced now - like the writing is so bad the performer has to do something silly, get a laugh, and then repeat it AD NAUSEUM until the laughter becomes a thin whisp of its former self (then again, they've been doing that for years)...or be intentionally 'weird' (andy samberg, i'm talking to you) - it's not avant garde or metacomedy, it's just dumb.
Posted at 4:09PM on Apr 29th 2008 by nickmagoo