THE SALSA SCREEN
John Cleese is a Dead Parrot Talking
John Cleese, former comedic genius, has been offered a TV show on GB News.
The right-wing news channel is determined to collect as many angry, old, white men as possible and present them as the sane part of society. Cleese has finally embraced his inner Fawlty and come full circle in the comedian's arc of doomed narcissism. It’s where sanity lets go and geriatric medicine affects your rational mind making you rail against young people and every single institution.
Cleese announced on a BBC Radio 4 interview that the BBC was canceling him despite his regular appearances on the BBC. His last show, Hold the Sunset, aired after two seasons in 2019. Cleese's complaints of being canceled, however, are fully justified. Nobody wants to hear from a delusional, whiny, pompous, intolerant know-it-all whose best days landed somewhere in the late 80s.
Cleese had long since entered the Prince Phillip zone of cultural offense.
He once famously angered the entire population of Palmerston North, New Zealand by saying “If you wish to kill yourself but lack the courage to, I think a visit to Palmerston North will do the trick.” The rest of the country shrugged and agreed with him. Even his most withering and sardonic put-downs were agents of a collapsing wit.
GB News is the home of angry white men rejected by society. Cleese fits in well with this ragtag bunch of bitter oldies clinging to dreams of past glory.
Like most comedians, Cleese had a peak before fading into irrelevance. Instead of settling for dusty old age and obscurity, Cleese suffered a severe monetary crisis. His admittance of being careless with money after forking out £25m on three divorces had left him destitute and living from hotel room to hotel room. He needs the cash. He needs to be heard. He needs to remain in the news.
But here’s the rub…Cleese still has an estimated fortune of £15 million!
He’s not ‘acting’ like an arse for notoriety and press clippings, he’s simply being John Cleese, the Arse.
This is usually the point in the article where I claim Cleese hasn’t been great since…but Cleese remains iconic. His voice-over work is outstanding. The characters he is often typecast into performing are played to perfection. Grumpy, aged old knights of the realm, upper-class toffs with silver spoons, pompous asses who are sticklers for rules…it’s basically Basil Fawlty in dotage.
There are far too many Cleese roles to mention. If you were looking for a stiff aristocrat who is a bit of a jackass, Cleese is your man.
He is right about comedy though. Cancel culture is destroying creativity. Political correctness has gone too far. The super-sensitive have no sense of humor and are on a constant hunt for an offense. “All humor is critical. If we start saying, “oh, we mustn’t criticize or offend them,” then humor is gone, and with humor goes a sense of proportion, and then, as far as I’m concerned, you’re living in 1984.” Source Fee.org
Like Ricky Gervais or prime Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, or Lenny Bruce, comedy is casting a critical eye on society and pointing out the absurdities. And Cleese is nothing if not absurd.
I hope it works out well for Cleese. He has every right to be arrogant after a colossal career in comedy. The man ranks alongside Rowan Atkinson for physical comedy. His worldview may seem at odds and his motivation questionable, but Cleese offers an intelligent respite from the peacocking on social media.
I wanted this to be a hit piece on Cleese and his thoughtless provocations, but I can’t not admire his stand. If only he hadn’t joined a right-wing broadcaster. John Cleese is a man who longs to be heard no matter what platform he chooses. And isn’t that what we all long for? To be seen? To stay relevant?
Let’s hope he doesn’t say anything too stupid.