Mr. Rickles Gets Some Warranted Attention
We’ll make this the last post of the day, since the climate at my work is getting more and more heated and this post is actually a positive one. Much like George Costanza, we try to exit on a high note. And this is a strong recommendation.
Of course, we weren’t around for Don Rickles in his prime, but we are considerable fans of his work. His shtick has been co-opted and replicated ad-nauseum, but he’s the originator of the angry, disgruntled comedian, and he perfected the routine without a model to do so. Essentially an angrier, racist, xenophobic Lewis Black before we had Lewis Black.
This picture seemed appropriate. Not sure why
To commemorate his storied career, HBO debuted a documentary profiling the comedian and his accolades last night entitled: Mr Warmth: The Don Rickles Project. I probably should have mentioned it on Friday, or even Sunday for that matter, but we didn’t know about it until about an hour before it premiered. It is extensive, insightful, and since an entire generation is unaware of his impact in the industry: necessary. Or as necessary as anything like this ever is.
The thing I enjoyed so much about the documentary, other than the archived footage and interviews with admiring comedians, was the honesty it was all presented with. No hyperbole or glamorization of his career, just an honest look of a successful, groundbreaking entertainer. The exhalting the glory days of Vegas might have been a little much, but not anything we were annoyed by.
Anyhow, I’m sure HBO is preparing to rerun the thing ten times a day for the next two months, so be on the lookout for it, as it’s been the only original television we’ve watched and enjoyed thoroughly since the last It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia episode, and definitely worth the hour and a half we spent watching it.
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