What would “Dirty Harry” be like as a grumpy old man? Gran Torino fashions such a caricature of that old coot that at one point he actually barks, “You kids get off my lawn!” But the surprising screenplay by Nick Schenk skillfully and carefully eases Eastwood’s overt bigot through a lesson of tolerance. The script walks the finest of lines, spewing racial slurs, but delivering them from mouth of a sympathetic boor. And in context, Eastwood manages to land these offenses as laughs. There are more laughs in Gran Torino than in most comedies. How did they do it? Racism isn’t supposed to be funny. Ask Michael Richards. This could have gone down in flames. But the first few times Eastwood calls the neighbor a “zip” there’s a nervous mumble from the crowd. By the end, every one of Eastwood’s racist tirades gets a roar like an Apatow comedy. I’m not 100% sure why it works. Just like I’m not sure why Tropic Thunder’s “full retard” scene nearly gave me a hernia. I would like to think that this means some taboos will be a little less taboo, and easier to discuss in the public discourse. So if a writer writes about race relations it doesn’t automatically make them a racist. Or, maybe Clint’s just funnier than we thought. Anyway, it's a hell of a lot better than Changeling.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Gran Torino
What would “Dirty Harry” be like as a grumpy old man? Gran Torino fashions such a caricature of that old coot that at one point he actually barks, “You kids get off my lawn!” But the surprising screenplay by Nick Schenk skillfully and carefully eases Eastwood’s overt bigot through a lesson of tolerance. The script walks the finest of lines, spewing racial slurs, but delivering them from mouth of a sympathetic boor. And in context, Eastwood manages to land these offenses as laughs. There are more laughs in Gran Torino than in most comedies. How did they do it? Racism isn’t supposed to be funny. Ask Michael Richards. This could have gone down in flames. But the first few times Eastwood calls the neighbor a “zip” there’s a nervous mumble from the crowd. By the end, every one of Eastwood’s racist tirades gets a roar like an Apatow comedy. I’m not 100% sure why it works. Just like I’m not sure why Tropic Thunder’s “full retard” scene nearly gave me a hernia. I would like to think that this means some taboos will be a little less taboo, and easier to discuss in the public discourse. So if a writer writes about race relations it doesn’t automatically make them a racist. Or, maybe Clint’s just funnier than we thought. Anyway, it's a hell of a lot better than Changeling.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
His character called Thao "Zipper-head."
ReplyDelete