Three Things We’re Diggin’
Ashleigh | Fred Armisen
“It’s fun to have fun but you have to know how.”
The Cat in the Hat, Dr. Suess
I love to laugh. To me, there is nothing better than laughing uncontrollably. I love it - I feel like something happens internally while I’m laughing that just releases stress and “fills my cup” as they say. Goofy things get me. Things that almost make no sense, and are borderline stupid give me a case of the giggles. And one man almost always delivers for me: Fred Armisen.
When Fred was on SNL and he was in a skit, I knew I would laugh. He’s SO goofy, so silly, he gets so invested in his characters and seems like he’s having so much fun. And boy does he make me laugh. Whenever he makes a guest appearance on a TV show or a movie, he always steals the scene.
Here he is in Broad City.
And, basically, anytime he’s on a late-night talk show (here are some highlights from his appearances on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon).
Plus, anytime he’s on SNL (even now), and Portlandia.
So, when I saw him as a guest on my favorite podcast, Armchair Expert, I was capital E Excited. And, the man delivered. He came out hot and really made me laugh the entire time. The beauty of Fred Armisen is that he’s always messing with you, but seemingly in the most sincere, playful way. I respect it so much, because he knows what he is good at, and seems to always want to make people feel joy and laugh. What a gift that he gives us all. I appreciate that he isn’t in every single thing (because he sure could be) so that anytime I do see him or hear him in something, I know I’m in for a real treat. That’s why, this week, I’m digging Fred Armisen and want to thank him for the fun and joy he brings into my life.
A.J. | Oddsac
This week I'm diggin' Oddsac, the 2010 visual album/surreal horror film by Danny Perez and Animal Collective. Released a year after their mainstream breakthrough album Merriweather Post Pavillion, Oddsac is clearly not interested in mass appeal. Instead, it rewards horror movie fans who are searching for abrasive visuals and music that ranges from dreamy to nightmarish. I try to revisit this 52-minute film every Halloween season since it captures a spooky mood that I enjoy. Like any good horror movie, Oddsac focuses more on atmosphere than plot and it's awash in unique visuals like a family sitting around a campfire eating s'mores while a vampire lurks in the shadows. Pretty uncompromising stuff, but I admire the vision.
Bubba | Haunted Mansion
This week I’m diggin’ Haunted Mansion. Look, any good adaption of classic source material should add to your experience of that source material. That’s what director Justin Simien does with his adaption of Disney’s Haunted Mansion ride. He certainly pays homage to the source material better than the previous two adaptions have (at times recreating scenes from the ride exactly, as if the camera was literally mounted to a Doom Buggy), but then he goes a step further:
“When we go into this mansion, I love the waltzers, I love that part of the ride. But listen… In New Orleans, we’d have waltzers, we would have second line people, we’d have all kind of dancers and dances happening here…This is the place where freaking jazz, gumbo and jambalaya, and étouffée come from. This has got to be filled with culture, and music, and people you normally don’t get to see[.]”
I’m diggin’ Haunted Mansion because I never noticed, as a white kid visiting Disneyland, that there wasn’t a single black person depicted in any of the many portraits lining the walls of a mansion supposedly situated in New Orleans. So, while this movie isn’t necessarily the adaption I was hoping for, or the adaption I’d make (if ever given the chance), that’s exactly what makes it so great. Well, that and the juicy punchline Winona Ryder gets away with.
