We went to see Eddie Izzard last night. He’d flown in from Berlin Saturday afternoon to do that evening’s performance. (He’s in that Nazi movie with Tom Cruise. He plays a German General, but not a Nazi. I didn’t know that you had choice of whether to be a Nazi or not back then, but apparently you did.) Anyway, he was a little jetlagged from the flight the night before. No surprise there. But it in no way affected his performance. He didn’t come out in his usual makeup and fancy dress. Instead, he looked comfortable in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt with a jacket over the top.
‘Work in Progress’ was by far the funniest show Eddie has delivered since Dressed to Kill. I laughed so hard that my throat hurt afterwards. Eddie delivered his usual frantic take on a lot of different topics, which ranged from religion to giraffes communicating. The latter was one of the funniest bits in the show. Picture Eddie playing the part of two different giraffes. One is trying to tell the other that a tiger is approaching. Charades were involved. I know it doesn’t sound funny from my description, but the facial expressions made the skit. I’m laughing just thinking about it. He also pretended to be a pole dancing stripper. Just take my word for it, it was hilarious. I cannot wait for this to be released on DVD.
The thing that I love the most about Eddie Izzard is that whether you agree or disagree with his clever observations, he ALWAYS makes you think. It’s comedy at its best.
August 20th, 2007
Oops, I think the producers got things wrong there. Again.
If you were a general you had no choice but to be member of the party. Whether you shared their ideas was another matter, but it was very difficult to rise to such a high rank feigning belief in their ideology. And why would you want to become a general if you thought Hitler and his war sucked in the first place?
by Gabriele August 20th, 2007 at 1:14 pmGabriele, I don’t know what to tell you. I’m just going by what Eddie said. He didn’t say that his character didn’t believe in what they were doing. He just said that his character wasn’t a Nazi. Shrug.
by Jordan August 20th, 2007 at 1:54 pmJordan, I don’t watch Nazi films (too much of it at school, and always delivered with that Be Very Sorry That You Are German attitude), but judging from the films about Romans, Hollywood can’t get history right when it’s been beaten into them with a nailed flogger. So I’m not surprised they get this new one wrong as well - and to cast Tom Cruise as Stauffenberg doesn’t sit well with most people here.
by Gabriele August 20th, 2007 at 1:59 pmI believe Eddie is cast to play Erich Fellgiebel, who was an active part of the resistance and a key figure in the plot to kill Hitler.
I don’t disagree with Gabriele; Tom Cruise is an odd choice… but I saw Eddie in his Joe Egg play in London and he’s an AMAZING dramatic actor and should be really good in this role.
by sam August 20th, 2007 at 2:14 pmGabriele, Unfortunately, the Japanese get the same treatment in school. My brother-in-law is from Germany, so I know what you’re talking about. I’d heard that there was a bit of an uproar when Tom Cruise was cast. It’s getting hard to separate Cruise and his beliefs from his movies these days. I think the REALLY strange/creepy thing is how much he resembles the real guy. It’s not my kind of movie, so I won’t be going to see it.
by Jordan August 20th, 2007 at 3:19 pmThat makes sense then. A number of people started out approving some apects of the Nazi ideology and during time realised what it was really about, and some of those played along until they saw a chance to end it. In that context, one could say a general was not a Nazi (any more).
by Gabriele August 20th, 2007 at 3:20 pmSam, I have no doubt that Eddie will be great in the role. Strangely, most comedians turn out to be fantastic dramatic actors. Must be all the pain they hide behind the laughs.
by Jordan August 20th, 2007 at 3:21 pmCruise carries his beliefs along like a banner, and the Scientologists have lost their charity status in Germany after they tried to force ex-member back by death threats and in at least one case, actually beating up someone.
by Gabriele August 20th, 2007 at 3:23 pmMaybe it’s not the typical behaviour for them and there were some nutcases involved, but the leaders never made any clear statement against such practics. And that’s why Cruise is not very popular here, and some small cinemas even refuse to play his movies.
Gabriele, Considering that Nazism was started so that the German people could once again have pride in their nation, I’m not surprised that a lot of them jumped on board in the beginning. Like a lot of things that start out with good (or at least decent) intentions, it was ‘bastardized’ and became something horrific.
by Jordan August 20th, 2007 at 3:24 pmGabriele, I don’t know what happened in Germany, but I know here it’s best not to speak out against Scientology. They redefine litigiousness.
by Jordan August 20th, 2007 at 3:27 pmYikes, that’s scary. One should be allowed to speak out against whatever one wants.
by Gabriele August 20th, 2007 at 3:36 pmGabriele, In theory, that’s correct. *g*
by Jordan August 20th, 2007 at 4:23 pmSounds like an awesome show. I’m trying to picture the giraffe expressions. Interesting point about comedy and drama. The best comedy is very, very serious.
by Charli August 20th, 2007 at 7:59 pmCharli, Picture a giraffe chewing on tree leaves, then have his mouth drop open in surprise. *ggg*
by Jordan August 20th, 2007 at 9:01 pm