The Reverend Will the Thrill Presents the Film of the Week!

One Christmas, when I was in junior high school, my father gave me the first two collections ("Galleries") of Gary Larson's legendary "Far Side" cartoons.  Most Christmas gifts from my parents were labeled as being from "Mom & Dad."  As I recall, this one was just from "Dad," which made it more of a father-son/male bonding kind of thing.  Of course, I could be recalling that incorrectly--it's been more than thirty-five years, after all--but, frankly, it's not the sort of thing Mom would have thought to give a teenage boy at that time.  At any rate, I fell in love with it.  I might even say it's still my favourite comic series.  (My favourite individual cartoon is still the scientist listening to whale songs--and under the water is a whale floating in front of a microphone singing "Louie Louie.")

There were a number of cartoons that I didn't quite get.  And it wasn't that I didn't get the premise, I just didn't get why it was funny.  Two guys are sitting in a rowboat and off in the distance they see a mushroom cloud--"I'll tell you what this means:  no size restrictions and screw the limits!"  Another cartoon showed a mushroom cloud depicted in the distance and one dog says to his friends, "On the one hand, no more carefree days of running in the park, chasing squirrels.  On the other hand, no more 'Fetch the stick, boy, fetch the stick!'"  Another showed a married couple underground in a bomb shelter, its walls completely lined with canned goods.  Above ground... well, another mushroom cloud (perhaps you're noticing a recurring theme here?).  The wife starts nagging, "Didn't I tell you this place wasn't much good without a can opener?"

This sounds harsh, and I don't intend it to be, but I blame the Mennonite Church for my not understanding the humour in those cartoons.  Mennonites are pacifists and are morally opposed to war or even military service.  Not only was I brought up in the Mennonite Church, but I was brought up in the Mennonite Church during the Cold War--I found myself worrying constantly about the outbreak of a nuclear war.  I even had some rather life-defining nightmares about it... well, I really only remember one nightmare, but that's still one too many for a teenage kid, if you ask me.  Truth be told, I was probably a bit paranoid about the whole thing.  And in the midst of that, here were these cartoons that showed people (and dogs) and what I thought were rather absurd responses to the end of the world.  At one point, I finally just asked my parents why these specific cartoons were funny.  They explained to me the concept of black or dark humour--the ability to laugh at things that aren't usually considered "funny."

At that moment, a switch was flipped in my brain.  Not only did those specific cartoons become funny, but it opened up a whole new--albeit a bit twisted--world and gave me a new perspective on comedy and even life.  I've certainly found it a useful coping mechanism when dealing with the absurdities of the world around me, especially in the last quarter century.  Sometimes I worry that my sense of humour--even my sensibilities in general--are a bit too dark.

When I was a sophomore in college, Dad introduced me to two films which today are tied for my favourite film(s) of all time.  This week's film is one of them.  It's a comedy about the events leading up to a nuclear war.  I'll give you a moment to let that concept sink in.  But I swear it's a really funny film.  I remember Dad telling me that he saw it when it came out in 1964.  He would have been fifteen at the time and Cold War tensions were considerably higher than they were at any point during my lifetime (our current international situation notwithstanding).  He said about the film, "You laugh at it and then you think, 'Shit!  This could happen!'"

Basic premise:  Air Force General Jack D. Ripper (played by Sterling Hayden) orders his planes to bomb the Soviet Union because he perceives the fluoridation of water to be a nefarious Communist plot.  The action shifts between Burpelson Air Force Base (where the bombing order originated), the crew of a B-52 bomber (who are trying to carry out the order), and the "War Room" at the Pentagon (where the President, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and even the Russian Ambassador are trying desperately to countermand the order in an effort to prevent a nuclear holocaust).

Peter Sellers played three different roles (each with a different nationality) and performed one of the best one-sided telephone conversations of all time.  I think it's also safe to say that western film legend Slim Pickens (please refer to my "sermon" on Blazing Saddles from last month) had the greatest death scene in cinema history.  Included in the cast are George C. Scott, Peter Bull, Keenan Wynn, Tracy Reed (the lone woman in the cast), and the great James Earl Jones in his film debut.

Stanley Kubrick not only produced and directed this film, he also co-wrote the screenplay with Terry Southern and Peter George (based on George's dramatic novel, Red Alert).  The film was ultimately nominated for four Academy Awards--Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Actor (Sellers)--and listed at #3 on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 greatest film comedies.  I also like to point out that if you're a fan of the TV series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," the last season (particularly the episode titled "Get It Done") is ten times funnier if you've seen this film.  This week, I recommend Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb!

Ill be taking next week off from these "sermons."  Until I return, stay safe, be good to your neighbours, and please remember that truth is not always a pleasant thing.

Yours in peace, love, and rock and roll!

Ther Reverend Will the Thrill