The president swears the US does not condone torture--despite a memo issued by his own justice department condoning torture--because, well, because he says so. Another US attack on another village in Iraq; the US claims they were rooting out insurgents, Iraq claims they were civilians trying to defend their homes. And the Yankees are two games down in the playoffs against Cleveland. Cleveland!
When things are this bleak, I need to laugh. Who better to supply the funny than my first comic hero, a man I revered as a child before I even knew his name? I loved him as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Pepe Le Pew and so many more. Here he is on camera, doing an absolutely priceless bit with Jack Benny. Ladies and gentlemen, Mel Blanc:
No matter how many times I see this, it always makes me laugh. Not just me; Benny and Blanc performed countless variations of this routine, and as you can see, Benny starts to lose it every time he looks at Blanc's face. Jack Benny was one of the greatest comedians who ever lived, and Mel Blanc could crack him up--there's a master.
Here's another great bit from these guys, a culmination of a running gag you'll be able to figure out. Blanc's action, and Benny's amazingly casual reaction, are astonishing for the era; bleak comedy is nothing new:
And hey, as long as we're celebrating Mel Blanc, I can't leave this out. One of the greatest things ever put on film, and yeah, it's success is largely due to Michael Maltese's brilliant plotting and dialogue ("Pronoun trouble!") and, of course, the brilliant direction of Chuck Jones. But their efforts would be meaningless without Blanc's contributions. Bugs' "Yay-as?" is pretty much a daily utterance from me, but the real treasure is is Blanc's work as Daffy, making the "little black duck" into a world-class neurotic. This is simply great acting. As good as it gets, folks:
