Is he okay?
-
Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Garry Shandling
futurebreedmachine — 18 years ago(May 16, 2007 04:51 PM)
First off, I'm a sincere fan of Garry, specifically for the Larry Sanders Show, which will inexorably influence anything I create down the line
But seriously, what happened to him? On the new DVD's special features, he seems so out of it, from his burn victim-looking appearance to his seeming inability to construct proper sentences.
I know the nervous and uncertain thing was always part of his gig, but these recent examples border on being a sad parody.
This query isn't the product of hatred at ALL, it's out of legitimate concern. Is Garry okay? -
hillflix — 18 years ago(June 18, 2007 12:40 PM)
I think he's having mid-life crisis, basically. Got some bad botox and plastic surgery and is now revisiting all the players of a show from a decade ago. Part of the awkwardness is that all the people he visits seem to be over it, but Gary wants to keep re-hashing everything from the past. He does seem lonely and desperate and craving attention and approval.
That said, what I admired so much about the show and Gary's art is that he wears his heart and his problems on his sleeve. So I apreciate the vunerability he is displaying, and him putting those very intimate extras on the DVD's. The one with Alec Baldwin is even more uncomfortable than the one with Sharon Stone. I think maybe if Gary could bring this sort of uncomfortable real life feel to a new project it would be amazing. Almost feels like Cassavetes, the awkwardness you want to turn away but you can't. It's very real and difficult stuff, the DVD extras.
He mentioned to Sharon Stone that he meditates everyday. If anything can pull him through hard times, it will be that.
Also, saw him on Bill Maher show with Sean Penn and he was so spontaneous and funny and wise and silly he made Maher look like a politician. -
rummeldesigns — 18 years ago(June 23, 2007 09:20 AM)
I think the interviews are so akward because they are just a little too intimate. There was so much subtext and (I think) sexual tension between the two (did they date at some point?), that it seemed like we were listening in on some bizarre private conversation. It was just a little too intimate.
The Alex Baldwin thing was weird because they were both kind of being douchebags, and it seemed like as the boing match went on, they were both actually really getting annoyed with each other. -
lkfitz — 18 years ago(August 02, 2007 10:03 AM)
Have you guys seen the big Ricky Gervais/Garry Shandling interview? It's all over youtube. For those of you analyzing Shandling it might be a worthy peice of material to view. I don't know much about Shandling's "normal" personae myself so I couldn't tell you whether he seemed out of it or right on target.
- LK
-
dumbwhitemale — 18 years ago(August 13, 2007 09:00 AM)
hahaha, get over it. garry and sharon talk about how they dated in the past, and if you were seeing a woman you had loved for the first time in years you would be awkward too. the gervais thing was obviously a bit, it's easy to see from the first minute when garry gets on ricky about looking at him. who would act like that to someone they're meeting for the first time, and on camera no less? let it be and start psychoanalyzing yourselves.
-
tommyuk — 18 years ago(October 13, 2007 06:12 PM)
Well Garry and Ricky are from completely different cultures and have very different styles of comedy.Not everyone hits it off together on interviews.
I often see American actors being interviewed on British TV and they don't always get the jokes.Jonathan Ross often has to qualify his funny comments on his show when interviewing Americans so as they understand the jokes. -
TheEmulator23 — 17 years ago(June 27, 2008 12:20 AM)
Well nobody else has posted recently, but I have heard much from him either. He tried to have a movie career & he did a film called "What Planet are you from" which was a good idea, but man did it suck. Not only did it suck it cost $60 million to make in the year 2000 & it made a combined, $14 million worldwide! Yeah that is bad. But worse than that he was also apart of another of the biggest bombs of all time called "Town & Country." That one took years to be completed and it cost $90 million which I have never been able to figure out why that was except the stars were expensive (Too bad they all were the worst they have ever been in a movie) & it made a total of $10 million worldwide! So I think that was a big problem with what happened to him & why he disappeared completely. Not many actors can claim they have been a part of 2 movies totaling $150 million (not counting marketing!) & made only $24 million back. Worse than that they were absolutely terrible too. Maybe a couple (yeah about 2 total!) chuckles from "Planet."
Drew -
steven-stayrook — 10 years ago(June 16, 2015 04:25 PM)
Pardon me if I enjoyed "What Planet Are You From?" It's got some really funny performances (e.g., Judy Greer's deadpan stewardess, John Goodman's excited investigator) and for me it's the most recent performance I've seen where Garry was entertaining. WHO CARES about box office if you're not involved with the studio making the film. It's not a way to judge quality, especially of comedies. There are tons of other factors why a film might under-perform financially, almost none of which concern the script.
-
Moon_and_New_York_City — 16 years ago(September 17, 2009 08:38 PM)
Props to the OP, I came here to find an answer to that very question "Is he OK?" I think he may have some serious undiagnosed mental problems that could probably be treated with medication but that is just wild speculation. I think he has always had some serious self-esteem issues which were part of his comedic genius on the one hand, but also part of his mental instability on the other.
"the best that you can do is fall in love" -
diamondtriangle — 15 years ago(January 10, 2011 09:25 PM)
If you're fans of Garry, why are you on here talking all this trash about him? One guy on here was criticizing Garry for "rehashing" by adding the new interviews to the DVD release. WTF??? I didn't realize Garry would have so many lame fans. I appreciated the fact that Garry added the supplemental material to the DVD release. Seinfeld added new interviews on his show's DVD release too. Most fans love to see that stuff. And for what it's worth, I've watched all the special features and didn't have any negative reaction whatsoever. If you're really fans, stop all this nit-picking.
-
Doom — 15 years ago(January 11, 2011 06:49 AM)
I think the OP was seriously wondering if he was OK. I thought the same thing myself when viewing all his recent appearances.
Even on the new 'intro' (on DVD #1 from the new 'Complete Series' set), he seems kind of 'out of it' - I showed a friend of mine, who asked if he was drunk.
Maybe he's just running a bit slower in his old(er) age these days, I dunno
Wait a minute who am I here?