I'm not sure why sometimes I'm reluctant to admit this, but I am a huge fan of Benny's work. I guess it's because far too many simply see him as a dirty old man.
I think part of the reason is the culture gap between England and the US. What's acceptable in England (home of Page Three girls) is seen as - at best- crude, here in the Puritanical US.
In just dismissing him as a lecher, they're missing the brilliant, dead-on parodies and the chameleon-like talent he had for assuming all sorts of personas. While many of these were larger-than-life and ridiculous, they were still completely believable. I also think that most people who dismiss him never really watched the show. How could they do so and not admire the razor sharp wit and clever wordplay?
What they also apparently miss is that, even though there may be skimpily clad women in a sketch, it's Benny (and/or Jackie Wright) that are the butt of the joke, not the women. The underlying joke was always that men will make complete fools of themselves when there are attractive women around.
Yeah, I found the dancers to be kind of crass - but remember, here in the States, we had the "Solid Gold" dancers on at around the same time and they were almost as bad - and yeah, some of the racial stereotype portrayals make me cringe a little, but none of it was ever mean-spirited. Insensitive, perhaps, but completely without malice.
I suppose there are those who dismiss his humor as highly derivative of burlesque, but that was deliberate on Benny's part - that's where he cut his chops, evidenced in no small part by him changing his name to honor his idol Jack Benny.
What I think is also cool is that most of the humor translates - across time and culture. My son, at four years old, used to come downstairs on a Saturday morning and shove one of my Benny tapes in the VCR. I can also imagine the ridiculous slapstick humor being understood and appreciated by someone who doesn't speak English. Anyone can watch Benny do a pratfall and get the joke.
I think this world full of malicious and/or just plain stupid humor could use a Benny or two - if only to remind us to remember to laugh at ourselves, once in a while.
1 comment:
Hmm, interesting, I never knew the Jack Benny connection. But it makes me appreciate Benny Hill because I also am a huge fan of Jack Benny. I just always sensed that Jack was a very kind and decent man, and when I read his autobiography years ago it basically confirmed that. And I sometimes find myself stealing his "cheap" schtick (shirley a form of flattery!) because I loved it so much.
Another great piece of writing, Middle Aged Guy - you have a talent for it. Just to crack wise for a moment, if you ever read the Walnut Acres catalog years ago, I got a similar vibe from it. Paul Keene and his wife very eloquently described a very idyllic farm lifestyle in it. But it all ended sadly, with liquidation - a very poignant story. :(
But to get back on track, I need to watch some Benny Hill on my favorite venue, YouTube. I always loved the little guy getting herded around by being slapped on the head - very funny and very illustrative of the lives many of us lead - whether it's the SO or the employer or the gubment doing the slapping, we are all being herded around like that. But some of us resist it better than others!
Post a Comment