So why can’t he get a decent movie role?
I really don’t know what is wrong with the movie industry (I mean, aside from the fact that their product is shit). How can a talent as great as Izzard’s go so completely underused? When he does get a film role, it’s either a tiny part or a crap movie.I didn’t even know he was in Ocean’s 12 until I watched it yesterday. Absolute flyspeck of a role. No chance for him to do anything at all.
Such a waste.
His biggest part (in terms of screen time) was probably in All the Queen’s Men, a film I’m sure nobody reading this (or anybody not reading it) has seen. I found it on DVD in Korea for $5 (new, not bootleg) and grabbed it. Not a great movie, and Izzard’s the only worthwhile thing about it. He gets a few good ad-libs in, but he’s really just playing a pale imitation of his stage persona from his stand-up concerts.
Why?!?
The man has talent. He has range. Hell, he speaks several languages and is funny in all of them! Can’t somebody think of something more for him than just “be like you are on stage, only not so much”? I sometimes think he should write his own movie, but it’d probably never get made. It’d be too smart or too funny or too “something else” and it wouldn’t play well in wherever it is good things don’t play well.
A pity, really.
But at least his fans have his concerts. I’ve got five of the six and watch them farily regularly. If you want a smart laugh, there’s really nobody better doing it these days. (Especially since Dennis Miller got conservative and stopped being funny.)
I highly recommend tracking down his videos and seeing them for yourself if you haven’t already. Start at the beginning and work your way through them chronologically. It’s a fascinating sort of evolution.
And one heck of a good ride.