Dan Carlson
Los Angeles, California
I'm a twentysomething white male with ambitions to be a professional film critic and generally spend my days getting paid to watch movies and write about it. I try not to think too hard about how I want to build my life around talking about other people's creations and not mine. A compulsive reader and stubborn cineaste, I take an often contrary stance to my more fundamentalist peers and upbringing by celebrating the pursuit of the good, and the Good, in life, love, art and film. If you watched enough episodes of a few TV shows ("The Hungry and the Hunted," "The Cut Man Cometh," "The Body," "The Zeppo," "Waiting in the Wings," "Out of Gas," "April is the Cruelest Month," "20 Hours in America," "Colonial Day," "An Echolls Family Christmas," and "Look Who's Stalking," for starters), you would understand me completely, and you'd also realize that much of my worldview and philosophical insights are heavily influenced by fictional works/programs, and many of the good things I've said in my life are just a regurgitation of someone else's imaginings. I guess I was made to be a film critic.
Dan, I really appreciate this column on LCS. Cas and I have watched this show almost every season and it's maddening to see how many talented comics never even make it to the semifinals, much less the finals. I enjoy watching the show because I enjoy laughing and there are always laughs to be had, but if you think the most deserving comic will win you will be very disappointed.
I'm glad they're now past the initial auditions when they insist on showing people coming in and doing schtick which inevitably causes more people to do the same thing the next year.
Jun 25, 2008 11:27 AM