Colbert Testifies Before Congress
Stephen Colbert testified before Congress today. In character:
I feel like we’ve crossed some sort of boundary here, and I’m not sure I’m completely happy about it. But then, I kind of am (completely happy about it).
I especially liked the way the guy in the gallery just left of Colbert’s head never cracked a smile. I’m curious what that guy thinks about what he just saw.
Colbert got a little more serious in response to questions. (Interesting how for him, “getting more serious” means “smiles and loosens up”, since his character is normally so bombastic.) Here he is giving his take as a committed Christian (which I understand the real Colbert actually is) on why he chose to speak out on this issue in particular:
September 24th, 2010 at 4:13 pm
Yikes! Inappropriate, deceptive, and just not very funny. Yikes!
September 25th, 2010 at 12:48 am
I’ll give you inappropriate. Deceptive? I guess I’d need to know what you’re talking about. Not very funny? Yeah, I’d have to agree there. I’m more a Daily Show guy than a Colbert Report guy. I didn’t laugh out loud, or even crack a smile, I don’t think, during the in-character clip. Though I thought he made a pretty good point, and made it effectively, in the out-of-character clip.
September 25th, 2010 at 7:03 am
By deceptive I mean he had turned in a manuscript and then used an entirely different document for his “testimony”. He knew what he was doing was inappropriate and wrong from the beginning, I think that is why it fell flat, he was second guessing his decision. I read quotes before I watched the video and thought some of the one liners were good, then saw the clip, and he just missed it, even if it had been in an appropriate setting like the Press Club dinner. He’s never been one of my favorites but he can be very funny, he should have stuck to just inserting a couple one liners. I was never much of a Frank Zappa fan but really appreciated his testimony in front of congress because he was so brilliant in taking them to task out of character.
September 27th, 2010 at 11:54 am
I got a kick out of it.
I think the whole point was Congress (for the record, our Parliament, too) is pretty much a joke these days anyways.