Kathy Griffin, Extra Terrestrials, Dolly Parton, And The Like.
I just finished watching the most recent episode of Kathy Griffin: My Life On The D-List. For those of you out of the know, this is a usually harmless and frequently hilarious reality show which chronicles comedienne Kathy Griffin’s struggles to pull herself out of obscurity and turn herself into a household name. Last week she sold out a gig at Carnegie Hall, so her efforts definitely seem to be paying off. Soon the title of the show may need to change.
On tonight’s episode the laughter stopped for a little while as Kathy confronted the death of her father, a spunky 90 year-old wise-cracker who has appeared on the show numerous times with Kathy’s equally spunky mom as a sort of comic relief - from the comedy. And wouldn’t you know it, I actually found myself bawling. During a comedienne’s reality show. WTF.
Death sucks. Saying goodbye sucks. Stuff like that always fucks me and my tearducts up, and I will forever hold E.T. responsible for that. No, not the nightly tabloid tv show with that permaperky Mary Hart who creepily never ages. Though she and that show do make me sad for a host of other reasons… But I’m actually referring to the so-called "kids’ movie" E.T., the one which I distinctly recall hurling me into some kind of primal breakdown half of my life ago when it was re-released in theaters in 1992 for its ten year anniversary. I’m talking a wailing, keening tantrum complete with projectile mucus here. I truly believe that movie scarred me for life, and that however young I was when I first saw it - five, perhaps? - was waaaaay too young. I’m not sure I’m old enough even NOW to be subjected to such a traumatic film. To this day whenever I say goodbye to someone, or whenever I see someone say goodbye to someone on tv or in a movie and I know they’ll never see the person again, I lose my shit. Not literally. That would be weird. But I do tend to cry in those situations. A lot.
So I suppose I really shouldn’t be surprised that Kathy Griffin made me cry tonight. What perhaps came as a bit more of a surprise was that not five minutes later she had me laughing hysterically again. I’m pretty sure she knew that’s what her feisty old dad would have wanted, as he watched her show upstairs on God’s giant flatscreen. Way to go, Kathy! See you next week in Baltimore!
The lesson? It’s nothing earth-shattering, but it’s definitely a nice reminder. Sure sucky stuff happens sometimes, but it always feels better after I let myself have a good cry. And if things get entirely too serious, I can always HIT OUISER! For as Dolly Parton so eloquently states in Steel Magnolias, "Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion."
Who am I to disagree with Dolly?
July 7th, 2007 at 12:47 pm
Excuse my butting in here, but have you seen the dream sequence in the Exorcist when the mother walks away and he can’t find her?
That one always phunks with my heart!