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"Kathy Griffin: My Life On The D-List" (4.07) recaplet: Bora Bora, Gaybies, and ... "The Todd"
This episode of My Life on the D List starts with Kathy Griffin talking about trying to lure her mother away from her gay and equip her with "the old person's survival kit", which includes The Hover-round, Life Alert, and my personal favorite, the Jitterbug, which is the "cell phone for seniors", and looks like a pre-school toy cell phone (complete with painted on numbers). This week, the show is about a working vacation in Bora Bora, which was decided on after assistants Jessica and Tiffany used one of the tricks from that mega-selling phenomenon The Secret (and as such, Tiffany and Jessica are now dead to me). The gang arrives in Bora Bora, where Kathy has to perform in two shows for what she thinks is an exclusively gay audience. First, they take time out for a little kayaking and snorkeling in the most dazzling blue water I've ever seen (I live next to Lake Ontario, and the only time the water is blue is when some evil corporation dumps barrels of old anti-freeze in it). Unfortunately, this scene also highlights tour manager Tom, who I'm sad to say is almost as pasty as I am. Before the first show, Kathy decides to get to know the audience better, and that's when she makes a horrifying discovery ... the audience isn't entirely gay, it's actually forty percent ... straight. This sends her into a mild panic, until she realizes that there's more drama with the straight people than the gays. There's a strange, very tall straight guy who's not sitting with his wife because "they don't get along", a couple who are divorced but still sleeping together, and then there's ... The Todd (who we'll get to later). Kathy starts her show...and makes a huge faux pas.
Before she starts her stand-up, Kathy's opening act performs. She's a performance artist named India, and it's fairly clear that at one time in her life, she knew all there was to know about the crying game. Kathy starts her act, and to say it doesn't go well is an understatement. In between sweating buckets, she makes some ill received jokes about the guests, and also tries out new material about "gaybies". According to Kathy, gaybies are children who are adopted by gay couples, and apparently that's worth mocking. All of her gays, who were "going to circuit parties six months ago, are suddenly adopting kids. They're so full of sh*t ... you can't return them." Well, that garners a chilly reception, as well it should. I love Kathy more than anyone, but I really think it's time she widens her gay circle, maybe that way it wouldn't come as such a shock to find out that not all gays have "hedonistic for life" bumper stickers. Fellow comic Mario Cantone shows up, and the two of them bemoan the fact that some gay people actually want things like "marrriage" and "children", and how above all of that they are. As you can tell, this isn't my favorite "Kathy" moment. See if Kathy is able to redeem herself for the second performance, and meet "The Todd" after the break.
Kathy decides to do anything she can to get back in the good graces of the guests, so she heads off to an island with them, and after some heavy schmoozing, she learns all about "The Todd". Todd is a guest who may or may not be gay, may or may not be filthy rich, and may or may not be totally batcrap insane. From the gossip floating around, Todd got kicked out of Kathy's show, and ended up in the kitchen in his underwear, then stripped naked for a female guest. If he also played the bongos, he could be the long lost brother of Matthew Mcconaughey. He was eventually put in "lockdown", which makes Kathy wonder if she can do the same thing to Tom. Before she begins the second show, Todd pays a visit with a special gift for Kathy, a necklace that looks like it was made from shells ... or shrunken heads. She starts the show, and using the punchline that is "The Todd", this show goes much better than the last one. Back at home, it's time for Kathy to deal with her wayward mother, and she enlists the services of her niece Claire and nephew JP to convince her to start hanging around with people her own age. She wants to take her mom to a "retirement community", and the kids are supposed to act like it's Disneyworld. They head off to Kathy then presents her mother with the old person's survival kit, which has the aforementioned Life Alert, one of those grabby things to get stuff on the top shelf, and a scooter. Of course she couldn't just present her with a scooter, so there was a lot of subterfuge involving selling Kathy's dad's scooter, and a fake Craigslist sale. I was a little disappointed with this episode. With the exception of the Todd bits, which was classic D list material, and the stuff with Kathy's mom, It didn't have a lot of appeal for me. Maybe next week's show, which has Kathy campaigning for a Grammy, will bring it back. I just hope she retires the "gaybies" bit. Submitted by on Fri, 2008-07-25 12:40. |
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Pretty Shocking
I had no idea Kathy held such views. I guess there is a little of bigot in her. I bet most straight people think the same thing. It just goes to show how far we have to go.
Kathy's views on babies and gay marriage
1. I did not get the impression that Kathy is AGAINST gays adopting--it's just the obnoxious ways some people act with the babies and how some of her circle use the babies as a sort of accessory or trend. I don't think the material is good yet--but I do think there is something there. She has to find a better way to get the humour out of it.
2. The line about gay marriage was a JOKE she followed it up "with I'm against straight marriage" or words to that effect. In reality she's very supportive of gay marriage.
I think there are some subjects that are harder to joke about and these are two of them. We're still too close at this time to find jokes about them funny.
She's certainly not a bigot--see the show in context.
she's not a bigot calm down
The Todd
was a creep. I got this whole Jeff from Celebrity Rehab vibe from him. If Jeff was maybe-gay and vaguely understandable, that is.
He's an odd one. But I'm glad he was a seemingly happy crazy, and not an axe murderer crazy
gaybies....
I was a bit unsure of what Kathy was trying to say to her audience about “gaybies.”
Was she saying gay people don’t take parenting seriously?? they're not responsible enough?
it was odd.
Actually, yes
Or she's a comedian and
Or she's a comedian and she's observing an inherant contradiction of perception in our society?She makes fun of people it's what she does, and that ones an easy one to call out. Doesn't mean it applies to everyone and you don't have to get up tight about it.
Plus gayby is just a funny word.
well, not every bit is going to be gold...
And this one was just sour to me. It just fell flat.
With a big thud.
I totally agree...
I totally agree, Reine. She is just making an observation that of course doesn't apply to everyone. Yet sometimes it does, I have a couple of friends who were circuit boys for the most part about 7-8 years ago and now they are trying to adopt a kid. Do I think it means they are going to be bad parents, of course not! It's just ironic! And whats so bad about not wanting kids, or marriage for that reason. I'm a gay man, who happens to be a teacher, and the LAST thing i want is kids. I LOVE my students, but in general I pretty much hate kids. Unless they are in my classroom I'd rather not deal with them. Yet I'm all for gays adopting and gay marriage, but those are two things that are not for me. Does that make me a horrible person?!
Please excuse any grammar or spelling errors, I am a English teacher after all.
Get over yourselves
The intention about gaybies was fine to me. For goodness sake she's playing with stereotypes! Now she's a bigot because of one bad performance?!
In 'Straight to hell' she made fun of lesbians always referring to their kids as 'gifted'. Ok the jokes were perhaps poorer this time, but there's no need to get so uptight... she makes fun of groups and trends like every comedian!
The fact is that parents in general are so self righteous about their children that they can't get a joke.
Well, I'm not a parent, and am a huge Kathy fan
And i still didn't think it was a shining moment. But she said herself that she was "testing" out this material, so maybe when it's been fine tuned, it'll come across better.
But it's not like my diva worship has evaporated. Id still follow her anywhere.
The Latest Fad
I don't think Kathy was saying gays are irresponsible parents. She is however pointing out that the gay community has jumped on the kid bandwagon like reproducing is the latest Fad. She isn't the only comedian to do it, Some gay comedians have also joked about it
Noone can tell me that there isn't some gay people adopting because it's the "in" thing to do. Living in New York I've certainly seen my share of children being hauled around like the latest Gucci handbag.
www.thebittersuite.blogspot.com
I guess i just don't find the humour in this particular bit.
When kids are being taken from their gay foster parents, and legislation is being readied all over the country to make it illegal for gay couples to adopt, I just don't find it funny.
Am i being oversensitive, maybe, but it just didn't work for me.
You are being a tad
You are being a tad oversensitive, but I understand. Everything that is happening is sick, and it deserves to be brought in the spotlight.
Kathy's jokes weren't unfunny because of the context, they just weren't funny. Like George Carlin said, anything can be made fun of, you just have to do it right. She really, really needs to put some more thought in to that one before airing it again. It wasn't cringe inducing, it was eye rolling bad.
Is it a "fad" for straights?
You know, the one-upmanship over who has the most well-appointed SUV for transporting the kids? How about the competition to see who can throw the best birthday party to gain status for their kids in kindergarten? Or the elementary school career pathing that goes on (private school, charter school, elementary honor roll student, etc)?
Let's not kid ourselves here. Straight people treat kids as being as much of a status symbol as owning a cool car. I live in the land of suburban yuppies and believe me it's no less a status symbol for them than it is for gays.
Why is it that straight people having kids is assumed to be a selfless endeavor but gay people doing it are assumed to be "following a trend"?
The only real reason it might seem like a "trend" for gays is that until recently it was nigh-impossible for openly gay people to adopt anywhere.
Kathy Griffin: I think it's about the who/where/why
Maybe I am wrong in my assumptions about why the article was written as it was. I see it as pandering to those who who already blame Larry for his own murder, are afraid of the infamous "gay agenda," and to those who like their answers in a neat package to read/discard and move on. Gender expression, sexual orientation, and/or address one another in public are not black or white issues as it's about trying to learn from what happened instead of digging for dirt.
My Life On The D-List: At this point you may be asking yourself WTF does the rant above have to do with boxed wine? It's an attempt to differentiate statements made during a comedic hour show and say, a news magazine.
It was clear to me that child/marriage commentary by the annoying Mario Cantone and Kathy applied to all people, including straight people. While Kathy's show is becoming more and more gay-centric as is her material (especially when addressing a gay audience), one could look at her as Margeret Cho has coined herself: a fag hag. Cho writes about being left at the end of the night as her gays go do un-Nuke like things and leave her all alone.
Many of Kathy's gays might be partaking in opportunities that were never available to them and might leave the single gal bummed as she expressed when one of her gays was spending time with her mom. Nothing more or less.
Could Cantone and Kathy be mourning that some of their gay buddies are not available anymore, that their stories are not as outrageous, and that they can't identify with the whole parenting culture? The question same applies to marriage. I did not see it as a cover your ass comment when they both agreed that gays nor straights should be allowed to marry. Kind of funny to me because it felt real.
Don't we live in a culture that has forever made it seem like getting married and procreating at an appropriate age gives us instant stability/maturity/happiness? Especially women who tend to either be pitied by their married counterparts for being too neurotic/crazy/ugly not to bag a man, or have grown get marginal acceptance and even a little envy in some circles.
Those of who are left of center, gay or straight, historically have found commonalities in their humor and lives. Now that the LGBT community seems to be showing even more colors as it fights for much deserved rights, I think that many people are trying to figure out what what to make of the new possibilities.
Is it that hard to find humor that a once pumped up/drugged-out circuit party queen might (out of left field to some) be living in the suburbs in what resembles a nuclear family that seemed so foreign for so long. Many have always expressed a desire for that; however some may just be trying on the latest accessory. It happens and gays are not immune to it. We can be part of the joke.
I have a feeling that if any of us could hear what many new parents (especially the ones who Cantone and Kathy were talking about) talk about, even decent ones might be saying some not so nice things about their single/childless friends. Possibly becoming as judgmental as their previous oppressors. Don't we all have our moments? I think that the ones who are really annoying/act superior about it can be called out on it as its as true as any joke that Kathy makes about herself.
Kathy was not giving her views to a newspaper, but being her usual self-deprecating self. Let's not take this show out of context as last week she was "Oprah." When I saw her in concert shortly after she won the Emmy, a friend wondered if she was "happy" as so much of her humor is about mocking herself. I hope that she is as I've enjoyed her shtick much longer than I thought I would. Some of the magic is gone but it's natural as it's just more familiar. Comedy is hard.
I still have an anti-Bette Midler stance given her comments to The Advocate. Overly sensitive on my part? Very possibly so, but it was the context that bothered me. Are those who were hurt by Kathy overly sensitive? I can't answer that. I will say that I am not surprised to hear some rumblings as we tend to put some people in pedestals and then beat them down. I think that we all do it to some degree.
My biggest peeve with Griffin is when she's not funny. She was not hilarious last night, but the show had something for all including a pretty matter of fact presentation of a very sexy transsexual, wasted straight people acting in very weird ways, Kathy's crusty skin (tragic), gays, lesbians, and for me some food for thought about aging, family, and do I dare say it? Drinking.
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Kathy Owned Her Failure
I thought it was refreshing that she owned her failure at the start of the show and then set out to reclaim her connection to the group. It had that matter-of-fact frankness and honesty that many gay people (and allies) exhibit once they are open and out.
it was a joke with it's grain of truth
sorry just because the crowd didn't find it funny doesn't mean it wasn't i'd have to agree with whoever said that it seems like it's a trend because until recently gay adoption wasn't plausible. but kathy has a point it is a trend. i know there are those people who want kids and actually have them because they're nurturing and enjoy children. then there are those that are doing it because they think it's cool and trendy and because they've somehow confused a child with the chihuahua they shove in their designer manpurses.
if people, gay or straight, want kids then that's fine but you have to REALLY want kids and be devoted not have one because it's the cool thing to have and think they'll be self-sufficient.
parents straight and gay both behave self-righteous and believe themselves to be superior to those who don't want children. so it's only fair that a COMEDIAN who doesn't have kids, nor wants them, could mock those who most likely harrass her for her decision i know that i get my fair share for saying i'd rather be sodomized by a broken bottle than have kids.
also IT WAS HILARIOUS GET OVER IT IT'S JUST A JOKE!!!
Finally
Someone who agrees with me about both marriage and kids and will say it on TV. Thanks Kathy & Mario. Marriage is for suckers no matter your orientation, but bringing kids into this world is just selfish and cruel. Can anyone name one reason to have a child (not adopt) that's not purely self-interest?
edited for typo