Comments on: Well played, Rob Schneider.

Well played, Rob Schneider.

spec80 — Fri, 11 May 2007 09:20:26 -0800

Previously, Roger Ebert had the last word with Rob Schneider. A few days ago, Rob Schneider proves that despite his undiscriminating film choices, bad films do not make a bad person and he is one classy guy.

By: DU

DU — Fri, 11 May 2007 09:28:00 -0800

Maybe that's how he keeps making movies. Of all the unfunny SNL alumni (and there are a lot of them), he keeps churning them out somehow. Maybe he's such a nice guy people just can't say no. I would also like to take a moment to apologize to Will Ferrell. I don't know where I got it from¹, but somehow I got the impression that he wasn't funny. But I've seen clips (Pearl on YouTube, some of Anchorman and most recently Stranger Than Fiction) and I have to say he is far more nuanced and hilarious than I thought. ¹I think it may have been seeing him on SNL actually. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, seems funny when they are blatantly (mis)reading cuecards from stage left.

By: Faint of Butt

Faint of Butt — Fri, 11 May 2007 09:31:10 -0800

Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, seems funny when they are blatantly (mis)reading cuecards from stage left. Except for Christopher Walken. And Schneider does, indeed, appear to be a nice guy and a real class act. Perhaps one day he will make a good movie.

By: XQUZYPHYR

XQUZYPHYR — Fri, 11 May 2007 09:33:40 -0800

If Schneider really cared he wouldn't have made Deuce Bigalow 2, which is what gave Ebert cancer in the first place.

By: chuckdarwin

chuckdarwin — Fri, 11 May 2007 09:36:31 -0800

[cynic]I wonder if this was some sort of stealth PR move.[/cynic] Shit, I hope not.

By: spec80

spec80 — Fri, 11 May 2007 09:38:43 -0800

I was thinking that too, but we never would have heard about it unless Ebert didn't blog about it. Or maybe that's what they WANT us to think... O_O

By: Pollomacho

Pollomacho — Fri, 11 May 2007 09:39:14 -0800

From the link: It is a hard and frustrating thing to make a movie, and credit must be given where due. And of course nobody knows better the hard work that goes into making a truly bad movie than Roger Ebert.

By: Nelson

Nelson — Fri, 11 May 2007 09:40:24 -0800

Man, such cynics! A nice gesture, a nice acknowledgement. Smile, eat a fresh baguette.

By: CitrusFreak12

CitrusFreak12 — Fri, 11 May 2007 09:42:29 -0800

Aw. A good post to start the day with.

By: Bookhouse

Bookhouse — Fri, 11 May 2007 09:44:12 -0800

I can't remember where I read it, but I read once a Hollywood insider saying something to the effect of: if there's a horrible character actor or b-lister that gets lots and lots of work, its a safe bet that they are personable and professional, those qualities being so rare in the industry that you can make a living off them.

By: straight

straight — Fri, 11 May 2007 09:44:22 -0800

I wonder if this was some sort of stealth PR move. Well, sure. Probably everything done in Hollywood is done with one eye toward the cameras. But it didn't have to be this kind of PR move. Schneider could have also gotten headlines by trying to make fun of Ebert and keep the feud going, making the crowd go 'Ooooh!" for kicking a man while he's down. I'm sure there's plenty of folks in Hollywood who it wouldn't occur to them to send flowers to an "enemy" even as a PR move. Or who would refuse to do it if their agents suggested it.

By: srboisvert

srboisvert — Fri, 11 May 2007 09:47:45 -0800

I take some strange comfort with my new knowledge that Roger Ebert is still fat on the inside. Rob Schneider cracked me up once. On Politically Incorrect he came as a Scarface type and checked with his consigliere before each thing he said.

By: scody

scody — Fri, 11 May 2007 09:52:49 -0800

Aw, this is nice. People being kind to each other! I like.

By: Tehanu

Tehanu — Fri, 11 May 2007 09:53:19 -0800

The book at the end of the previously linked thread made my afternoon. The only thing more fantastic than snark and snark-rebutted-by-classy-move is the snark of personages of historical significance.

By: WCityMike

WCityMike — Fri, 11 May 2007 09:55:25 -0800

This post was deleted for the following reason: Rob Schneider sucks.

By: WCityMike

WCityMike — Fri, 11 May 2007 09:56:35 -0800

j/k ... I actually laughed at his performance in '50 First Dates' ...

By: christopher.taylor

christopher.taylor — Fri, 11 May 2007 09:58:00 -0800

"Beyond the Valley Of The Dolls" a bad movie, Pollomacho? Each actress in that film turned in a pair of tremendous performances!

By: DU

DU — Fri, 11 May 2007 10:01:44 -0800

Except for Christopher Walken. No exceptions.

By: Pollomacho

Pollomacho — Fri, 11 May 2007 10:02:12 -0800

If you liked that one, be sure you don't miss their follow-up, c.t!

By: MsMolly

MsMolly — Fri, 11 May 2007 10:03:37 -0800

Each actress in that film turned in a pair of tremendous performances! Don't forget, one of the actors did too.

By: Pollomacho

Pollomacho — Fri, 11 May 2007 10:04:34 -0800

Sorry that was supposed to say: follow-ups

By: serazin

serazin — Fri, 11 May 2007 10:07:24 -0800

This is a cute story, but I think this is pretty much enough for the Roger Ebert posts.

By: jonmc

jonmc — Fri, 11 May 2007 10:12:13 -0800

Good on Schneider. Despite he's movies kind of sucking, he always came across as a good guy to drink with.

By: roll truck roll

roll truck roll — Fri, 11 May 2007 10:12:27 -0800

There's a kind of similar story about Adam Sandler in Punch-Drunk Love. Ebert saw a screening of it that Sandler was at, and ran up to him at the end to tell him he loved his movie. Sandler said, "I'll tell my Mom she can start reading your column again."

By: KevinSkomsvold

KevinSkomsvold — Fri, 11 May 2007 10:18:06 -0800

serazin writes "This is a cute story, but I think this is pretty much enough for the Roger Ebert posts." Throw Ira Glass and Jon Stewart into the mix an you got a deal. Well great; my work web filter is blocking me from reading the original link. I actually did think about this after hearing Ebert was going to attend the film festival in spite of his condition. Good on Rob, whatever his motivation.

By: tylermoody

tylermoody — Fri, 11 May 2007 10:22:13 -0800

Bookhouse: I'm pretty sure that I once read someone's anecdotes about Colin Quinn here on mefi which were to the same effect. Everyone kind of winces after they realize what they've created, but you can't say no to him because he's so nice and professional.

By: Horace Rumpole

Horace Rumpole — Fri, 11 May 2007 10:25:21 -0800

I would have been certain the "Rob Schneider" and "Class" Venn diagram had no overlap. I stand corrected.

By: ORthey

ORthey — Fri, 11 May 2007 10:26:38 -0800

Rob Schneider has never mad me angry with his unfuniness... it's just sort of fact. He's a squirrely, harmless little dude with a lot of money. But Colin Quinn, well... when he was the news anchor on SNL I would get actually ANGRY at how painfully badly he delivered lines. Maybe I should send him some flowers.

By: RavinDave

RavinDave — Fri, 11 May 2007 10:34:42 -0800

I don't think Rob Schneider can carry ANY movie, but I don't begrudge him his attempts. On the other hand, I think he's often a very effective supporting character. What the heck's wrong with that? I can rattle off several powerhouse actors in the same boat.

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Fri, 11 May 2007 10:35:19 -0800

I all fairness: Little Elvis.

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Fri, 11 May 2007 10:36:00 -0800

Or was it Tiny Elvis? Is Little Elvis what the real Elvis called his junk? It's what I call my junk.

By: dgaicun

dgaicun — Fri, 11 May 2007 10:45:21 -0800

[cynic]I wonder if this was some sort of stealth PR move.[/cynic] The cynic might be more likely to suppose Ebert is just using a throwaway gesture from an actor as an excuse to plug his new book. (The infamous Bigalow review being its selling point) Or maybe the opportunism is symbiotic. [/ultracynic]

By: BrodieShadeTree

BrodieShadeTree — Fri, 11 May 2007 10:53:31 -0800

Tiny Elvis was reaaaallllly funny. It was. Back in the Gopher days there was a little Windows 3.1 app that would put a Tiny Elvis on your desktop. " Whoah Man! Look at that cursor, that thing is HUUUGE" ... good times. Oh , here it is.

By: pruner

pruner — Fri, 11 May 2007 10:54:55 -0800

EbertFilter

By: ursus_comiter

ursus_comiter — Fri, 11 May 2007 10:55:49 -0800

I've heard similar things about the comic industry. You can make a living if you manage two of the following three: 1) Be really really talented. 2) Make your deadlines. 3) Be a really nice person who's a pleasure to work with.

By: mr_crash_davis

mr_crash_davis — Fri, 11 May 2007 10:58:10 -0800

"I actually laughed at his performance in '50 First Dates'" Yeah, me too. It had a nice low-key vibe (for Schneider, anyway) that seemed to be a lot more honest than his usual shtick.

By: rottytooth

rottytooth — Fri, 11 May 2007 11:26:16 -0800

He's not altogether unfunny. The first Deuce Bigelow is a classic, and The Hot Chick had its moments.

By: JHarris

JHarris — Fri, 11 May 2007 11:32:51 -0800

I agree on 50 First Dates, was surprised that I liked it, especially despite its many loathsome moments (I'm thinking especially about old foul-mouthed Hawaiian guy). But anyway, it's easy to forget that Schneider's ad that sparked the whole thing was still quite bellicose and emblematic of the whole "If I'm rich I must be doing it right" mindset that lots of actors, and almost all CEOs, subscribe to. To me, this just moves him back to neutral impression.

By: Blazecock Pileon

Blazecock Pileon — Fri, 11 May 2007 11:37:07 -0800

So: the consensus seems to be Schneider somewhere between Christmas card list and shit list, yes?

By: gsteff

gsteff — Fri, 11 May 2007 11:42:35 -0800

Schneider's ad that sparked the whole thing was still quite bellicose and emblematic of the whole "If I'm rich I must be doing it right" mindset that lots of actors, and almost all CEOs, subscribe to. Schneider's ad was a calculated attempt to get free publicity, almost certainly executed by the film's marketing team. I doubt that it reflected Schneider's actual feelings.

By: dhartung

dhartung — Fri, 11 May 2007 11:51:47 -0800

I always like him on Dukes of Hazzard. Y B a H8er?

By: kosher_jenny

kosher_jenny — Fri, 11 May 2007 11:58:09 -0800

No exceptions. posted by DU at 10:01 AM on May 11 Christopher Walken is always the exception.

By: Navelgazer

Navelgazer — Fri, 11 May 2007 12:10:25 -0800

jonmc: Good on Schneider. Despite he's movies kind of sucking, he always came across as a good guy to drink with. I've drank with him. He isn't a good guy. He's an asshole. He is one of maybe five times in my life where the overwhelming thought in my head when I was around him was "what an asshole." Rob Schneider is an asshole. He is also not talented. ROger Ebert rocks for posting the "thank you," while not retracting his review in any way. But he would have rocked a lot harder if he had simply thanked Schneider's publicist, who is surely the one who actually thought of and did this.

By: Bookhouse

Bookhouse — Fri, 11 May 2007 12:13:28 -0800

The first Deuce Bigelow is a classic Really?

By: any major dude

any major dude — Fri, 11 May 2007 13:01:44 -0800

That is one sensitive naked man...

By: lekvar

lekvar — Fri, 11 May 2007 13:56:56 -0800

So: the consensus seems to be Schneider somewhere between Christmas card list and shit list, yes? Well, I'd never see one of his movies but I I'd probably buy him a beer. There has to be a metric of beer-worthiness. Rob Schneider: 5.6 beers Adam Sandler: 0.08 beers

By: CynicalKnight

CynicalKnight — Fri, 11 May 2007 13:58:46 -0800

Christopher Walken is always the exception

By: ikkyu2

ikkyu2 — Fri, 11 May 2007 13:59:17 -0800

Rob Schneider! Makin' copies! Copies of publicity generating full page newspaper ads! Sellin' movies! The whole thing makes me laugh.

By: DevilsAdvocate

DevilsAdvocate — Fri, 11 May 2007 14:20:18 -0800

Sat down to watch Spanglish last weekend, despite the fact that I had never ever liked anything Adam Sandler had done in the past. And Sandler...well, he didn't ruin the movie. Which is to say he exceeded my expectations. But I could still think of a few hundred other actors which would have been better in that role. Now, I actually liked Will Ferrell in Stranger than Fiction, even though I had generally disliked him before. I was going to say that I had never seen any movie with Rob Schneider, but then I looked at his IMDB entry, and remembered Judge Dredd. And... um... what can I say... I liked Max von Sydow?

By: ZachsMind

ZachsMind — Fri, 11 May 2007 14:41:17 -0800

Good on Schneider. Good on Ebert. Feelgoody all over. Yay. No conflict makes for bad entertainment though. Don't these guys know that? The Animal may have been a terrible movie but it grossed twice as much as it cost to make it. That's considered a conditional success in the box office world. Even Gigolo 2, which was a sequel and not a very good one, paid for itself in the DVD sales. I'm not a big fan of Schneider, but I don't hate him either. I didn't like Jim Carrey's early work very much, but begrudgingly became a fan after a string of successes including Bruce Almighty, Truman Show, and Spotless Mind. To be honest, I began to respect Carrey as a performer when he showed respect to Andy Kaufman. Carrey made climbing into that skin look easy, and it so was not. I wouldn't rule Schneider out. He's got at least one good movie in him. We just haven't seen it yet. Critics still say Spielberg's pretentious and saccharine and thousands of other things, but now all he has to say is "Schindler's List" and people shut up. He can make Jurassic Park Twelve now if'n he wants.

By: BostonJake

BostonJake — Fri, 11 May 2007 17:56:39 -0800

I wouldn't rule Schneider out. He's got at least one good movie in him. We just haven't seen it yet. Ha! Well said. Of course after cringing through Gigolo 1 it would take one hell of a positive review for me to risk another hour and twenty minutes of my time, but hey, here's hoping.

By: blenderfish

blenderfish — Sat, 12 May 2007 00:28:52 -0800

But Colin Quinn, well... when he was the news anchor on SNL I would get actually ANGRY at how painfully badly he delivered lines. Yeah. Whenever I watched him, I would feel bad for the writers, whose work was being butchered so. I am not an actor or comedian, but I swear to god I could have done a better job myself.

By: Ethereal Bligh

Ethereal Bligh — Sat, 12 May 2007 01:06:52 -0800

It's interesting how some actors just keep being bad in bad movies and then they get the just right role and suddenly it's apparent that they are capable of acting, given the right conditions. So ZachsMind may be right—Schneider might have one good movie in him. Punch-Drunk Love is maybe a good example of this. It's not so much that Sandler can actually act, it's that the role was the right one for him. Sandler had exactly the right combination of pathos, vulnerability, and aggression that the role called for. Of course, I think it's the case that P. T. Anderson wrote the character with Sandler in mind. But it turned out to be a fine movie and Sandler filled the role well. Otherwise, I think he's occasionally amusing but I'm not going to watch any of his other films. ZachsMind mentioned Jim Carrey, but I think it was obvious early on that he had more in him than the goofy physical comedy. Cable Guy showed that. I do agree that his performance in Man on the Moon as Kaufman was very, very good. I loved the movie, too. I think it got into Kaufman's head pretty well.

By: porn in the woods

porn in the woods — Sat, 12 May 2007 08:07:59 -0800

Rob Schneider is... a stapler!

By: ryanrs

ryanrs — Sat, 12 May 2007 14:30:02 -0800

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls grossed 10x its budget ? Huh.

By: Peter H

Peter H — Sun, 13 May 2007 15:05:18 -0800

Rob Schneider exists because the law of all things insist a Rob Schneider exist. Just like the law of all jokes, glorious to shitty, insists on a Bruce Vilanch. If either did not exist we would have to invent them.

By: Peter H

Peter H — Sun, 13 May 2007 15:11:59 -0800

Incidentally, here's my favorite Rob Schneider PR Attention gimmick: a full page pun-ridden ad in Variety from the Mel Gibson Anti Semite days