Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Bad Hombres, Good Wives: think Jim Carrey or Chevy Chase physical humor

Find someone whose crazy matches your crazy

If physical comedy isn't based on the character, it won't get a laugh.
If physical comedy isn't based on the character, it won't get a laugh.

This is a funny show. It needs to be funny. If it weren’t funny it would be offensive, especially in our delicate and easily offended culture. The characters are so exaggerated that we don’t take them seriously, which allows us to relax and have fun.

However, the entire show is based on one of the prevailing situational comedy tropes. The title actually says it all: “Bad hombres and good wives.”

As is the norm, the men in this show are generally incompetent buffoons whose character flaws are legion. The women, on the other hand, are basically perfect. Their minimal flaws exist only because the “male gaze” has been imposed on them. But it does make for good comedy.

Sponsored
Sponsored

I wonder how long this lopsided representation of male characters is going to persist. I see it everywhere. Almost every commercial involving a family is based on the mom or daughter having their act together, while the father or son are oblivious to the situation.

I believe this type of depiction of men is potentially damaging. I can imagine a scenario in which women expect men to be oblivious dolts, and so men expect themselves to be oblivious dolts, and so men become, by and large, oblivious dolts. Some people would like to believe that’s already the case.

One element I really liked about Bad Hombres, Good Wives is that the characters’ “crazy” matched well. To paraphrase the Cheshire Cat, we’re all crazy here, and the key to a fruitful relationship is to find someone whose crazy matches your crazy.

Speaking of crazy, the physical comedy in Bad Hombres, Good Wives is spectacular. Physical comedy is notoriously tough to pull off, because it is often based on an idea the actor or director had, and that idea may or may not be based on the character. If it isn’t based on the character, it won’t get a laugh.

Bad Hombres/Good Wives

Character-based physical humor can be a lot of fun: think Jim Carrey or Chevy Chase. Bad Hombres, Good Wives is just that. A lot of fun.

Bad Hombres, Good Wives is plays at San Diego Repertory Theatre through October 27, 2019.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Issa aide collaborates with Ukrainians

Carlsbad's Tracy Slepcevic, Warrior Mom, and her ties to RFK, Jr.
Next Article

The greatest symphonist of them all

Havergal Brian wrote over 30 of them
If physical comedy isn't based on the character, it won't get a laugh.
If physical comedy isn't based on the character, it won't get a laugh.

This is a funny show. It needs to be funny. If it weren’t funny it would be offensive, especially in our delicate and easily offended culture. The characters are so exaggerated that we don’t take them seriously, which allows us to relax and have fun.

However, the entire show is based on one of the prevailing situational comedy tropes. The title actually says it all: “Bad hombres and good wives.”

As is the norm, the men in this show are generally incompetent buffoons whose character flaws are legion. The women, on the other hand, are basically perfect. Their minimal flaws exist only because the “male gaze” has been imposed on them. But it does make for good comedy.

Sponsored
Sponsored

I wonder how long this lopsided representation of male characters is going to persist. I see it everywhere. Almost every commercial involving a family is based on the mom or daughter having their act together, while the father or son are oblivious to the situation.

I believe this type of depiction of men is potentially damaging. I can imagine a scenario in which women expect men to be oblivious dolts, and so men expect themselves to be oblivious dolts, and so men become, by and large, oblivious dolts. Some people would like to believe that’s already the case.

One element I really liked about Bad Hombres, Good Wives is that the characters’ “crazy” matched well. To paraphrase the Cheshire Cat, we’re all crazy here, and the key to a fruitful relationship is to find someone whose crazy matches your crazy.

Speaking of crazy, the physical comedy in Bad Hombres, Good Wives is spectacular. Physical comedy is notoriously tough to pull off, because it is often based on an idea the actor or director had, and that idea may or may not be based on the character. If it isn’t based on the character, it won’t get a laugh.

Bad Hombres/Good Wives

Character-based physical humor can be a lot of fun: think Jim Carrey or Chevy Chase. Bad Hombres, Good Wives is just that. A lot of fun.

Bad Hombres, Good Wives is plays at San Diego Repertory Theatre through October 27, 2019.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Gonzo Report: Bob Long played piano for Tina Turner and Ray Charles

And he got the crowd shaking at InZane Brewery
Next Article

Time’s up for Doubletime Recording Studio

Owner Jeff Forrest is trading El Cajon for Portugal
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader