Fan Rant: David Cross Defends His Participation in 'Chipmunks'
Filed under: Comedy, Family Films, Fan Rant
It happens to movie fans all the time: You're watching a trailer for a movie that's almost inevitably a mindless piece of crap ... and wait, who was that? Holy moley, is that Bill Murray doing the voice of Garfield? (Twice?!?!) Jesus, what is Christopher Walken doing in The Country Bears? And, more recently, holy crap is that Jason Lee AND David Cross in this Alvin and the Chipmunks movie? What planet am I living on? (Mr. Lee also did Underdog this year, so he might be beyond salvation.)See, movie fans are a possessive lot. Because we're used to seeing Bill Murray and Christopher Walken in GOOD movies, and we're well aware that guys like Jason Lee and David Cross are way too cool to become "sellouts," right? As if it takes a genius to assume that the material in Alvin and the Chipmunks is "beneath" David Cross, right? Unfortunately, comedy fans, not every project can be Arrested Development -- but that hasn't stopped a whole lot of David Cross "fans" from bashing the guy for co-starring in a movie about animated chipmunks.
I guess those fans would respect Mr. Cross more if he ONLY took movies that were 'worthy' of his talents -- but really, an actor is a human being. And human beings gotta eat. Anyway, Mr. Cross took the trouble to post a fairly fascinating blog entry on the situation, and here's the passage I found most illuminating: "It was a little more than I had budgeted for [ a new home] but it was definitely worth it. I asked the owner if he'd take some of my credibility as payment. He looked at me as if I was an alien with A.I.D.S. speaking some intergalactic gobbledy-goo. I had to patiently explain to this country bumpkin about my indie hipster cred, and I would now like to cash it in. This rural rube was so backwards and ignorant that he couldn't even conceive of how financial markets work and simple free market capitalism. I tried again to explain the concept of the value of "credibility" and "artistic integrity" but he refused to take it in exchange for the house. This guy was a f***ing idiot! But what could I do? He wouldn't take no for an answer. If I wanted that cottage I would have to pay him money. Sigh. So I used my "Alvin and the Chipmunks" money to pay for the down payment."
So there you go. Horror fans seem to delight in the story about how Betsy Russell signed on for Friday the 13th because she realllllllly wanted a new car, so how is this any different? In a perfect world, David Cross would appear only in stuff as good as Arrested Development, but projects like that are obviously few and far between. And so a comic actor with half-a-brain must keep working until a better project shows up. I know that in the past I've done my fair share of actor-bashing when I sense they're not even trying -- but I never really get that impression from David Cross. Even in the lamest "paycheck" gigs, he's one of the funniest things on the screen -- or have you not seen Scary Movie 2? I've not yet seen Alvin and the Chipmunks, but here's precisely what I thought when I learned that David Cross was in the movie: "Really? Well at least the flick will have one or two laughs in it..."
Here's a tip from a movie nerd who's been a Steve Martin junkie for over 30 years (yes, still): Focus on the flicks you love, and forget the rest. (I know, it's hard....) I believe that's also what the actors do. So check out Cross' blog to see what he has to say about the bile he's battling, and then check out a different perspective from The Onion's A.V. Club. Me, I'm gonna go watch some of the misadventures of Tobias Funke -- some of the funniest television work I've ever freakin' seen.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-02-2008 @ 1:07PM
Arlo J. Wiley said...
I honestly can't help but agree with The Onion A.V. Club article.
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1-02-2008 @ 2:08PM
Gina said...
Wise advice, Scott. Thanks for providing a little perspective. (Not a Cross fan, but I've felt that way about other actors at times.)
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1-02-2008 @ 2:33PM
Robin said...
Interesting point/counter-point here. As an avid fan of Cross and (almost) everything he does I am really on the fence here. I laughed until I cried at the secret track in "Shut Up" and was horrified to see him listed as cast (and even in the trailer in some cases) in "She's the Man" and "A&tC")... I will have to digest this all a bit longer.
That being said if he is so hard up for work why doesn't he tour? I'd love to see his stand-up live.
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1-02-2008 @ 2:35PM
KMF said...
Great post! Whenever I see an actor I really like and/or respect in something I, by my opinion, think is lame or just awful, I think that "Hey, they need a paycheck too." nothing wrong with that or like in Alvin's case that they have a kid and want something they can see, like with Jason Lee. Surprisingly, I groaned only for a minute after hearing David Cross was in Alvin and the Chipmunks, but since the movie was a hit, and little kids need entertainment too, I forgot about it, and went on with my life.
Sir Laurence Olivier made a lot of movies in the 70's on the basis of needing to pay the bills, and put his younger kids through school, 'Marathon Man' is no 'Hamlet', but I still like it!
As an artist I've done some crap art ideas for much needed commission money that wasn't nearly as nice and other works I'd done, so who am I to judge any actor?
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1-02-2008 @ 4:43PM
MosquitoControl said...
My bigger complaint is with Lee.
David Cross never whined, so he can do what he want.
After the debacle that was Stealing Harvard, Jason Lee retired from big movies. He said he could only get crappy scripts, they paid money, but it sucked to spend months shooting something only to be ripped apart in the reviews. Ripped apart hard. So he said he was going to stop.
Then My Name Is Earl hit. Suddenly tons of scripts came his way. How did he celebrate? By picking the same crappy scripts he was being offered before, and by being torn apart in the reviews.
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1-02-2008 @ 4:47PM
Gilbert Davis said...
Snobs. Garfield was good for what it was and all the better for the participation of Bill Murray. And the movies were ones you could let your kids watch. As for the David Cross business, you know, I remember his bit in Men in Black and I didn't particularly find it funny him 'humorously' taking a shovel to go kill his mom so he could go to Thailand and buy his girlfriend a lobster dinner which he would pay more than a dollar for. I find that guy unfunny and annoying. But like KMF said, dude needs to pay the bills and if perhaps he needs to involve himself in a project that doesn't involve taking a shovel to his mother so be it. Maybe in the process he'll do something I think is good.
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1-02-2008 @ 7:26PM
Lola said...
Meh, it really doesn't bother me if an actor needs to do something crappy for a paycheck. The only way it hurts me is that I might be a little embarrassed for being a fan, which might hurt the actor if enough fans feel that way and people don't go see their movies anymore. But fans would have to be pretty pissed to go that far. I found the 'Alvin' trailer painful enough, so I'm just going to skip the movie and it's no skin off my back. Actors might want to take note on the backlash though and not do too many crappy movies that lose all their fans. Then they won't even get the lame scripts sent to them anymore..
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1-02-2008 @ 8:58PM
Joe said...
So what's his excuse for doing Curious George, eh? At least, I think it was him. Don't ask me how I saw that movie. You're better off not knowing.
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1-02-2008 @ 9:06PM
Robin said...
Well of course he's entitled to do what he wants and who am I to say anything - but at he same time he rips bands like Evanescence and Creed for being crappy and "derivative." Either you're an artist who cares about art, or you're someone trying to get a paycheck. For long(er)-term fans of Cross he has always been the artist rather than the employee. Obviously movies like A&tC and School for Scoundrels (or, yes, Curious George, but no, I didn't watch it) were cutting edge or ground breaking.
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1-02-2008 @ 9:07PM
Robin said...
Err.. "weren't cutting edge or ground breaking."
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1-03-2008 @ 4:33AM
edd said...
But David Cross wasn't going to take "weren't cutting edge or ground breaking," for an answer
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1-03-2008 @ 11:43PM
Crissy said...
You know... It might behoove the author of this article to realize that not every movie has to be an epic film. Sometimes even the big shots wouldn't mind entertaining a kid or two. I find these movies FAR more appropriate for children than most of the trash that "less than great" actors star in. "Mindless", well sure if you are looking at it from the perspective of an adult. But to a kid it as all about fun. Author - Get in touch with yourt inner brat.
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