To say Harry Shearer is a legend of comedy wouldn't be insulting to the man. Since 1990, Shearer has been a big part of The Simpsons. Without him, Ned Flanders and Mr. Smithers wouldn't be who they are. He's seen as an important part of Saturday Night Live despite having been there for two non-consecutive (and mediocre - though not his fault) seasons. His voice is instantly recognizable, and even Shearer's radio program Le Show has been around since forever.
Lately, Shearer has put out a compilation of television "classics" and "rarities" called Now You See It. Does this compilation pass muster? Can Shearer convincingly pat his own ass without annoying viewers? Is this a vanity project for the man? The answers to all these questions, at least to me, are 'yes.'
No, there are no clips from This Is Spinal Tap on Now You See It. Now that this idiotic question is out of the way, on with the review.
Men's Synchronized Swimming (SNL: October 6, 1984)
Writers: Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest, Martin Short
This is one of the most well-known sketches in Saturday Night Live history, a highlight of the show's 1984-85 season. The sketch is fairly clever - Short and Shearer are in training to become champion pairs synchronized swimmers, despite their vocation not really existing. It's very similar in style to most of Shearer's documentary-styled sketches, and Shearer really isn't the star of "Men's Synchronized Swimming". The sketch is amiable enough, but considering this has been shown so often, it's become too familiar. Martin Short in swimcap and lifejacket doing bad interpretive dance can only go so far.
Shearer didn't stay on SNL for the entire 1984-85 season (famously citing "creative differences" - he was creative, SNL was different), but a less well-known sketch could have been shown in "Men's Synchronized Swimming"'s place considering the target audience for Now You See It. Of course, the compilation wouldn't be as marketable if "Men's Synchronized Swimming" wasn't on the compilation, so having it on here is an acceptable trade-off.
Note: Christopher Guest plays an effeminate choreographer.
The Magic of Live (HBO Comedy Hour: 1988)
Writer: Harry Shearer
Notable Guests: Meredith MacRae, Martin Short
Plaid: Not a good way to start off the special. It's an accurate parody of both Michael Jackson's "Bad" and his penchant for plastic surgery, but it's too obvious and isn't that different than Weird Al Yankovic's "Fat." Shearer's eye for detail is commendable, but the sketch is just dated and not really that funny.
Article comments
1 - El Bicho
"If you're buying a Harry Shearer DVD to see Nigel Tufnel's "trouser armadillo" for the fiftieth time, you're probably buying it for the wrong reasons anyway."
Especially because Nigel didn't do that. Harry played Derek Smalls. I've only seen the film twice.
2 - Cameron A.
I'm aware of who plays Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest does appear in one-third of the sketches on Now You See It.)
Point is, Shearer's work is so voluminous that he can get away with showing (and should show) his lesser-known works. I was just making a bad joke about the familiarity of This Is Spinal Tap.