Zach Galifianakis certainly knows how to make the weirdest talk show entrance ever, but coming out of someone’s gut like a furry version of a xenomorph is just beyond bizarre. Once the gag is up you can see how it was done but if you watch without wondering at first it’s a pretty awkward moment since how often do people just burst out of people? This is almost like the scene from Total Recall when Quaid met up with Kuato, though there might not be a lot of people in the world that would want Zach pushing out of their stomach every time he had something to say.
On the weirdness factor the stunt definitely rates way up there, but on the theatricality of it there’s no doubt that it deserves a 10 at least. Since his real emergence into the big time Galifianakis has proven that he’s a character that will do just about anything for a laugh so long as it’s outlandish and unexpected. In the Hangover movies his role as Alan took on a new level of crazy that a lot of people have seen but still weren’t fully prepared for when he unleashed it. The character of Alan was so out of control that it was kind of expected that he might get typecast for every movie after that. While such a thing didn’t happen as expected it did occur in at least couple other movies like Dinner for Schmucks and Due Date.
In both of those movies he played a seriously over-confident individual that had little to no idea that people that encountered him found him to be odd and off-putting. Each character, like Alan, cocooned themselves in a sort of unseen bubble that allowed them to be who they were around people so long as their perceptions weren’t shattered or in any way challenged. Once their perceptions are laid bare however for what they really are it usually takes the characters a bit of time to get back to being themselves. Zach does this kind of character so well that you could almost think he was born to it, or that this is his natural self. But listening to the man you can tell he’s a bit of a joker that likes to have fun and just spout whatever he can at a moment’s notice. He does sound like a bit of an odd duck at times but overall Zach Galifianakis seems like a very nice person that might have a few character quirk that make him perfect for the roles he’s done so well in.
One thing that no one can possibly say anything against is that when he does weird things onscreen or on live TV you get the sense that he’s going for effect and not just for the novelty of whatever he’s doing. He’s an entertainer through and through and seems to enjoy what he’s doing. That could be why bursting through someone’s torso would be an acceptable gag, and it doesn’t sound like the audience disagreed.
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