In the history of things that were bound to happen at one point or another, this is one of those that should have happened a while ago. But thankfully Judd Apatow is one of the two directors that will be making this documentary a reality as he’ll be bringing George Carlin’s life and times to HBO in a two-part project that will be taking a look at the legendary comedian’s life and his rise to the position he held for such a long time before his passing. There are many among us now that won’t ever realize just how great Carlin was in his heyday since the man was comedy platinum, to hell with the gold. His sharp, biting wit and his ability to drop knowledge bombs on people while on stage, while at the same time being as funny as possible, was well-respected and earned him a great deal of renown in the comedy world, as he helped pave the way for a great number of comedians that would come later. This documentary is just a piece of the whole that this guy is due since despite not being the only comedian from the old guard to be responsible for entertaining those that fully enjoyed his presence, he was one of those that made his way through history in a way that was nothing short of classic.
At this time in the midst of Cancel Culture and everything else that’s been going on in the world of entertainment during the coronavirus, it’s nice to take a look back and remember better times when things weren’t so controversial, or at least weren’t being seen to offend people left and right. That’s the thing with comedy, and one of the many reasons why guys like Carlin made it great, saying what you want is what makes it worthwhile, and what makes entertainment what it is. Carlin was never afraid to say what came to mind and he made it a point to say those things in a manner that would get people to listen. Whether he was making a statement about politics or not he was still funny, still worth the effort of watching, and still said what he wanted to say regardless of what anyone thought or believed. He wasn’t the type of guy to be rude for the hell of it since he wasn’t a complete jerk, but he wasn’t about to be cowed by anyone that had a problem with his opinion either. That’s the great thing about humor and comedians that make them so special when they’re bound and determined, they’ll go ahead and offend people without meaning to since comedy is born of depression and sadness quite often and the ability to make it funny is what robs those negative aspects of their power over people. Sadly, some people don’t see it this way and are only looking to be offended without at least taking the chance to see whether laughter could really help them out.
It does sound as though the documentary will be taking a look at George’s life and will be interviewing several people he interacted with, along with his family. While his antics and his comedy on-screen is known to a lot of people, getting to know what he was like off the stage and screen will be kind of interesting since a lot of people tend to be entirely different when they’re no longer performing. According to what’s been said of George he was more or less the same person no matter where he was, but it would still be nice to get a different perspective on his life and how he interacted with people away from the cameras. Getting to know the man a little more will no doubt be satisfying for many people that happened to enjoy him when he was alive, and it’s a big hope that some of the people being questioned or being allowed to talk about him will be those that had the privilege of working with him at some point in his career. When one thinks about it, George worked with a lot of very impressive people, and he ended up being an inspiration to a lot of them. To pay tribute to a man like George Carlin takes more than a documentary, but it’s a good place to go all the same since Judd Apatow does tell a good story and he is the right guy for the job.
George is definitely one of the many comedians that the world needs at this point and time, but it’s a little bit comforting, for Cancel Culture and those that support it, to know that he’s not here, since otherwise, it’s fair to say that he might be ripping the culture a new one with every word he uttered. It would be worth it.
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