Subscribe To This Site

UNDERSTANDING BOB SAGET
by Daren Foster

TV Sitcoms

DAREN FOSTER PODCAST about his recent columns - June 29 2009!

Reviews/Movies/Columns

WATCH FILMS
2008 Shorts
2007 Shorts
Drama Shorts
Comedy Shorts
Horror Shorts
Animation Shorts
Action Shorts
Thriller Shorts
DOC Shorts
Experimental
Musical Videos

CLASSIC FILMS
2000s Reviews
1990s Reviews
1980s Reviews
1970s Reviews
1960s Reviews
1950s Reviews
1940s Reviews
1930s Reviews
1920s Reviews

BY GENRE
Drama
Comedy
Action
Comic Book
Western
Animation
Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Thriller/Suspense

2009 MOVIE REVIEWS
Drama Movies
Comedy Movies
Action Movies
Thriller Movies
Animation Movies
Horror Movies
Kids Movies
Romance Movies

OUT ON DVD

See what's out at the comfort of your home!

2009 MOVIE TRAILERS

See the trailers of the UPCOMING TOP movies!

Movie Reviews

2009 DRAMA MOVIES

All the dramatic films from 2009

2009 COMEDY MOVIES

All the comedy films from 2009

2009 HORROR MOVIES

All the horror films from 2009

2009 ACTION MOVIES

All the action films from 2009

2009 KIDS MOVIES

All the children films from 2009

2009 ROMANCE MOVIES

All the romantic films from 2009

2009 THRILLER MOVIES

All the thriller films from 2009

2009 ANI-
MATED MOVIES

All the animated films from 2009

UNDERSTANDING BOB SAGET
by Daren Foster

***I don't understand Bob Saget.***

I’ve been thinking of Bob Saget. Don’t judge me for that. Sometimes even the loftiest minds wallow in dank, murky places and my mind has been called many things but lofty has never been one of them. Frankly, who amongst us hasn’t thought of Bob Saget from time to time?

In the warped way that television is supremely adept, a Bob Saget can claim to be a pop cultural icon. There’s no qualitative implication to that. You can be a pop culture icon for good or bad. Think William Hung. Susan Boyle. Jon and Kate Plus 8 on TLC. I’ve never seen the show and I still know they’re getting a divorce! Becoming an icon these days doesn’t seem to involve much more than an eager willingness to part with your dignity and sense of self worth.

Bob Saget was years ahead of that curve. Legend has it that he was a comic’s comic, obscenely funny and not ready for prime time. Except that he appeared on TV throughout the 80s with guest shots on shows like Bosom Buddies, The Greatest American Hero and It’s A Living until he hit pay dirt with the starring role on the now legendarily hokey sitcom, Full House in 1987. As part of ABC’s TGIF family-friendly line-up, Full House was neither funny nor obscene (unless you’re talking creatively) but ran for a remarkable 8 eight seasons making Saget and others involved in the show rich. A couple of years later, Saget notched another dubious but lucrative dishonour on his CV as the first host of America’s Funniest Home Videos. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, there are those who still insist the man is funny.

Unable to wipe that grating smirk of Danny Tanner from my mind or erase my memory of those nerve-jangling voice-overs of AFHV, I set off in search of proof for the suspicious claim of Bob Saget, Funny Guy. He made an appearance in the 2005 dirtiest joke ever documentary, The Aristocrats. In 2007, HBO gave him a stand-up special, That Ain’t Right. The following year, there was the Comedy Central Roast of Bob Saget which was, unfortunately, only a comedy roast in the Friars Club tradition rather than the actual burning of Bob Saget alive. If there is ever a reality show that features the burning alive of annoying celebrities, I will happily repeal the standing order I presently live under that keeps me from watching reality programming.

After taking in these 3 offerings, I am here to report that as a stand-up comedian Bob Saget is funny. At least, he is funnier than he was on Full House or America’s Funniest Home Videos, but that is setting the funny bar meaninglessly low. I’d go as far as to say that as a stand-up Bob Saget is funnier than either Dane Cook or Dana Carvey, but again, hardly a ringing endorsement. How’s this? Saget swears as much as any comedian going. Sometimes it’s even inventive. Unlike his television alter ego, Bob Saget seems comfortable calling Oscar winning octogenarian Cloris Leachman an old slut. Can you picture Danny Tanner even imagining doing that? Jesse, sure. Joey even, but only after a nip or two of some peach schnapps. Certainly Mary-Kate and Ashley, but Danny? Never.

This seems to be Saget’s whole post-Full House shtick, playing against the squeaky clean image of Danny Tanner. He’s like a school boy acting out, eliciting slightly stifled tee-hee-hees from his classmates who can’t believe he’s saying such things loud enough for the teacher to hear. Even in The Aristocrats, where Saget’s blue streak should shine, he simply comes across as a dilettante, mouthing dirty words and bits but entirely misses the sheer depravity that makes the joke work. Unlike Gilbert Gottfried and George Carlin who fully embrace it, Saget keeps breaking out of character, mumbling that he couldn’t believe what he was saying before continuing on with the joke. Yeah, Bob. We get it. You’re Danny Tanner. You’ve got an image to uphold. You’re edgy. You’re daring.

So what, you say. Bob Saget ain’t the first person to whore himself at the foot of Mammon, selling out any shred of credibility for a great big honking pile of filthy lucre. He certainly won’t be the last. Absolutely. You’ll get no argument from me. In fact, I often wonder how I can get me a piece of that action.

What intrigues me though, is this. Is there any going back once you’ve reached the crossroads and sold your soul for a slice of fame and fortune? Earlier in the spring, Saget starred in yet another sitcom for ABC, Surviving Suburbia. Word had it that he’d be playing against type as a cranky father and husband constantly put upon by his family and neighbours. At last, Bob Saget would shake free of the Danny Tanner monkey on his back and offer the world a glimpse of the real Bob Saget. The Bob Saget the stand-up community thinks so highly of. The dark Bob Saget. The Anti-Bob Saget.

In case you’re not picking up on the building sarcasm, that absolutely wasn’t the case with Surviving Suburbia. It was as painfully unfunny as Full House and the crusty Bob Saget wasn’t crusty so much as mildly grumpy but with a truly good heart. Saget’s Steve Patterson moaned and complained but ultimately did right by everyone. He made a show of wanting to be left alone although, deep down, you know that wasn’t really true. Surviving Suburbia was the latest series to completely under use Cynthia Stevenson and depended almost exclusively on perpetual sidekick, Jere Burns, to get the few laughs it got.

For Bob Saget, it wasn’t a rejection of Full House but more of an extension. Danny Tanner, a little older, paunchier and a little crustier. Almost imperceptibly so.

Bringing me to my main query: why?

Why go down that road again? You’re rich. You’re a household name. There’s nothing left to prove except maybe that you’re better, funnier, more interesting than that guy who was on Full House and AFHV. You tell dirty jokes. Why not roll the dice and break out, go down a whole new career path? There are venues for that nowadays. HBO. Showtime. You want to talk crusty? Two words: Larry David. Show the world the real Bob Saget!

The only answer I can come up with is that this is the real Bob Saget. Risk aversive. Money hungry. Passingly funny but ultimately a slave to corporate entertainment. This is the persona he has perfected. Full House, AFHV and Surviving Suburbia weren’t aberrations. They all fit Bob Saget like a glove. They not only made him wealthy but they served to make his stand-up appear funnier than it actually is. Without Danny Tanner, Bob Saget is little more than your run of the mill foul mouthed comedian and that’s a dead end career track that leads, at best, to a brief appearance on Celebrity Apprentice. Just ask Andrew Dice Clay. Or Bob Saget. The whore that Saget is, he even made a brief appearance on that show, proving beyond the shadow of a doubt that once you sell your soul, you can’t ever get it back.