Russell Brand is about to get a bit of a bashing in the US as early reviews of Arthur suggest it might not quite live up to Dudley Moore’s original. This was fairly predictable turn of events – American movies have a way of devaluing British comics as the two types of humour can sit uneasy next to each other. Over in the UK this drubbing will bring cheers and boos in equal measure. To be honest, we’re in the latter camp. We subscribe to the view is he’s a humble, down to earth guy, with lightening wit and genuine charm. When he appeared on American Idol then we had visions he would be putting on an American accent and changing his comedy to be more palatable to his American audience…..and in the process causing us to have to swallow all the words we said in defence of him over the years. Well, luckily quite the opposite happened. Here’s the video (the Russell bit starts at 1.40)
Say what you will about Brand, he doesn’t change. Whether here or at the MTV awards his accent, which many have accused of being fake, doesn’t change…..and nor does his attitude. Calling George Bush a monkey cowboy was bound to offend his audience in 2009….but he believed what he was saying. When he got arrested for lashing out at a pap that put his camera up the skirt of Katy Perry, he was acting like any regular person would.
Is he a show off?….yes, of course. He freely admits this. He’s a stand up comedian with a bag of nervous energy, of course this is going to involve showing off. He also chooses as a best mate Matt Morgan who regularly (i.e. every 5 minutes) reminds him he’s like an extrovert baby.
The tidal wave of criticism is about to hit UK side too…before you forget, just have a listen to his radio show podcasts to remember he’s a good guy.
