On Neil Labute
Ben Brantley, in his review of Neil Labute's latest play Some Girl(s), beautifully distills what I find so distasteful about Neil Labute:
"As both dramatist ("Fat Pig") and filmmaker ("In the Company of Men"), Mr. LaBute has built a prolific career on vivisecting the unfair sex, with clinically contemptuous works that put the human male under a microscope and watch the little sucker squirm. Both moralistic and voyeuristic, his plays and movies seem always to be writhing in some ecstasy of self-flagellation, whispering all the while, "Oh, guys, we're bad, bad, bad — jerks, lowlife, pond scum." If there is masochism in the implicit litany, there is self-stroking smugness as well."
Labute is deeply dishonest -- as Brantley says, moralistic AND voyeuristic, masochistic AND smug. His is the glee of the elementary school thug who gleefully shouts at the girls, "Wanna see something gross?" Pathetic.
"As both dramatist ("Fat Pig") and filmmaker ("In the Company of Men"), Mr. LaBute has built a prolific career on vivisecting the unfair sex, with clinically contemptuous works that put the human male under a microscope and watch the little sucker squirm. Both moralistic and voyeuristic, his plays and movies seem always to be writhing in some ecstasy of self-flagellation, whispering all the while, "Oh, guys, we're bad, bad, bad — jerks, lowlife, pond scum." If there is masochism in the implicit litany, there is self-stroking smugness as well."
Labute is deeply dishonest -- as Brantley says, moralistic AND voyeuristic, masochistic AND smug. His is the glee of the elementary school thug who gleefully shouts at the girls, "Wanna see something gross?" Pathetic.
Comments
Couldn't agree with you more. And the problem with playwrights like LaBute is that there are playwrights out there who really *are* interested in limning the depths of what we're capable of, psychologically, spiritually, politically, physically etc... and I think this dishonesty of the more mainstream versions of this outlook (LaBute, some but not all of Gilman) tarnish the reputations in a guilt-by-association way of their betters.
Now you've missed the mark TOTALLY PEOPLE !!!!
Take a step back...what about BEN BRANTLEY!!!!!!!!!!!!
Can we say how much he sucks first !!!!!!!
I am sure in no time at all we will start to see multiple productions of Fat Pig, Autobahn, This is How it Goes, etc.
Labute is in the system now, but the system doesn't get how bad he is for it. As I have said on my blog, many times, there is very little you can get from a LaBute play that you wouldn't get seeing the movie versions.
"Edgy and Sexy." That's what it's all about.
But why is it, when we try to be edgy or sexy, it never really lives up to that billing.
I have a post in response to a Seattle article about "Edgy Theatre"
http://mirroruptolife.blogspot.com/2006/06/truth-in-advertisting-theatre-is.html
btw, I work in theater, so, I'm not just blithering on... isn't that the best thing about our little world? We all have our favourites!