|
Edited on Mon Nov-20-06 09:43 PM by Lisa
Looking forward to seeing your rendition of him doing it. I think Jon was one of the few people to get Bush's mannerisms down, although he's always denied being a good impressionist. Will Ferrell, on SNL, also managed to catch the mean/flippant tone that Bush sometimes adopts -- the "malevolence" which you noted, and which Bush himself seems completely oblivious to. Totally agree about what his face looks like when he's making a joke at someone's expense, or talking about violence (like when he's going on about executions or torture). He becomes more animated and enthusiastic -- not the "poor sad idiot" in the caricatures you mention. When he's on his best behavior, and has had time to rehearse, he can act all polite and prissy (playing the "statesman", like when he made a big scene recently about how wonderful it was for democracy, that people were protesting against him). But the stuff he blurts out when he's vengeful or impulsive is much more telling. (You might find that "Bush on the Couch" book interesting, if you want more psychological background for the character you're drawing. It was useful for a play I'm working on with a friend ... modelled on an old-fashioned British pantomime, where Bush is the villain, but in complete denial about being so bad.)
I was watching that Bush impressionist (Steve Bridges) being interviewed by Larry King, and he dropped into his Bush character (without the extensive prosthetic makeup which he usually wears). I was startled to see that the voice didn't work nearly as well as Stewart's -- to my mind, anyway! (Bridges is a Bush supporter, and plays him as dumb-but-kindhearted, so it's possible that his sympathy for the actual guy has restricted his portrayal -- Stewart and Ferrell are "edgier", and I feel they are more realistic in terms of Bush's actual emotions and attitudes.)
There are times when I suspect that the nice, friendly "Dubya" character they developed over the past decade or so to appeal to the voters, is actually beyond the real Bush's acting abilities. He's like an amateur performer who suddenly has to appear as "King Lear" -- he isn't skilled or experienced enough (due to refusing everything but the heroic "good guy" parts) to be able to play a complex role like that. So he tries to take shortcuts in order to present a simplified version that will enable him to get his way (and get his handlers to stop yelling at him!). And if things don't go as planned, he's not secure enough to be able to improvise, but reverts to his normal self and starts getting nasty. Timothy Bottoms, who is serious about his acting and appeared in some award-winning films, does a much better rendition of "Dubya". Even Steve Bridges, originally a comedian, has managed to give some depth to the role -- when he appeared in that skit with Bush earlier this year, he came across as more pleasant and in-character than Bush himself.
Funny about Bush -- he's actually got quite a range of facial expressions, more so than most other presidents it seems, so no wonder it's difficult for an artist to settle on just one version of him. In the space of a few minutes, he can go from vacant to cunning to anxious to petulant -- the large collection of photos of him posted here at DU, or at www.dubyaspeak.com, is proof of that. There have been times when the actual guy's face changes so much that it's difficult to recognize him, so one doesn't want too much flexibility there if one is doing an editorial-type cartoon (should be instantly familiar as Bush). I guess some cartoonists just go for a general idea of "what people think Bush looks like" and allow some room for various situations. I imagine this problem also vexes makeup artists or anyone trying to sculpt a puppet of Bush, because ideally one would want to allow enough facial mobility to portray some of those priceless expressions.
A friend of mine, an ex-military guy (and rabid Dem) was part of the security detail when Bush's dad visited Canada as vice-president, back in the early 1980s. My friend Bill said that the elder Bush had a face like that too ... he was standing a few feet away looking right at him for something like 30 minutes, but a few seconds after he'd turned away, Bill (who is way more observant than I am) said that he literally could not remember what the guy looked like. "He'd be a perfect undercover cop," Bill said. "Or CIA agent," I added ... and Bill (remembering that Bush Sr. WAS with them for a while) kind of went pale.
If I had a bunch of money, I'd put that elaborate prosthetic Bush makeup on Jon Stewart or Tim Robbins, and let them go totally nuts with it. Either that, or resurrect the old British satirical puppet show, "Spitting Image". They slammed Margaret Thatcher, Reagan, and Bush Sr. -- imagine how much material they'd have now. (But your idea of an animated Daily Show would probably be much more fun for Stewart and Colbert!)
|
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
