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| Alfalfa - Our Gang |
Let's
begin at the top with the movie Jesus of Nazareth.
Would I like to play Jesus? Jesus went around being the son of God
and, even so, many good law-abiding people did not like him. He was
too controversial among the respectable for my comfort zone. So then,
would I want to be Superman who is a more universally liked “savior
of the world?” He receives wide acclaim from good, law-abiding
folk. But Superman is too unrelievedly “Super” for my taste. Yet
I definitely want to betray a character with good outcomes. I do not
want to assume any kind of tragic role.
Comedy,
then, will be the thing. What movie, what play, what TV series could
do the trick? I much admired Axel Foley in the Beverly Hills Cop
movie series. Eddie Murphy, as much as I genuinely admire him,
simply for me represents an unreachable star. I need a more homely
type.
Some
years ago I was a faithful fan of the British TV comedy series
Rumpole of the Bailey
(1975–1992). (Click here for the Wikipedia entry about the series.)
If I could play any character in the world, it would be Rumpole, “an
ageing London barrister who defends any and all clients.” He was a
character who did genuine good without being goody-goody. He was
just tolerated by his colleagues who universally felt assured of
their unquestioned superiority. In a group of people impressed by
class, he was not—though he had lots of it in an idiosyncratic sort
of way. He had clients some of his fellow lawyers would not fain to
be associated with that he ably defended. In terms of respect, he was
kind of the Rodney Dangerfield of lawyers. Married, he had a wife
Hilda—"She Who Must Be Obeyed.” He had spunk, spirit, and
courage and on occasion could turn a powerful phrase. He had a
weakness for ennobling literature. Following are a few short clips.
Much longer videos can be found on YouTube.
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