Dane Cook: Difference between revisions
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However, [[Mark Breslin]], the founder of the comedy club chain, quickly apologized and blamed the club's manager. Breslin stated in support of Cook, "I'm on Dane's side totally, 100 percent." Breslin also explained that Kelamis was the last show that evening and there was no reason he could not have gone on late, stating "the tradition is that stardom trumps everything".<ref name="2119laq">Guy Macpherson, [http://i7.tinypic.com/2119laq.jpg "Dane Cook Gets the Hook at Yuk Yuk's"]. ''The Province'', [[July 25]], [[2006]].</ref> |
However, [[Mark Breslin]], the founder of the comedy club chain, quickly apologized and blamed the club's manager. Breslin stated in support of Cook, "I'm on Dane's side totally, 100 percent." Breslin also explained that Kelamis was the last show that evening and there was no reason he could not have gone on late, stating "the tradition is that stardom trumps everything".<ref name="2119laq">Guy Macpherson, [http://i7.tinypic.com/2119laq.jpg "Dane Cook Gets the Hook at Yuk Yuk's"]. ''The Province'', [[July 25]], [[2006]].</ref> |
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=== Tourgasm === |
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The criticisms of "Tourgasm" are perhaps the most scathing, here is only a brief selection of reviews:<ref>[http://www.metacritic.com/tv/shows/danecookstourgasm "Dane Cook's Tourgasm on www.metacritic.com"]</ref> |
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: ''"...a half-hour vanity project that proves HBO can not only be TV, but bad TV at that"'' -Brian Lowry<ref>[http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117930744.html?categoryId=32&cs=1 "Dane Cook's Tourgasm" by Brian Lowry].</ref> |
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: ''"To understand just how unbearable "Tourgasm" remains from start to finish, imagine a cross between Jerry Seinfeld's "Comedian" (except the jokes aren't all that funny and the comedians involved aren't that interesting or clever) and MTV's "Jackass" (except the teasing and physical pranks aren't that fun or dramatic and they end in angry recriminations, sulking and serious injuries). In short, "Tourgasm" may be the least worthwhile series ever to air on HBO..."''<ref>[http://www.salon.com/ent/tv/review/2006/09/03/dane_cook/ "Overcooked" by Heather Havrilesky].</ref> |
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: ''"...it's just some guy's tedious travelogue."''<ref>[http://www.slantmagazine.com/tv/tv_review.asp?ID=29 "Dane Cook's Tourgasm" by Paul Schrodt]</ref> |
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In the [[Comedy Central]] show [[Freak Show (TV series)|''Freak Show'']], a character is watching a Dane Cook performance, but instead of [[Tourgasm]], the show is called Boregasm. The show poked fun at Cook's performance style. The creator of the show, comedian [[David Cross]], has openly criticized Dane Cook previous to this. |
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=== "Forward" single controversy === |
=== "Forward" single controversy === |
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Revision as of 23:33, 28 October 2007
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| Dane Cook | |
|---|---|
 Dane Cook in 2007 | |
| Pseudonym | Sav McCauley Gene Winterbuck Foreign Guy |
| Born | March 18, 1972 Boston, Massachusetts  |
| Medium | Stand up comedy, film, television |
| Nationality |  American |
| Years active | 1997-present |
| Genres | Stand-up Comedy |
| Subject(s) | observational comedy |
| Website | danecook.com |
Dane Jeffrey Cook (born March 18, 1972) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and musician. He has released two comedy albums, Harmful If Swallowed and Retaliation, the latter of which went double platinum[1] and became the highest charting comedy album in twenty-eight years.[2] Cook performs on many television shows and in the fall of 2006 performed in his own HBO special, Vicious Circle. As an actor, Cook has appeared in fifteen films since 1997, including Mystery Men, and starred in the 2006 comedy Employee of the Month, with Jessica Simpson. He also appeared in the 2007 thriller film Mr. Brooks in a departure from his standard comedic roles.
Life and career
Early life
Cook was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts to Donna and George Cook, a radio DJ. He has Irish ancestry.[3] Cook grew up in Arlington, Massachusetts, a Boston suburb and, along with his five sisters and one brother, was raised as a Roman Catholic.[4][5] As a result of his birthplace, Cook claims to be a Boston Red Sox fan. ESPN writer Bill Simmons, while responding to fan emails, said to have seen Dane Cook wear a New York Yankees cap during a taping of Crank Yankers. The Yankees and Red Sox have arguably the biggest rivalry in baseball. He is a fan and collector of Fangoria magazine, claiming to own the first 100 issues.[6]
Early career
Cook's first on-stage appearance at a comedy club was at a Catch a Rising Star show in Harvard Square, hosted at the time by comedian David Cross.[7] In 1998, Cook was featured on Comedy Central's stand-up comedy showcase Premium Blend. The following year he appeared on the comedy network's Comics Come Home and the straight-to-video Dennis Rodman vehicle, Simon Sez as Rodman's partner, Nick Miranda. He also had a cameo in the music video for the song All Star by Smash Mouth.
Two years later, Cook pooled $30,000 of his own money from savings and retirement accounts and launched www.danecook.com, his own interactive website, to further his career and stay connected to his fans.[1] Later, Cook would also become one of the first celebrities to make use of the global networking site MySpace. To date, Cook has over 2 million fans listed as friends on his profile. In 2002 and 2003, Cook was featured as the voice of three puppets on Comedy Central's Crank Yankers, which featured real prank phone calls being recorded in a studio and then re-enacted by puppets. Four of Cook's calls were aired between July 2002 and April 2003. He took on the aliases of Sav McCauley, Gene Winterbuck, and Foreign Guy.
Included with Cook's first comedy album, Harmful If Swallowed (2003) was a DVD with the Comedy Central special. Later that year, Cook wrote, directed, and starred in 8 Guys.
Dane released his second 3 disc cd/dvd set Retaliation taking the number 4 slot on Billboards top 100. The album was the most successful album released since Steve Martin
2005 - 2006
Cook was featured in the 2005 comedy Waiting... as Floyd the cook. Cook hosted SNL for a second time on the premiere of its thirty-second season, September 30, 2006. On January 13, 2006, after months of keeping a "BIG secret" from his fans, he announced via his website an April 15 gig at Boston's TD Banknorth Garden where his first HBO special, Vicious Circle, would be eventually filmed. His first show sold out during the pre-sale phase of ticket sales, and a second show was added for the same night. In all, Dane Cook's Boston concert drew 36,000 fans in two shows, on the same night. A documentary series and a scripted program are also in the works for HBO.[8] In the week prior to the televised gig, he performed at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas (April 8) and Allstate Arena in Chicago (April 13), the largest venues he has ever performed in those cities. Aside from airing on HBO, Vicious Circle is also being screened in select theaters and it features an additional 40 minutes of material.
September saw the release of Employee of the Month, Cook's first movie featuring him in the lead role. He co-starred alongside Jessica Simpson and Dax Shepard. Response to this movie was lukewarm but made an acceptable box office performance.
At the end of December 2006, Cook released "I'll Never Be You" his first single. In the song, Dane refers to himself as a normal person ("My life stands still, watching where your life goes"), commenting with envy ("sometimes I picture myself beating you up") at a celebrity or otherwise popular person. He was named in Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people of 2006.[2]
Dane Cook's first HBO special, Vicious Circle, was aired on September 4, 2006. The double DVD was released on November 28, 2006. It is a 90-minute presentation which was filmed at TD Banknorth Garden in his hometown of Boston, Massachusetts on a circular stage surrounded by the audience. The stage had on it the impression of his Super Finger hand gesture. Cook brought the same set to Madison Square Garden for back-to-back sold out shows on November 12, 2006.
Cook is also an avid supporter of charities in his hometown Boston, Massachusetts. On November 15, 2006 he attended the "Fun Run for Families" event in downtown Boston as a special guest celebrity runner. The event raised upwards of $10,000 for local families.
2007
On June 1, 2007, the film Mr. Brooks was released to theaters to generally mixed reviews. Cook played opposite Kevin Costner as Mr. Smith, a devious reporter, and he received generally positive reviews for his performance, with the New York Times saying that "...when he's onscreen, you can't look at anyone else". The same year, he starred alongside Jessica Alba in Good Luck Chuck and Dan in Real Life, as a man whose brother (Fellow Massachusetts native Steve Carell) falls for his girlfriend. He will also be releasing another album, titled Rough Around the Edges on November 13, 2007.
On July 26, he became the first celebrity on myspace.com to hit 2,000,000 friends. Nearly two days later, on August 28, 2007, Cook released the DVD collection The Lost Pilots for fans all around the world. Included are the two pilots titled Cooked 1 and Cooked 2. In the former, he plays a stand-up comedian who, after living in the easy life, loses it all and schemes relentlessly to get it back. In the latter, Cook is a charismatic guy who's always looking forward to his next life experience. His best friends, Mike, the perennial cynic, and Dakota, the-girl-next-door, accompany him as he tries to trade an antique electric chair for a knife-wielding samurai monkey trained in the martial arts.
Recently, Cook has been doing October playoff commercials for Major League Baseball. He has also released his second single "Forward." He is currently filming Bachelor No. 2 in his hometown of Boston with his co-stars Kate Hudson and Alec Baldwin. Cook will be producing the film through his company Super-Finger Entertainment.
Style
Cook's style is principally observational humor. He tends to talk about his childhood, and his plans for the future, such as his "dream home". He will sometimes deliver jokes in the form of over the top rants. He has commented that:
I wanted to create a stage persona for myself that allowed me to really speak on (sic) anything I want... So I can be a storyteller, I can be jokey, I can be corny, I can be a little vulgar, I can be a lot vulgar. And I'm not afraid to go anywhere to get the point of the joke across, even if I have to just blabber like an idiot until it becomes apparent that I'm telling a joke and that the audience should laugh.
Cook uses slang vocabulary to match his talkative manner. For example: A bad relationship is a "Relationshit", Walgreens is "The Wall," and a sandwich is a "sangwich".[9] Similarly, he uses such acronyms as BAMF and SUFI, which are short for "Bad Ass Mother Fucker", which is originally believed to refer to 24's Jack Bauer, and "SUperFInger," respectively. He also shortens words to keep the same meaning. He has even been known to completely change words or phrases, like saying "Concernicus" instead of concerned, "Chicken Sangwich" instead of Chicken Sandwich, "agrain" instead of again, and "chat-chitting" rather than "chit-chatting". Afterwards he says, "Yeah, I just flipped that shit...they're just words, they don't control us...not anymore."
Controversy and criticism
Material
After the release of his CD/DVD Retaliation, similarities were noticed between Cook's work and material recorded on Louis C.K.'s 2001 album Live in Houston.[9] The bits in question are Louis C.K.'s "Itchy Asshole," "Guy On A Bike," and "Naming Kids." In 2005, Dane Cook performed and released three similar routines on Retaliation.[10] These are "Itchy Asshole," "Struck By A Vehicle," and "My Son Optimus Prime," respectively.
In 2005, on the message boards of comedy website A Special Thing, C.K. posted a response to his fans who accused Cook of plagiarizing from him writing "Okay, this kid is stealing from me. And making lots of money. Three bits on one CD." Later, C.K. wrote "Just so you know, guys, I'm not going to do anything about this.... I'm not going to court over a bit called 'Itchy Asshole.'"[11] In an interview on the Free Beer & Hot Wings Morning Show in February 2007, C.K. stated that while the jokes are similar, the issue was "overblown" and may stem from a backlash against Cook's popularity. However, C.K. accused Cook of being "bullyish" and litigious towards comedians for having similar material to his despite Cook claiming elsewhere that comedians often have similiar material and it is not a big issue to him. C.K. also stated "Too bad the guy [Cook] can't write enough." C.K. ended the interview by saying, at the prodding of the show's hosts, "Fuck Dane Cook, he's a cunt."[12]
Comedian Joe Rogan has spoken on many occasions (including the December 1, 2006 broadcast of the Opie and Anthony Show) about Cook performing a bit on an episode of Premium Blend that Rogan had developed on I'm Gonna Be Dead Someday (sketch titled 'Tigers Fucking'), and claims to have performed the routine earlier in clubs with Cook present.[13]
Rob Sheffield criticized Dane Cook's material in a Rolling Stone article from October 2006, claiming a joke he performed was originally done by Emo Philips.[14]
Comedian Ron White has criticized Dane Cook for his lack of real material and for his inflated ego.[15]
At a 2007 Irving Plaza show, comedian Zach Galifianakis commented, “I saw Employee of the Month the other day...it wasn't as good as I thought it was gonna be.” During his closing number he revealed a sign that read “Kill Dane Cook" before leaving the stage.[16]
Yuk-Yuks controversy
On July 24, 2006 Cook asked for a guest spot at the Vancouver Yuk-Yuks comedy club. Initially he was set to go up at the end of the night, but upon arriving at the club he requested to go up before the headliner. Cook's performance went on for longer than the management had asked him, so the club's manager and headliner (Peter Kelamis) cut off his microphone and tried to "play him off" with music. Cook thought it was simply a mistake and continued his set, but they later cut his mic and blared the exit music again. Cook then dropped the mic and walked off-stage, furious. The show then ended, leaving Cook's fans confused and disappointed. Kelamis then refused to take the stage, and later referred to Cook's actions as "the most arrogant thing that I've ever seen in my life".
However, Mark Breslin, the founder of the comedy club chain, quickly apologized and blamed the club's manager. Breslin stated in support of Cook, "I'm on Dane's side totally, 100 percent." Breslin also explained that Kelamis was the last show that evening and there was no reason he could not have gone on late, stating "the tradition is that stardom trumps everything".[17]
"Forward" single controversy
In late 2007, Cook released a single entitled "Forward" in support of his upcoming movie, Good Luck Chuck. Members of the Ron and Fez Show staff discussed the song on their September 18 edition and noticed it was very similar to a song by the band Chicago. Upon playing the song "Forward" back-to-back with Chicago's "Hard to Say I'm Sorry/Get Away", it became apparent that the two were nearly identical.
TBS and Fox MLB Commercials
Dane Cook's acting in several commercials for the MLB postseason[18] was parodied in a negative fashion by Jason Sudeikis on Saturday Night Live[19].
Other
Views on alcohol and drugs
According to comments made in an interview, Cook has never tried any type of alcohol or illegal substance.[20] He explains:
Not to take it too deep; but there’s a moment in your life when you have the opportunity to get into all that, and I remember being really young and I had a friend in school who was kind of like the school stoner. I was hanging with him and a bunch of guys one day and my friend never offered me any drugs but his buddies started offering me some stuff, and I had an epiphany. This has nothing to do with who I am. I would be lying if I thought I would enjoy drinking. I like feeling feelings. I like feeling pain, I like going through fear, joy and I don’t like to put anything in my body that either enhances it or skews it. I wanna be as crystal clear on stage as I can.
The SUperFInger
The SUperFInger or SU-FI is a hand gesture. It consists of raising the middle finger, ring finger, and thumb on the same hand while lowering (or curling) the index and pinky fingers half way. This is similar to a hand gesture briefly popularized by rapper Vanilla Ice in the early 1990s. Cook's website explains his idea behind the SU-FI:
One night I did a bit on stage about 5 years ago at the Laugh Factory. I was talking about how the finger is lame now and it's lost its pizzazz. I said I wanted to upgrade the finger and so from now on people should use both the ring finger coupled with the middle finger. I called it the SUperFInger (or SU-FI)
In 2005, Cook started his own company to produce his albums and videos, which he named SUperFInger Entertainment.[21]
Discography
Albums
- 2003: Harmful If Swallowed (CD/DVD) Comedy Central. #67 US. Certified Platinum
- 2005: Retaliation (2CD/DVD) Comedy Central. #4 US. Certified Double Platinum
- 2007: Rough Around the Edges: Live From Madison Square (CD/DVD).
DVDs
- 2006: Vicious Circle DVD. HBO.
- 2006: Dane Cook's Tourgasm DVD. HBO.
- 2007: The Lost Pilots DVD. Sony Pictures Television
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Hot 100 | US Modern Rock | US Mainstream Rock | US Pop 100 | UK Singles Chart | Germany | |||
| 2006 | "I'll Never Be You" | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2007 | "Forward" | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Flypaper | Tim |
| Buddy | Fair Cop | |
| 1999 | Spiral | David |
| Simon Sez | Nick Miranda | |
| Mystery Men | The Waffler | |
| 2002 | L.A.X. | Terrell Chasman |
| The Touch | Bob | |
| 2003 | Stuck on You | Officer Fraioli |
| 8 Guys | Dane | |
| Windy City Heat | Roman Polanski | |
| 2004 | Mr. 3000 | Sausage Mascot |
| Torque | Neil Luff | |
| 2005 | Waiting... | Floyd |
| London | George | |
| 2006 | Employee of the Month | Zack Bradley |
| 2007 | Farce of the Penguins | Voice |
| Mr. Brooks | Mr. Smith | |
| Good Luck Chuck | Chuck/Charlie | |
| Dan in Real Life | Mitch Burns | |
| 2008 | Horton Hears a Who | Voice |
| 2009 | Bachelor No. 2 | Tank |
References
- ^ a b "Great Dane took a bite out of the Competition in 1995", The San Francisco Stand-Up Comedy Competition web site.
- ^ a b Time's 100 Most Influential People
- ^ http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=37346
- ^ askmen.com, Catholic versus Atheist, access February 3, 2007
- ^ MySpace Videos, Dane Cook
- ^ SDCC 07: Jessica Alba Talks 'The Eye' With BDTV
- ^ Modern Fix interview
- ^ "Dane Cook Whips Up HBO Deal", Zap2it.
- ^ a b Heather Havrilesky, "Overcooked". Salon, September 3, 2006.
- ^ bostonherald.com, "Louis C.K. vs. Dane Cook", accessed February 11, 2007
- ^ Getlen, Larry (2007-02-14). "Take the Funny and Run". Radar. Retrieved 2007-09-14.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ www.freebeerandhotwings.com, Louis C.K. interview, accessed February 3, 2007
- ^ "Joe Rogan Exposes Dane Cook"
- ^ "Pop Life: The Joke's on Us: How can any comedian get as famous as Dane Cook has with no jokes?" by Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, October 19, 2006.
- ^ "Ron White Interview" by David Medsker.
- ^ Zach Galifianakis: He Tells a Joke. He Moves
- ^ Guy Macpherson, "Dane Cook Gets the Hook at Yuk Yuk's". The Province, July 25, 2006.
- ^ Dane Cook MLB commercial
- ^ SNL Dane Cook MLB Commercial Parody
- ^ Modern Fix interview
- ^ "HBO Signs Stand-Up Comedian Dane Cook to Multi-Project Deal", Time-Warner, March 2, 2006.
External links
- Official website
- MySpace Page
- Dane Cook Fansite
- Louis C.K. / Dane Cook comparison
- Louis C.K / Dane Cook / Steve Martin comparison
- Dane Cook at IMDb
- Template:Nndb name
- Dane Cook in Mr. Brooks
- The Lost Episodes
News articles & interviews
- Casey, Susan. "Everybody Likes Dane". Entertainment Weekly, Sept. 30, 2005.
- Havrilesky, Heather. "Overcooked". Salon, Sept. 3, 2006.
- Kharakh, Ben. Interview with Dane Cook. One Trick Pony. January 2006.
- Macpherson, Guy. "Dane Cook Gets the Hook at Yuk Yuk's". The Province, July 25, 2006, p. B7.
- Perry, Ryan. "Dane Cook: The Gorilla Mask Interview". Gorilla Mask. August 4, 2005.
- Zoglin, Richard. "Dane Cook: Standing Out in the Art of Stand-Up.". Time, May 8, 2006. From Time 100 issue.
- Gladstone, Neil. "Sex, Jobs, and Rock 'n' Roll". AOL Comedy, Nov. 2, 2006.
- Shmuel Reuven. A Dramatic Turn in Mr. Brooks. JewReview.net, May 28, 2007.