There was a time, not too long ago, when simply owning ventriloquist dummies could get your underwear pulled up over your head, ala, middle school nerdism. Jeff Dunham's success - and genuinely funny routine - has helped to change the perception of ventriloquists...at least somewhat.
Ventriloquists and Magicians: The Red-Headed Stepchildren?
First of all, if you have red hair, don't get all worked up; I'm sure your step-parents love you.
Probably.
Having spent many years traveling the clubs of the stand up comedy circuits, I have witnessed the bias against magicians and ventriloquists perpetrated by the comics working with them. It is understandable; not due to the arts of magic or ventriloquism, but because so many practitioners of these skills are simply not very good.
It seems that for every Criss Angel or Amazing Johnathan there are about 10,000 complete hacks, doing tricks purchased from an ad on the back of a pack of matches. - Or the online equivalent of the back of a pack of matches. The ratio of really bad ventriloquists to quality acts is probably even more depressingly disparate.
This is why successful ventriloquists that appeal to an adult audience have been so few and far between in performance history. As soon as the ventriloquist breaks out the "knock on wood" joke, you know it's going to be a long night. For instance, the ventriloquist says, "I've never been hit by a car. - Knock on wood." At which point he or she taps on the dummy's head. The dummy then makes an indignant remark, once the fits of laughter gripping the room have died down.
Jeff Dunham and His Dummies are Actually Funny
A big part of the reason for Jeff Dunham's success is that he and his dummies actually say funny things to each other. It's actually amazing that so very few ventriloquists before him had thought of that strategy. Jeff and his crew deliver lines that are fresh, funny, sometimes quite racy and geared for adults. In the same manner that Robin Williams made believers out of many people who thought that improv comics were boring, Dunham has opened a few eyes to the world of dummy interaction.
Jeff has assembled an original cast of supporting characters. Achmed the Dead Terrorist is a creation that is a stroke of genius in today's society. Achmed was a suicide bomber, albeit not a very good one, resulting in the word "dead" being inserted into his stage name. The terrorist dummy's catch phrase, shouted at the audience during shows, "I keel you!" has become a national phenomenon.
Jeff Dunham has not done anything really magical other than write material that is fresh and funny. There is no short supply of people who have learned the craft of talking without moving their lips. However, there seems to be a desperate dearth of people able to write jokes other than the tired and overused within those in this brotherhood.
Ventriloquist Dummies May Now be Carried in Public with Pride
Well, maybe Jeff hasn't actually brought the acceptance to this level yet, but his success and witty brand of humor has certainly allowed people a little more patience with watching a ventriloquist perform.
So, what are you waiting for? Get in front of a mirror, practice talking without moving your lips for a few hours and go buy yourself a collection of wacky ventriloquist dummies. You'll be the next big thing; Guaranteed!*
*Not guaranteed
Curtis Candy - I'm an ex-professional wrestler and stand-up comic, who, after suffering impressive amounts of cranial trauma (most of it from wrestling; ...
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