Dane Cook - Is His 15 Minutes Over Yet?

Typically I don't comment on banalities like Dane Cook, but this phenomenon (cringe!) is something else entirely.

I first learned of Cook sometime last year. I was browsing the iTunes comedy section and there was a name I'd never heard before that was listed as #1 in the top ten albums for that day. Who was this genius slipping under my radar? So I checked out the reviews -- nothing but zealous thumbs up. So I gave the previews a listen. Nothing funny there, but maybe it was because you can't really judge comedy by a 30 second preview. You need buildup, context, etc. So maybe that was the problem. No. 

There is nothing funny about this guy at all. I listened to both of his CDs and I giggled maybe 3 times. I almost feel sorry for him because of his unabashed enthusiasm and denial. It's like when you're at an open mic watching someone completely bomb so bad that your toes curl and you just want to lead them offstage before you start crying at how bad it is.

Alas, I don't feel sorry for him. He's actually quite the asshole. I can't remember the specifics of his chicaneries, but I recall a few times on his CDs when he was just a complete asshole to someone and then turned it into a mockery of that person. So, I don't feel bad for whatever happens to this guy who has seemingly overstayed his welcome. In fact, I don't think he was welcomed.

There are 2 things about the Dane Cook phenomenon that are mind-boggling. For me, his self-delusion and self-aggrandizement are so over the top, it's hard to imagine that a living, breathing human being is actually taking all of this seriously. He is so damned self-confident about everything, it just makes most people with any conscience cringe at his persona. 

The second part of the "Dane Train" is that he symbolizes everything I hate about America: the frat-boy/bro mentality, mediocrity, and getting something for nothing. Nothing Cook has done is funny, stand-up or otherwise, and yet he is insanely popular among the newer generation. Most comedians can't stand him. I can't help but think that he came about his popularity by sheer accident. 

He reminds me of a few people I've met in my life who were so motivated and so passionate about life, yet so incredibly devoid of any substance. Just read an interview with him...by the end of it you'll be ready to smash something. It's that bad. 

I could go on, but it's no use. I think his time in the spotlight is pretty much over. People have slowly realized that when there is no substance, there's just no substance. He can't sustain his stardom forever. 

Fortunately, it's so bad that there's become this anti-Cook backlash. Two funny tidbits: a funny skit (Mad TV I think) parody and a YTMND parody.