 The Honeymooners (CBS) Dreaming of better things, Kramden and Norton hatch innumerable get-rich-quick schemes that inevitably fail, leaving them embarrassed and emasculated under the disapproving and judgmental gaze of their unhappy spouses. Norton retreats into defensive clownishness to regain his marital stability, while Kramden attempts to reassert his power by routinely threatening to beat his wife. Classic! I can't stand The Honeymooners. As with I Love Lucy, it's entirely predicated on implied violence, and ought to be left in the past with Little Black Sambo's Restaurant. The performers are great, sure, but that doesn't make the premises any less corny or the humor any less offensive. Curiously, this show was actually only on the air for one year, though it was on television through 1970 as part of Jackie Gleason's variety show. 1970?! I can only imagine the hippie jokes they must have made. I wonder why so many people feel compelled to hold on to "classic" 50s icons, anyway … you might as well proudly wear a Mamie Eisenhower t-shirt, if that's how you feel about pop culture. Fuck you, you reactionary asshole. Review by La Fée © 2004 |
