Audience members are likely to be asking
themselves the titular question, "Who Is Wilford Brimley?"
not only at the start of this mock musical biography but also
at the end.
A muddled 45-minute romp – at the Brick Theater in Williamsburg
through Nov. 20 – that is neither half as funny as its creators
think nor half as informative as it pretends to be, this series
of skits, songs and PowerPoint presentations skips over many
of the salient details of the show’s real-life subject as it
hurries to lampoon those crash-and-burn star profiles seen regularly
on A&E’s "Biography," Lifetime and VH1.
That’s too bad. Although Brimley is certainly an unlikely muse,
his life could have proven rich fodder for abler satirists. The
recognizable character actor and oatmeal spokesman has had a
slew of notable secondary roles in popular films such as "The
China Syndrome" (1979), "Brubaker" (1980), "Tender
Mercies" (1983), "The Firm" (1993) and "In
& Out" (1997) and his corresponding leading players
(Jane Fonda, Robert Redford, Robert Duvall, Tom Cruise and Kevin
Kline) are a veritable who’s who of Hollywood. Yet aside from
an amusing pre-show slide show in which Brimley movie stills
are tweaked via Photoshop to look like painterly portraits, the
actual scope of this journeyman actor’s cinematic career is only
sketchily outlined.
Missing too are intriguing bits of Brimley trivia such as his
stint as a rodeo rider, his time as a stunt double and his days
as a bodyguard for multimillionaire eccentric Howard Hughes.
Instead, the trio of performing collaborators (Jon Bulette, Nils
d’Aulaire and Jay Klaitz) have opted to dream up their own particulars
with the hope that seeing a fat old man dance, grimace and blubber
will generate laughs aplenty.
Sadly that’s not the case as lead-footed sketch comedy relating
an Oscar feud with his "Cocoon" co-star Steve Guttenberg,
a Faustian contract with a strangely masked agent, and an absurdist
confrontation with the Quaker Oats man all fall resoundingly
flat. Other scenes such as one in which Brimley’s father warns
him not to leave the Salt Mines of Utah for the glamorous environs
of Los Angeles may be more reality-based but they’re hardly comically
inspired.
That the few song-and-dance numbers fare better isn’t attributable
to the threesome’s talents as tunesmiths or lyricists either.
Instead that praise is reserved for the contributions of choreographer
Jenny Schmermund. Her intentionally hokey steps, with their genre-jumping
references to vaudeville, modern dance and MTV, make the most
of this cast’s natural affinity for physical comedy. Mixing slapstick
and fancy footwork, Schmermund liberates these gentlemen from
their self-imposed limitations without overtaxing their abilities.
Watch Bulette, d’Aulaire and Klaitz wiggle their fannies, sweep
their arms in large shapes or trot like horses without restraint
or self-consciousness and you know these performers could have
delivered a vastly more entertaining evening had they brought
in an outside director and playwright, too.
Lack of talent and daring isn’t the problem here. What’s wrong
is simply that the overextended creators don’t honestly give
a damn about the question they’ve posed. They mistakenly believe
a silly idea will suffice for a full-length spoof. If imitation
is the sincerest form of flattery, however, the makers of "Who
Is Wilford Brimley?" are less than enamored of their object
of ridicule. The central characterization is little more than
a visual gag undermined by a half-baked performance.
Klaitz, who, with his partial bald cap, grayed walrus moustache,
and naturally portly build, bears more than a passing resemblance
to Brimley, hasn’t bothered to take his impersonation into the
third dimension. The moment Klaitz opens his mouth or moves his
body, the illusion is dispelled. It’s as though he’s only been
exposed to Brimley through print ads while the rest of us recognize
him from his ubiquitous, curmudgeonly presence on the small screen
via commercials for Quaker Oats and Liberty Mutual.
Even further afield are the impersonations done by the supporting
players. As the aforementioned Guttenberg, d’Aulaire dons a fright
wig then considers his job done. As Malcolm Jamal-Warner, Bulette
does even less: All he’s got is a T-shirt bearing the name of
the former cast member of "The Cosby Show."
Ultimately, you can’t help but feel that this trio Googled "Wilford
Brimley" for inspiration, then forgot to research him (or
anyone else) once the project got underway.
Next time, they should do their homework or better yet, hire
someone else to do it for them. As things currently stand, Wilford
Brimley may be small time in the world of show business, but
he’s currently out of their league.
"Who Is Wilford Brimley? The Musical"
runs Friday and Saturday nights at 8 pm through Nov. 20 at the
Brick Theater (575 Metropolitan Ave. between Union and Lorimer
streets in Williamsburg). Tickets are $10. For tickets, call
(718) 907-3457. For more information, visit www.wilford-brimley.com.
