Tag Archives: Comic Relief (male)

First impressions: The Amazing Spider-Man

In an earlier post, I had highlighted a clip of Stan Lee revealing his cameo as a librarian in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012). Earlier this week, the hubby and I got to see the film at a local drive-in movie theater, along with The Dark Knight Rises. A loooong night (and early morning), but worth it!

If you haven’t seen the film yet, then there are minor SPOILERS ahead.

To be honest, I really wasn’t expecting much from this latest Spider-Man film, so I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Andrew Garfield (as Peter Parker) and the ever-adorable Emma Stone (as Parker’s first love, Gwen Stacy) have chemistry to spare, and the supporting cast members, including Denis Leary, Rhys Ifans, Martin Sheen, Sally Field, Irrfan Khan, and Campbell Scott, were all quite solid. (Martin Sheen, I ♥ you.) And yes, I teared up when the construction crews lined up the cranes to clear a path for Spider-Man. Ah, teamwork and selfless acts, they get me every time.

Stan Lee cameo in The Amazing Spider-Man. Click image for source info.

Stan Lee has a cameo in just about every film adaptation of his stories and characters (see here for a detailed list of his cameos), and this one is quite memorable. I carried a tape recorder with me to the film, as I didn’t want to put on a light and distract from the other drive-in moviegoers. Here’s a transcript of what I noted while watching the scene:

Stan Lee plays a school librarian who’s listening to classical music, and it’s like an hour and forty minutes into the film. He’s wearing a black sweater vest and chinos and — [Sam interjects, "bow tie"] — bow tie, white button-down. Oblivious. Kind of like the [librarian in] Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Comic relief. That was like, what, 2-3 seconds? Ok, and they’re in the high school. So, that’s that.

What is Stan Lee’s librarian oblivious about? The fact that Spider-Man and the Lizard are fighting right behind him – and tearing the school library apart! The contrast of the classical music choice is very funny, and Stan Lee as the oblivious School Librarian definitely joins the Comic Relief librarians.

And if you’re wondering about the librarian in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) and other Comic Relief librarians, read more by clicking here.

And for as long as this clip stays online, here’s a look at the scene and Stan Lee’s librarian cameo:

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Hey! Mr. Book Man, find a book for me

It’s always interesting for me to view early Denzel Washington films, like this decidedly minor action thriller, Ricochet (1991). Denzel plays hotshot detective-turned-district-attorney Nick Styles, while John Lithgow plays his badass, butt-kicking nemesis, Earl Talbot Blake (?!). I know, I just typed that sentence and I had to do a mental double-take. Although spectacularly miscast, Lithgow nonetheless enjoys chewing the scenery with crazy-eyed relish. (For a believably badass Lithgow villain, see his Emmy-winning turn in the 4th season of Dexter).

*SPOILERS BELOW*

About a quarter hour into the film, Lithgow gets to flex his teeth-gnashing skills opposite a reel librarian billed as the “Book Man” (Don Perry). While Earl is seething revenge in a prison hospital bed — he had just gotten shot in the kneecaps by Nick the Cop — an older white male pushing a cart of books shuffles into view.

Decked out in so-nerdy-it’s-almost-stylish-again duds such as a newsboy cap, plaid shirt and cardigan (but alas, no bow tie!), he bends over Earl to say:

Young fella? Look at you! Lying there like a lump on a log. So what if you’ve made a few mistakes? You can change your life for the better. Don’t you have anything to live for?

Mr. Book Man's bedside manner

Earl has no reaction to this inspirational message. Or maybe he was pissed at being called “young fella” (being over 45 in real life by this point).  Either way, he seems unmoved. But after viewing a TV news bit about the stylin’ Nick Styles, he calls out, “Hey you! Book Man!”

Pleased as punch, this Information Provider and Comic Relief reel librarian pushes the cart of books back over. Here is the oddest, and darkly comedic, bit of cinematic reader’s advisory you’ll ever witness:

Earl: You know what? I just thought of something I could change. A whole life. A whole future. It’s all in my hands.

Book Man:  Wonderful. Would you like something uplifting to read? Maybe motivational?

Earl:  Something heavy.

Book Man:  How about Tolstoy? Anna Karenina.

Earl: It’s not heavy enough.

Book Man:  Well, it was his first book. Ok. War and Peace.

Earl:  Yeah, that’s perfect. [Book Man puts his hands on his hips, looking mighty proud of himself, see above.] I’ll take that big Bible there, too.

Book Man: God bless you. Fine young man. When you start reading the right things, go down the right road.

Earl’s ulterior motive:  binding the heavy books with tape to use as a splint for his messed-up leg! And he continues to honor the true value of books by using them in prison as body armor. (Not kidding.) And later, the ex-cons use a bookstore that poses as an Aryan front for fake passports. Sigh.

Hey there, young fella

So even though I was thinking that was it for the Book Man — I totally thought he was going to die with War and Peace literally imprinted on the side of his head at the end of that hospital scene — but no, wrong again! Earl meets up with Book Man again on his breakout escape from prison. See, for years, Earl has been planning this escape and plotting revenge on Nick, and he’s none too pleased to meet up with Mr. Book Man in the prison parking lot. Although the Book Man sure seems happy (see right).

Outside his bookmobile, the Book Man calls out to Earl (in disguise as a fancy pants lawyer), ”Hey there, young fella. Do you remember me? The books in the hospital?”

Is the pen mightier than the sword in this scenario?

Not impressed with the old guy’s memory — or the lack of aging process on ANYONE in this film — Earl shoots him in the chest and steals his bookmobile to use as the getaway vehicle. Worst. Library. Patron. EVER.

You can see the prison escape scene below, but be prepared for graphic violence toward reel librarians and others:

And the poor bookmobile meets a grisly end, as well. Sigh. A cart bites the dust on the highway, splattering books everywhere, and Earl and his sidekick conspirator light up the bookmobile and push it off a cliff. To add insult to injury (and murder), we even get a closeup of it as the bookmobile blows up!

Bookmobile or bust

“I always wanted a Viking funeral.”

Go in peace, Correctional Facilities Bookmobile and Mr. Book Man, go in peace.

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Comic Relief librarians

Aaaaahhh, the Comic Relief librarians. I’m combining both male and female versions of the Comic Relief librarians because they serve the same function and role, no matter the gender. In my undergraduate thesis, “A Glimpse Through the Glasses: Portrayals of Librarians in Film” (read more about that here), I had included both the Comic Relief and Information Provider types into one type. My reasoning at the time?

I fit both of them into one category because the librarians are there only to provide necessary points of plot or supply scenes for comedic effect that highlight basic stereotypes — and sometimes, the librarians supply both plot and humor.

If you’ve been following this series of posts (see here, here, here, here, here, and here), you know my penchant for awkward titles. The original moniker behind the merger was “The Librarian who Provides Information or Humor.” And THUD. Yikes, that was such a clunker. I remember wanting to do something akin to “Good Humor Man” but never got anywhere on that track.

The librarian in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Anyways, now it’s the Comic Relief librarian. So much better-sounding, no? The films that provide glimpses of librarians for comedic purposes only also are the films that depict the crudest portrayals overall of librarian stereotypes, save for perhaps the Spinster Librarian and her male counterpart, the Anti-Social Librarian. Why? Because they are more caricatures than characters. They are the most extreme physically — ranging from rail-thin (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, 1989, see above) to buff beyond belief (UHF, 1989).

The Comic Relief librarians mostly wind up in comedies — shocker, I know — or at least in films that include comedic undertones or situations. Their purpose is the most obvious of all reel librarian roles, but the librarians of this type do not necessarily entertain themselves or other characters in the film — rather, they entertain the audience. Exclusively minor characters, the Comic Relief librarians serve as the target of jokes, and the audience is encouraged to laugh at them.

Shall we?

Ladies First

The female of the Comic Relief species include Hilda Plowright‘s Quaker librarian in The Philadelphia Story (1940). Jimmy Stewart pokes (gentle) fun by mocking her thee‘s and thou‘s (included in the “Funny Library Montage” below).

The tiny bit part of the blonde librarian in That Touch of Mink (1962) highlights the film’s comedy in the case of mistaken identity, and Alice Drummond in Ghostbusters (1984) survives the fright of her life and mumbles incoherently while lying on a library desk.

Marian Seldes in The Gun in Betty Lou’s Handbag (1992) plays head librarian Margaret Armstrong, and when the title character suggests food at a library fundraiser, a look of absolute horror crosses her face as she gasps, “Books near finger foods?”

And I’m sure that reel librarian could relate to Elvia Allman’s character in Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), who freaks out at Paul Varjak (George Peppard) “defacing public property” by autographing his book.

In Chances Are (1989), Yale University library assistant Alex (Robert Downey, Jr.) stops a middle-aged librarian from yelling at a student by telling her that some students are “fooling around with the [Shakespeare] folios.” This prompts the hapless librarian to scurry away in a panic to save the precious books.

The Guys

Another film from 1989, UHF, contains a sketch in the form of a commercial for the show “Conan the Librarian.” Read all about that hilarity here in this post.

And in yet another film from 1989, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade provides a scene in which Indiana (Harrison Ford) breaks a marble floor tile, and the film cuts to an old male librarian stamping books each time Indiana breaks the tile (see above). Marveling at his unknown strength (!),  the male librarian does not realize that something other than his stamp could be making noise in the library.

Redefining the fop… Mr. Collins in the 1940 version of ‘Pride and Prejudice’

The 1940 version of Pride and Prejudice changes the already humorous character of Mr. Collins from a clergyman to the personal librarian to Lady Catherine de Burgh. Melville Cooper, as Mr. Collins, plays a perfectly ridiculous man (see above), one who bounces on his toes and manages to unintentionally offend everyone he intends to flatter.

And in another supporting role, James Millhollin draws in some laughs as the Ship’s Librarian in Bon Voyage! (1962). He also manages to unintentionally offend in his overly solicitous, uptight, and oily hair kind of way. You can read all about it in this post.

So a fond farewell now to our Comic Relief librarians – who take a lickin’ and keep on tickin’ — and up next week, our trusty Information Providers.

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He’s… Conan the Librarian!

Never before in the history of motion pictures has there been a screen presence so commanding, so powerful, so deadly. He’s… Conan the Librarian!

I haven’t featured that many male reel librarians so far, so let’s bring out the big guns (or swords, rather) with Conan! The! Librarian! from the 1989 cult comedy, UHF. In this film, George Newman (Weird Al Yankovic) takes over an almost-bankrupt public TV station, and it becomes an unexpected hit. And one of those hits is showcased in a brief sketch — only 40 seconds long! — in the form of a television ad for the show “Conan the Librarian,” a parody of the famous “Conan the Barbarian” character created by R. E. Howard. I think it’s a bit fun, too, that the name serves as a subtle (and unintentional?) riff off the “Marian the Librarian” character and song from The Music Man (1962).

Conan’s first scene shows a balding, middle-aged man with thick glasses, cable-knit sweater, and tweedy jacket (really, doesn’t HE look more like a stereotypical male librarian?) who asks Conan the Librarian, “Can you tell me where I can find a book on astronomy?”

Conan’s classic response?  To heave the poor man up by his lapels, of course, and shout, “Don’t you know the Dewey Decimal System?”

FYI, the astronomy books would be in the 520′s. And as a librarian, I have repeated this line — and Schwarzenegger-type intonation –  many times. It is ALWAYS funny!

Conan then goes on to showcase more what-NOT-to-do examples for providing reference services, including slicing a young man in two because his books were overdue.

UHF successfully parodies the “Guardian of the Library” image and the librarian character types who display anal-retentive qualities — the Spinster Librarian and her male equivalent, the Anti-Social Male Librarian immediately spring to mind — who are prone to shushing anyone who dares to be loud in a library, or reel librarians who express over-the-top anxiety about late or damaged books. Conan the Librarian is a classic Comic Relief character type, with its crude portrayal of librarianship and extreme physical characteristics.

The scene’s over-the-top humor is more potent because it plays against type: a reel librarian, especially a male librarian, is often portrayed as weak or effeminate. Conan the Librarian shows off his physical superiority at every opportunity. (Fun fact! We first see Conan hanging out in the 613′s, which is the Dewey Decimal number for Aerobics.) Librarians are also usually portrayed as intelligent — even if a condescending type of “book smart” — and this Conan characterization riffs off of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s dim-yet-tough brand of acting in his classic 1982 Conan. Although Conan the Librarian is a VERY bad librarian, he is a hero in one sense: he helps save the UHF television station. He’s so bad that he’s funny.

So although only 40 seconds long — again, a short scene provides an immortal reel librarian! — this scene packs a punch (literally) while laying waste to several reel librarian stereotypical traits. Just as Conan the Librarian helped save the fictional TV station, I think this funny scene and unforgettable librarian helped save the film itself. UHF was a notorious flop at the time it was released, but has since solidified fame with its cult status.

As iconic as UHF‘s Conan the Librarian is, it seems the character first starred in a 1987 Mother Goose and Grimm cartoon.

Source: Mike Peters, Mother Goose and Grimm, 18 January 1987

And if you can’t get enough of Conan the Librarian? Check out The Adventures of Conan the Librarian, as well as other pop culture references in the Wikipedia entry for the character.

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Bon Voyage to the Ship’s Librarian

Bon Voyage! (1962) is a Disney comedy about a typical all-American family who set sail on a “dream” vacation to Europe. Mishaps ensue. Side note:  Isn’t ensue a fun word?

In an early scene on the cruise ship, the husband and head of the family, Harry Willard (Fred MacMurray), mentions the book State Fair, and the next morning, his wife (Jane Wyman) is reading it. That’s our (subtle?) first clue there’s a library on board the ship.

Harry then visits the ship’s library. Second (not-so-subtle) clue: Several bookshelves are arranged along the wall. We are introduced to the ship’s librarian by seeing his back first. First impressions? Extremely skinny with gelled hair. This is typical of a Comic Relief librarian, where exaggerated physical characteristics add to the visual humor. Character actor James Millhollin plays the Ship’s Librarian, his official title in the fim’s credits — late 40′s (47 in real life), with dark, short hair oiled back, no glasses. He’s wearing a ship’s uniform — perhaps considered a member of the crew? or just posturing? — with a bow tie (!). The librarian extends a greeting and adjusts his cuffs while standing behind the Circulation desk. This extra clue is added by a file box full of cards, the standard movie prop for a Circulation desk.

James Millhollin, character actor

The reference interview commences:

Ship’s librarian: “May I help you?”

Harry: “I’m looking for something in the way of a mystery. I guess I’d like to read about somebody else’s troubles for a change.”

Ship’s librarian: “Very good, sir. We have any number of stimulating items in that category. I rather learn toward the intellectual type of crime myself.”

He then leads Harry straight to another bookcase and takes down a book. Harry, perhaps turned off by the librarian’s manner and also caught up in his family woes, is quite dismissive and says he’ll find something but “thanks very much.”

Ship’s librarian: “Just as you say sir. Oh, and good hunting.”

Later, Harry sees his daughter researching architecture in the library, with books spread out all over the desk. She and her dad get into an argument about a boy, resulting in the daughter running off.

Ever-so-helpful, the librarian then comes over, straightening his coat. He is very fastidious about his dress, always straightening something — again, adding to the humor. Leaning over, he continues the reference interview with an oblivious smirk:

“Did you find your mystery, sir?”

Harry: “Yes. It’s called The Case of the Puzzled Parent Who Can’t Understand Why His Children Keep Saying He Doesn’t Understand.” [Stalks off.]

“Hmmm…. That’s an oddish title.” [talking to himself, obviously puzzled]

Not the most socially bright crayon in the bunch, is he?! He fits the Comic Relief character type perfectly, with his skinniness and mannerisms exaggerated so that we laugh AT him, not WITH him — but we wouldn’t have a chance anyway, as he doesn’t display any sense of humor. The Comic Relief librarian’s role is to serve as the butt of jokes, and this ship’s librarian fills that role to a super-straight T.

Alas, no scenes of the library in the Bon Voyage! advertising

Although only in a couple of scenes, the ship’s librarian definitely makes an impression, but not a very positive one. On the plus side, he knows “his” collection — he does seem like the type to describe it like that, doesn’t he?

On the negative, he is consistently overly solicitous, oblivious to people’s needs or the concepts of sarcasm or humor. (The sarcasm in this post would most likely fly over his well-oiled hair.) He just doesn’t “get” people — but doesn’t get that! — and comes across as too formal or proper. The ship’s librarian is just not that great at customer service, which is comically at odds with the purpose of his job. Cruises are supposed to be fun — I’ve never been on one, but I’ll go out on a limb with that assumption — and this librarian most certainly is NOT fun. But he sure is fun to make fun of! Bless.

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