Eddie Izzard is really cool. He was cool when he was a bit overweight and caked in makeup. He was cool when he was a bit overweight, wearing chunky 90s heels and just a smidgen too much PVC. And now he’s done it again. He’s cool in a Labour party election broadcast. The first person in history to ever look cool in a party election broadcast.
http://www.youtube.com/v/oZDreHPzU94&hl=en_GB&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999
In the video released today Izzard manages to talk about issues we have heard a million times before in a witty, engaging manner. He didn’t preach nor did his words come across as an air-headed celebrity endorsement. So how did he do it?
Simply it seems by sticking to what he does best. Comedy. Comedy is, invariably, hooked on politics. Pointing out a societal elephant in the room or two – like the fact that tories don’t tend to be very nice people but do tend to have a lot of money that they don’t like to share – is the essence of many a comic routine . And it is this cynical social commentary that Brits are famous for – shining a bright often unflattering light on to the realities of our society.
But comedy is also uplifting. Encoraging you, literally, to laugh at yourself and at the mess that we’ve got ourselves and the world into. Cynical it may be, but comedy also relies on optimism.
So it doesn’t suprise me that an accomplished comedian like Eddie Izzard is practically the only person in this electoral campaign that comes across as genuine, honest and appealing. The reason is simple. We mayshare a joke about a broken Britain but we’re only able to do so because deep down we know it’s also pretty brilliant.
Rag Doll 