Chicago Sun-Times

On so-called ‘Nerd Prom,’ Sarah Palin’s a hypocrite — who’s right

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 20:56:54 -0500

The Tweet of the Weekend comes from Sarah Palin, who had this to say about the White House Correspondents Dinner: “That #WHCD was pathetic. The rest of America was out there working our asses off, while these DC assclowns throw themselves a #nerdprom.” Whoa! There was immediate speculation Palin had been tippling the Pinot, or perhaps her Twitter account had been hacked. Since when does the former governor of Alaska and erstwhile candidate for veep talk like a trash-talking poker player at the Borgata circa 2009? Also, at what job is Palin working her ass off? She has a job? I know. Since quitting as governor of Alaska, Palin has earned millions putting her name on books, opining on TV, starring in a “reality” TV show, giving speeches, etc., etc. And of course she’s a mom. But a job? I don’t think she has a job. Does she have a job? Palin continued her criticism of the WHCD on Facebook, writing, “Yuk it up media and pols. While America is buried in taxes and a fight for our rights, the permanent political class in DC dresses up and has a prom to make fun of themselves. No need for that, we get the real joke.” Says the person that has been a member of the mainstream media or a pol since the early 1990s. Palin herself was a hit on the White House Correspondents Dinner party circuit way back in, oh wait, it was just two years ago, attending events hosted by Vanity Fair and MSNBC, among others. (Palin sent her daughter Bristol to the actual dinner. In 2009, then-Gov. Palin was scheduled to attend the WHCD, but she canceled when a flood hit Alaska and sent her husband Todd to represent her.) We do not know if it was Palin or one of her staffers who actually wrote the “assclown” Tweet. I’d like to believe Palin herself often talks like that behind the scenes, e.g., “Bristol, your new boyfriend is such an assclown I’m starting to miss Levi!” As for the whole “How can you make jokes when America has problems?” argument: Meh. There was much scolding of this sort on Twitter during the week of the Boston bombings. If you dared say something like, “Have a great day, everyone!”, you’d see responses like, “In case you haven’t heard, there’s a TRAGEDY IN BOSTON!” or, “Hey idiot, get over yourself and pay attention to the news.” Of course, if we take that mindset to its logical end, how can anyone of us ever enjoy a laugh when literally hundreds of millions of children worldwide don’t have access to clean water? If we spent every waking moment absorbing and respecting the harsh realities of the world, we’d all be so paralyzed with sadness we couldn’t get out of bed in the morning. Weapons of mass distraction Palin’s laughable hypocrisy aside, I share her disdain for what the White House Correspondents Dinner has become. It’s become the D.C. version of the Friars’ Roast, with a late-night talk show host competing with the president to see whose team of writers can come up with better jokes. (Granted, the bar is lower for POTUS, but on Saturday night, President Obama clearly outperformed Conan O’Brien, who rattled off mostly lame jokes you could see coming down Connecticut Avenue.) Even more off-putting is the competition among news organizations to see who can land the biggest celebrity as a table guest. As Tom Brokaw so aptly pointed out last week, when Lindsay Lohan becomes a star attraction at your annual event, the joke’s on you. (Also, reporters lining up to get their picture taken with some actress or reality star is just cringe-inducing.) The prevailing hashtag and media label for the White House Correspondents Dinner is “Nerd Prom.” But when you’ve got John Legend, Sofia Vergara, Kevin Spacey, that “Gangnam Style” guy, Amy Poehler, Claire Danes, Kerry Washington, Gerard Butler, broken-legged Louisville hoopster Kevin Ware, Katy Perry and Hayden Panettiere working the red carpet at your event, that ain’t no Nerd Prom — that’s an event that’s going to be covered by “Extra,” “E!” and “Entertainment Tonight.” It would take a mighty act of professionalism and perspective for the organizers of the WHCD to realize how shameless and tone-deaf they look, and to announce they’re scaling back the event next time around. I think we have a better chance of seeing Sarah Palin getting a “No Assclowns!” tattoo before that will happen.

When fame collides with real life, many times life trumps celebrity

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 17:09:25 -0500

RICHARD ROEPER: Fame does funny things to people. Not just the famous people — also the people that come into contact with the famous people.

So many new media updates from Boston depended on the old media

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 20:30:39 -0500

Flawed as they were during this dramatic week, the TV networks, cable news outlets and newspaper websites still were the best sources for accurate information.

Visit to Anne Frank museum catches Justin Bieber between history lesson and shameless narcissism

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 02:19:36 -0500

If our respect for Anne Frank can be rattled by a pop star’s ignorant comment or a subsequent joke in a column, that doesn’t say much for our own set of beliefs.

In movies and reality, Internet helps mean kids be meaner

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 21:32:51 -0500

The whole thing starts with a fleeting moment of eye contact in a shopping mall. Early in the four-star movie “Disconnect,” two teenage skateboard punks (Colin Ford as Jason and Aviad Bernstein as Frye) cackle wildly as they witness the payoff moment of a nasty practical joke involving a weightlifter and a bottle of energy drink that no longer contains energy drink. (SPOILER ALERT. We are going to go deep into the storyline here.) As the boys are laughing it up, they notice a strange-looking kid staring at them. It’s pretty obvious he knows what they did. “What are you …

RICHARD ROEPER: ‘Accidental Racist’ joins the ranks as the worst pop songs of all time

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 02:22:53 -0500

Words — and music — cannot describe the epic bowl of awfulness that is “Accidental Racist.” Since it was released on Monday to a stunned American public, there’s been near-universal derision, with Twitter nearly exploding with criticism and the blogosphere blowing up with negative reviews.

If there were a Mount Rushmore of movie critics, we’d start with Roger Ebert

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 16:27:52 -0500

RICHARD ROEPER: After hearing the terribly sad news of the passing of my writing hero, my friend, my television partner, I sat at the keyboard and tried to come up with the perfect lead to sum up my feelings about Roger Ebert’s passing. Five, six minutes went by — an eternity when you’re on a deadline. Roger would have told me to stop fretting and start writing.

Unstable times for TV hosts

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 19:16:05 -0500

Matt Lauer is on his way out as host of “Today.” It’s only a matter of time. Or is that really the case? Maybe Lauer will be there for another 10 years, if he can just weather this storm. Elisabeth Hasselbeck? She’s gone from “The View”! Wait. Not so fast. Ah, but Jay Leno should start cleaning out his “Tonight Show” desk. Jimmy Fallon’s on deck, ready to take over in New York! One of these days. As for Barbara Walters, the legend herself is retiring! Except that’s news to her. Why is everybody trying to kick everybody out of …

Why Kevin Ware’s injury makes us wince, but movie kills don’t

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 16:32:00 -0500

The snap of Kevin Ware’s leg feels familiar to anyone who ever has fractured a bone — and who hasn’t?

Carrey video is stale, effective

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 00:07:33 -0500

Leave it to Jim Carrey to one of the most brilliant AND one of the most outdated video parodies of all time. Carrey’s “Cold Dead Hands” is a meticulously constructed satire of “Hee Haw,” and if you’re under 50 I can understand if you’ve never heard of that cornpone country humor show that went off the air in 1971 and virtually disappeared even from the musty deep nights of secondary-channel syndication some 20 years ago. In the Funny or Die video, which has more than 1 million views and has aroused the ire of some Fox News Channel commentators and …

Kate Upton doesn’t really want to go to your prom

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 19:48:00 -0500

You’re not endearing yourself to a celebrity with that invitation to a dance. You’re just putting the star in an awkward position.

Pete Townshend latest rocker to silence the heckler

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 19:22:12 -0500

Concerts can bring out the worst in audiences. Nothing like the last chucklehead in America who still believes it’s the height of humor to yell out “Freebird!” during an acoustic number. Just ask Pete Townshend.

Dennis Rodman and Donald Trump find new ways to appall us, decade after decade

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 17:35:15 -0500

Dennis Rodman and Donald Trump. They’re the “gifts” that just keep on giving. In a 1996 column headlined “Rodman Won’t Grow Up, and His Book Proves It,” I talked about Rodman’s book, “Bad As I Wanna Be,” and noted his incessant efforts to stay in the spotlight by any means necessary. “Just one question. What’s Dennis Rodman going to do to attract our attention when he’s 50?” If you answered, “Buddy up to a dangerous world leader who is continuing his father’s legacy of unspeakable atrocities against his own people,” congratulations! In a hookup so bizarre it would be deemed …

All about Oscar: few sure bets

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 06:25:26 -0500

RICHARD ROEPER: With some of the closest Oscar races in a generation, this is an extremely tough year — which makes it all the more fun. There have been years in which the winners in all the major categories were foregone conclusions, but with the Oscars less than a week away, there’s still no consensus for best picture, actress or supporting actor.

When Hollywood romance tales would be real-life loserville

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 17:14:00 -0500

Valentine’s Day often brings about lists of the most romantic movies of all time, from “Casablanca” to “He’s Just Not That Into You,” and I’m kidding about one of those titles. One of my favorite romantic comedies is “Love Actually,” which features most of the known British actors in the world in a series of sweet, smart, funny and poignant adventures of the heart. Some of these stories have the happiest of happy endings; others are quite bittersweet. Falling into the latter category is the story of the best man at a wedding who’s madly in love with the bride. …

Harsh critic crossed the line with digs at McCarthy’s size

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 08:10:07 -0500

Critic Rex Reed crossed the line with fat jokes about Melissa McCarthy

Two magazines, two celebrity profiles. Why is Jimmy Kimmel’s story a better read?

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 16:34:00 -0500

Late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel was on the cover of the Jan. 17 issue of Rolling Stone, on his knees, wearing a tool belt, wrench in hand, exposing a sliver of plumber’s butt crack as he grinned slyly at the camera. Actress Megan Fox is on the cover of the February issue of Esquire, wearing panties, an unzipped hoody, exposing the top curves of her breasts peeking out from a sheer bra. Jonah Weiner’s profile of Kimmel is a throwback to the seminal celebrity profiles of the 1960s and 1970s, when writers such as Gay Talese and Tom Wolfe …

There are movies that are bad, and then there’s ‘Movie 43’

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 19:14:10 -0500

Perhaps Halle Berry, Kate Winslet and Hugh Jackman thought they’d be showing their carefree side when they agreed to be in this unfunny collection of aggressively tasteless comedy scenes. They were very, very, very wrong.