nwolfson:

The coveted 100th post here at nwolfson.com goes to the insanely talented Josh Ruben from Collegehumor.com.  He is the third in the set of three interviews.  He brings the perspective of someone not as involved in the writing process, but on the front line as an actor.  As before, click his pic to check out his blog.

1) While creating Stormtrooper 9/11, was there any trepidation among the cast, production team, or corporate team regarding ethical considerations?

This is a great question for writers Sam Reich or Dan Gurewitch. For me as a cast and production team member, I was excited, actually. For two reasons: 1) to tread on edgy territory using Star Wars and 2) to don the Stormtrooper get-up. Once the sketch was greenlit, we approached it with as much enthusiasm and gusto as we do with all of our shorts. The subject matter made it more exciting to play it as realistically as possible (behaviorally speaking).

2) A recurring theme in the comment stream of the video was the dichotomy of “too soon” and “get over it.”  Do you believe there is such a thing as “too soon?”  How do you make a judgment call on event/joke time lines?

I don’t want to disregard our commenters at all, especially in the context of 9/11, but in the past couple years, “too soon” has been thrown around as an ironic sort of comedic slang term. On our message boards, it’s clear to me they’re speaking ironically. Look at the context. Star Wars is so outlandish; the terminology, the costumes and characters. I have a hard time believing more than a handful of people on this planet are insulted by this sketch.
That said, I think as comedians, there’s never a “too soon”. There is a “too much.” You can broach any subject as a comic, it’s a matter of articulation. A great comedian will take a taboo topic and seduce you into laughing about it. It’s my job and I really do believe it’s the best medicine.
The judgement call thing is tricky. You just know. If you’re a good writer/comedian, you know in your bones how to approach tricky territory. To me, a big part is using your head. You know if you make a rape joke you don’t want to go into the details of rape itself. Safe to assume no one wants to hear that, right? You take the subject and put it in the context of something opposite. Like rape at a Build a Bear workshop. You’re welcome!

3) Are there any events in your life where humor hasn’t helped in the slightest?

Not that I can think of…
Wait. When I was in 5th grade, I accidentally slammed the door on my friend Gillian’s finger. I tried to make her laugh by acting like a French waiter who announced the hurt-your-hand specials. She cried harder and pushed me out of the way.

4) Have you had any particularly moving experiences where comedy has helped in the healing process?

My aunt passed away recently. Her son - my cousin - and I were sitting in the funeral home with the funeral director, drafting the obituary. For some reason we kept making faces at each other when he wasn’t looking. It took everything not to laugh. With everything we were going through as a family, it was profound. It was the first big laugh we had since her death and it felt great.

5) Did you see a change in the comedy scene after 9/11?

I remember late night talk shows taking a break from the norm, from the comedically overt to just making commentary - talking it out to an audience. The stand up circuit was similar. It was the equivalent of rehabilitation after an accident - slowly but surely, we became ourselves; slowly but surely, it became okay to talk about this terrible thing. That, I think, was a) a reaction to a tragic event we as Americans have largely never experienced and b) comedians putting their feelers out to the public, calibrating jokes on the sensitivity scale - is it safe to go here? There? There, even?

6) Do you have any other comments, rants, musings to parlay?

The morel is I’m a pretty fungi.

*Bonus Question from a comedy fanboy.  Do you have any comfort comedy (or music, or art)?  I ask this because one of the first things I did on September 11, 2001 is go home and read Napalm and Silly Putty to escape.  Is there any comedian, writer, artist, or musician that you turn to when you really need a boost?

Because I’m surrounded by comedy, I don’t use it as an escape, usually. I’ve been listening to the “Up in the Air” soundtrack incessantly. Great tunes to travel and get introspective to. It’s like medication to help ease my constantly grinding gears. When I do turn to comedy for comfort, it’s in the form of “Planes, Trains and Automobiles.” When not, it’s “Little Children” (the movie).

I’m really looking forward to going to the MoMa and glaring at Tim Burton’s artwork for several hours.