Misplaced Pages

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 147.9.47.240 (talk) at 23:39, 3 February 2007 (→Career). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The neutrality of this article is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met. (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Dane Jeffrey Cook (born March 18 1972) is an American stand-up comedian and actor.

He has released two albums, Harmful If Swallowed and Retaliation, the latter of which went double platinum and became the highest charting comedy album in twenty-eight years. Cook performs on many television shows and in the fall of 2006 performed in his own HBO special, Vicious Circle. As an actor, Cook has appeared in fifteen films since 1997, and starred in the 2006 comedy Employee of the Month, with Jessica Simpson.

DANE COOK SUCKS AND ISN'T FUNNY

DANE COOK ISN'T FUNNY!

Discography / Videography

• Harmful If Swallowed CD and DVD. Comedy Central, 2003.
• Retaliation Two CDs and DVD. Comedy Central, 2005.
• Vicious Circle DVD. HBO, 2006
• Dane Cook's Tourgasm DVD. HBO, 2006

Filmography

Cook was in Albuquerque, New Mexico filming a new movie called Employee of the Month, a comedy co-starring Jessica Simpson, Dax Shepard, Efren Ramirez, and Harland Williams. He is also currently filming the psychological thriller Mr. Brooks in Shreveport, Louisiana with Kevin Costner. He was named in Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people of 2006.

Dane Cook's first HBO special, Vicious Circle, was aired on September 4, 2006. The double DVD was released on November 28, 2006. It is a 90-minute presentation which was filmed at TD Banknorth Garden in his hometown of Boston, Massachusetts on a circular stage surrounded by the audience. The stage had on it the impression of his Super Finger hand gesture. Cook brought the same set to Madison Square Garden for back-to-back sold out shows on November 12, 2006.

Dane Cook is also an avid supporter of charities in his hometown Boston, Massachusetts. On November 15th, 2006 he attended the "Fun Run for Families" event in downtown Boston as a special guest celebrity runner. The event raised upwards of $10,000 for local families.

The SUperFInger

The SUperFInger or SU-FI is a hand gesture. It consists of raising the middle finger, ring finger, and thumb on the same hand while lowering (or curling) the index and pinky fingers. Cook's website explains his idea behind the SU-FI:

One night I did a bit on stage about 5 years ago at the Laugh Factory. I was talking about how the finger is lame now and it's lost its pizzazz. I said I wanted to upgrade the finger and so from now on people should use both the ring finger coupled with the middle finger. I called it the SUperFInger (or SU-FI).

In 2005, Cook started his own company to produce his albums and videos, which he named SUperFInger Entertainment.

Content

Cook's style is principally observational humor. He has commented that:

I wanted to create a stage persona for myself that allowed me to really speak on anything I want... So I can be a storyteller, I can be jokey, I can be corny, I can be a little vulgar, I can be a lot vulgar. And I'm not afraid to go anywhere to get the point of the joke across.

Cook utilizes a unique slang vocabulary to match his talkative manner. For example: A bad relationship is a "Relationshit", Walgreens is "The Wall," and a sandwich is a "sangwich". Similarly, he uses such acronyms as BAMF and SUFI, which are short for "Bad Ass Mother Fucker" and "SUperFInger." He also shortens words to keep the same meaning. He has even been known to completely change words, like saying "Concernicus" instead of concerned, and "Chicken Sangwich" instead of Chicken Sandwich.

Criticism

Material Theft Accusations

After the release of his CD/DVD Retaliation, similarities were noticed between Cook's work and material recorded on Louis C.K.'s 2001 album Live in Houston. The bits in question are Louis C.K.'s "Itchy Asshole," "Guy On A Bike," and "Naming Kids." In 2005, Dane Cook performed and released three similar routines on Retaliation. "Louis C.K. vs. Dane Cook". These are "Itchy Asshole," "Struck By A Vehicle," and "My Son Optimus Prime," respectively. Cook has denied any plagiarism. When asked about the similarities on the message boards of aspecialthing.com, C.K. acknowledged that Cook was "stealing from ," and said that he had performed those jokes in clubs where Dane was present, eliminating any doubts that it could be a case of parallel thought. Louis C.K. decided that taking any action against him is "not worth it". C.K. has continued to be diplomatic, though critical, on the issue and has mined it for laughs by tagging a recent interview with radio hosts who dislike Cook with, "Fuck Dane Cook, he's a cunt." Some questions have been cast on the allegations by subsequent revelations that Steve Martin previously recorded a track entitled "My Real Name" for his 1978 album A Wild and Crazy Guy which is similar to both C.K.'s "Naming Kids" and Cook's "My Son Optimus Prime", only differing in that Martin is the child rather than the parent in the joke. However Martin did not perform anything similar to the other two jokes in question.

Comedian Joe Rogan has also been angered by the alleged stealing. He has spoken on many occasions (including the December 1, 2006 broadcast of the Opie and Anthony Show) about Dane repeating a bit on his first Premium Blend special that Rogan claims to have performed earlier in clubs, again with Dane present. He also went on to claim that Jim Breuer had reported to Rogan that Dane was performing some of Rogan's bits in clubs that he performed at with Breuer. "Joe Rogan Exposes Dane Cook".

Yuk-Yuks controversy

On July 24, 2006 Cook asked for a guest spot at the Vancouver Yuk-Yuks comedy club. Initially he was set to go up at the end of the night, but upon arriving at the club he requested to go up before the headliner since he had things to do in the morning (he was in town shooting the movie Employee of the Month). After going over time and ignoring the "red light", the club's manager and headliner (Peter Kelamis) cut off his microphone and tried to "play him off" with music. He thought it was simply a mistake and continued his set, but they later cut his mic and blared the exit music again. Cook then dropped the mic and walked off-stage, furious. The show then ended, leaving Cook's fans confused and disappointed, and without Kelamis having taken the stage at all; he later referred to Cook's actions as "the most arrogant thing that ever seen in life". Cook refused to ever set foot on a Yuk-Yuks stage again. Mark Breslin, the founder of the comedy club chain, quickly apologized and placed the blame on the club's manager, who happened to be new to the job.

Style

Dane Cook is largely known for his physical humour, often slapstick, combined with numerous vocal elements that vary from joke to joke. He commonly impersonates a "girlfriend" voice.

• Rob Sheffield criticized Dane Cook's style in an October 2006 Rolling Stone article. Some excerpts from the article:

"Yeah, we get it: the world's hottest comedian, a success story, the MySpace Generation, blah to the blah, but where are the fucking jokes?...It's like he's a lovable character Will Ferrell made up for an upcoming media-prank comedy, Funny Guy: The Legend of Dane Cook."

Louis C.K. has also accused Cook of arrogance:

"Last night I complained that he often rudely bumps me when he comes in the Laugh Factory. I wouldn't be the first one to complain. He never asks when bumping and almost always runs way over his time. He generally shows zero courtesy or respect to other comedians on the same show as him. Oh well. Whatever."

• Comedian Ron White has criticized Dane Cook for his lack of real material (calling him a "smoke and mirrors" act) and for his inflated ego.

• Jim Breuer, comedian and host of a Sirius Satellite Radio show said:

"Not one comedian comes on (my show) and says `I'm so happy for ,' which is weird. They can't stand this poor guy."

Tourgasm

• The criticisms of "Tourgasm" are perhaps the most scathing, here is only a brief selection of reviews :

"...a half-hour vanity project that proves HBO can not only be TV, but bad TV at that" -Brian Lowry

"To understand just how unbearable "Tourgasm" remains from start to finish, imagine a cross between Jerry Seinfeld's "Comedian" (except the jokes aren't all that funny and the comedians involved aren't that interesting or clever) and MTV's "Jackass" (except the teasing and physical pranks aren't that fun or dramatic and they end in angry recriminations, sulking and serious injuries). In short, "Tourgasm" may be the least worthwhile series ever to air on HBO..."

"...it's just some guy's tedious travelogue."

• In the Comedy Central show Freak Show, a character is watching a Dane Cook performance, but instead of Tourgasm, the show was called Boregasm. The show poked fun at Cook's eccentric style. The creator of the show, comedian David Cross, has openly criticized Dane Cook previous to this.

References

1. "Great Dane took a bite out of the Competition in 1995", The San Francisco Stand-Up Comedy Competition web site.
2. ^ Time's 100 Most Influential People
3. Dane Cook Message Board (quote posted by Dane Cook)
4. "HBO Signs Stand-Up Comedian Dane Cook to Multi-Project Deal", Time-Warner, March 2, 2006.
5. Heather Havrilesky, "Overcooked". Salon, September 3, 2006.
6. Heather Havrilesky,"Overcooked". Salon, September 3, 2006
7. ^ aspecialthing.com Forum, August 3, 2005. Cite error: The named reference "ast" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
8. www.freebeerandhotwings.com, Louis C.K. interview, accessed February 3, 2007
9. Dead-Frog: Steal this Joke: Louis C.K. vs. Dane Cook vs. Steve Martin
10. Guy Macpherson, "Dane Cook Gets the Hook at Yuk Yuk's". The Province, July 25, 2006.
11. "Pop Life: The Joke's on Us: How can any comedian get as famous as Dane Cook has with no jokes?" by Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, October 19, 2006.
12. "Ron White Interview" by David Medsker.
13. "Comics question the rise of Dane Cook" By Jake Coyle, AP Entertainment Writer.
14. "Dane Cook's Tourgasm on www.metacritic.com"
15. "Dane Cook's Tourgasm" By Brian Lowry.
16. "Overcooked" by Heather Havrilesky.
17. [http://www.slantmagazine.com/tv/tv_review.asp?ID=29 "

External links

• Official website
• Dane Cook on MySpace
• Louis C.K. / Dane Cook comparison
• Louis C.K / Dane Cook / Steve Martin comparison
• Dane Cook at IMDb
• Template:Nndb name

News articles & interviews

• Casey, Susan. "Everybody Likes Dane". Entertainment Weekly, Sept. 30, 2005.
• Havrilesky, Heather. "Overcooked". Salon, Sept. 3, 2006.
• Kharakh, Ben. Interview with Dane Cook. One Trick Pony. January 2006.
• Macpherson, Guy. "Dane Cook Gets the Hook at Yuk Yuk's". The Province, July 25, 2006, p. B7.
• Perry, Ryan. "Dane Cook: The Gorilla Mask Interview". Gorilla Mask. August 4, 2005.
• Zoglin, Richard. "Dane Cook: Standing Out in the Art of Stand-Up.". Time, May 8, 2006. From Time 100 issue.
• Gladstone, Neil. "Sex, Jobs, and Rock 'n' Roll". AOL Comedy, Nov. 2, 2006.

• 1972 births
• American comedians
• American film actors
• American stand-up comedians
• Irish-American actors
• Living people
• People from Cambridge, Massachusetts