Has Anyone Fallen From Hilarious To Painfully Unfunny Harder Than Dan Aykroyd?
Warner Bros.. Getty Images.If you were only allowed to watch movies and television before 1985, you could make a case Dan Aykroyd is one of the least funny people in cinema. But I swear to God that Dan Aykroyd used to be funny. He was fantastic in Saturday Night Live. Him and John Belushi were the best comic duo of his generation. The man co-wrote Ghostbusters!
I've seen all of those clips a bunch and still find them so funny. How did this same guy do movies like Caddyshack II and Celtic Pride? We covered Caddyshack II last week on Double Play and it was a dreadful movie. The worst character in that horrible movie? It was Dan Aykroyd as a hitman.
This week on Double Play, we tackled Celtic Pride which starred Aykroyd and Daniel Stern as Celtic fans who kidnap the best player on the Utah Jazz (Damon Wayans) so the Celtics will win the NBA Finals. I think that's a pretty solid premise for a movie and when you look at the names involved, this should have been great. Judd Apatow and Colin Quinn wrote the script!
Instead, it's one of the worst movies I've ever seen in my life.
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Why did Aykroyd become unfunny seemingly overnight? It's easy to point to Belushi dying but he still made Ghostbusters after that. Comedians have shelf lives of around ten or so years. Whether it be Jim Carrey or Will Farrell, there is an expiration date. Bill Murray might be the exception but he also constantly changed the kind of roles he took. Bill Murray is very different in Meatballs and Caddyshack compared to Groundhog Day and Lost In Translation.
The bizarre thing is that while Aykroyd lost his ability to be funny, he did start to have success as a dramatic actor. He was even nominated for an Oscar for Driving Miss Daisy. He was also very good in Sneakers and Chaplin.
In this episode of DOUBLE PLAY, we do talk even more Celtic Pride as well as the very good White Men Can't Jump. You can watch the whole episode below or click HERE to listen: