“I WASN’T PREPARED FOR HIS PERFORMANCE IN SUCCESSION. I CAN’T SEE HIM ANYWHERE IN IT, AND I DON’T KNOW WHERE IT CAME FROM. I DON’T KNOW IF I’VE EVER BEEN SO SURPRISED BY AN ACTOR.”
— Colin Firth on his friend and fellow actor matthew macfadyen (tom wambsgans)
I love this quote (snatched from Vanity Fair… behind a paywall but, alas, not far enough!), not only since he’s my favorite character on “Succession,” but because one of the greatest gifts we can give our friends and family is this element of, shall we say, “contained surprise.” Stipulate that the full-fledged version of join-the-circus-or-worse-yet-a-cult-or-even-Amway is almost never a welcome event. Yet there is room in the folds and interstices of our textured personalities to find another voice — the way Barry Gibb stumbled onto his during an eventful recording session. Maybe a little Vaseline behind the ear to serve up the occasional spit-ball. I’m going to go so far as to say that this is our obligation to one another. And surely to ourselves. We should be seeking these joyful moments of, might we then coin, “expectation arbitrage.” Leave them agog at the Thanksgiving table as you quote Tolstoy in the voice of Beavis and/or Butt-Head. Go ahead and order that phat Appletini. The joke’s on them. All the better if you actually like the taste! Go bowling once in a while. And if you’re already a league bowler then try karaoke axe-throwing. To paraphrase Logan Roy from the same series, “The only rule is there are no rules!” Our goal is not to induce seizures; but it is to seize the moment, every now and again (i.e. Carpe fuck ’em!!). Balance and timing are key, of course. Done too often, it becomes a schtick. Too ham-fisted, you aren’t invited back. But remember this: it’s only not funny if it isn’t funny to you….
Great Exudations 