This question was recently brought up on The Joe Rogan Experience. The clip capturing this conversation appeared in my YouTube algorithm. As soon as I saw it, I naturally started muttering “I wish I was dead.”
My perspective on Joe Rogan is a mixed bag. I genuinely appreciate him for elevating comedians I love like Joey Diaz and Tim Dillon.
I also recognize Joe Rogan suffers from what many former freethinkers have devolved into, an obsession with whatever their interpretation of Cancel Culture is. They ramble endlessly about this culture war an incredibly small fraction of the world is participating in while failing to offer any alternative. It mirrors the behavior men who suffer from erectile dysfunction display. Their insecurity about a loss of manhood results in them becoming a more animated persona stating over and over “John Wayne….Andy Griffith…..what the fuck happened to this country?”
In no way do I consider Joe Rogan dangerous like some laughably do. One of the most ridiculous things I’ve seen stated came from a friend who said Rogan dog whistles to racists. Earlier this year, Rogan had an incredible 4+ hour conversation with two black men, Freddie Gibbs and Brian Moses. Many self-labeled progressives have never had such a lengthy conversation outside their race.
Onto the edgy comedy debate, so Joe Rogan recently sat down with comedian Joe List and at one point discussed the state of studio comedies. Joe List by the way is a comedian I solely know from highly amusing Cum Town bits.
During this conversation that retched catchphrase, “you could never make that today” was used in reference to Step Brothers and Superbad. We’re really stepping into an alternative reality while speaking about Step Brothers like it’s an envelope pushing taboo comedy. I think it’s a testament to Joe Rogan’s separation from reality that he imagines people watching Will Ferrell putting his testicles on drums and shouting “WHY I NEVER!” as a monocle drops from their eye.
Joe Rogan has a point, Step Brothers could never be made today. Its subject material has nothing to do with this decision, the film’s budget is the problem. Step Brothers costed $65 million to make. There is little to no possibility of a strictly comedic film getting such a lucrative budget nowadays. There’s no current market for something that isn’t an IP tentpole with worldwide recognition.
How did things change from where they were in 2008? From the moment Breaking Bad premiered on television, there seems to have been a new boom in television that transpired. As millions stayed at home and assumed they were experiencing elevated storytelling, movie studios combated that influence by tossing expensive globs of CGI onto the screen. Why? Because it’s a spectacle television can’t compete with financially. It’s no different from the debut of television influencing film studios to do expensive Technicolor fashion shows like Gigi and My Fair Lady because black and white sitcoms couldn’t duplicate it.
Superbad is another great example of studio comedies having no place in this current state of mainstream filmmaking. In 2007, this film with a $20 million budget made $170+ million. In 2019 a film that can easily be considered Superbad‘s woke reboot, Booksmart was released. Personally speaking, I was in love with this film when it came out. I think I saw it 7 times theatrically and 3 more times at home after purchasing the Blu-ray. I’m currently terrified to rewatch it because maybe that was some manic episode.
Whether or not Booksmart’s funny, there’s no denying this film excels at what we currently perceive to be political correctness. Any woke liberal who people naively believe are a dominating presence would consider it perfection. The film had a $6 million budget and only made $25 million theatrically. It has to be mentioned the film’s financial gain was the result of two theatrical releases. It first played theatrically in May 2019, then in late July/early August that same year it was re-released.
Booksmart proved that even if a studio comedy says everything an apparently small but vocal minority on Twitter demand from entertainment, it doesn’t automatically guarantee success. Quite the opposite. It’s either a result of not that many people being woke like it’s been perceived or that woke mob unwilling to leave the house, cash in hand, even when they’re being catered to.
This recent debate on The Joe Rogan Experience effectively highlights the inability people angrily ranting about Cancel Culture have when it comes to reality. They resort to that nails on a chalkboard line “that’d never get made today” when talking about an undeniable masterpiece like Blazing Saddles. Of course Warner Bros wouldn’t greenlight Blazing Saddles today. American filmmaking isn’t interested in quality storytelling and they aren’t attracting quality audiences like they were in 1974 when Mel Brooks’ satirical perfection was the highest grossing film that year.
Now revolting schlock like that already forgotten live action Lion King remake prevails. Sorry to remind you of a valueless film that walked the unnecessary tightrope of alleging to be a realistic depiction while also following talking animals.
The death of the studio comedy isn’t a result of political correctness. If there isn’t the possibility of a film grossing $500 million-$1 billion worldwide, it’s not being made. If “edgy/shock” humor had the undeniable certainty of selling tickets in China, Mike Myers and The Farrelly Brothers would still have thriving careers. Thank god for Cancel Culture?
No matter what political party is in vogue, greed always wins.
It's Emilio Amaro's Blog 
To quote the late ‘Mean’ Gene Okerlund: “Longfellow couldn’t have said it better.”
Oh, and when it comes to Joe Rogan, he can best be summed up in four words: “Have you tried DMT?”
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