For the first time ever, a video of Sarah Palin is funny for the right reasons. Normally, we find ourselves laughing at a Sarah Palin video because she either hilariously bungles a softball question; or because she can’t describe the duties of the office for which she’s running; or because she totally botches a major historical event; or because she somehow conflates fast food workers with purgatory. We’re all familiar with the greatest hits.
Then along comes her ALS Ice Bucket Challenge video, culminating with a joke that’s intentionally funny.
Now, it’s important to note here that the joke is preceded by a head-scratchingly bizarre speech. It’s also important to note that the joke doesn’t appear to have come from Palin herself but instead as a surprise from an off-camera participant. I think you can see where this is headed. Let’s go through this mess beat-by-beat.
1) Palin Live From a Flea-Market. Like all of her Sarah Palin Channel videos, she’s obviously in her house somewhere, but the “set” looks like she’s either running a booth at an Etsy trade convention, or she’s selling tchotchkes at a rummage sale. In the frame we see Palin surrounded by the following items: a conch shell; a bottle of soda; an empty glass; handwritten notes; a check book; a small silver deer-head ice bucket; a random red cup with what appears to be the Philadelphia Phillies “P” logo; a bucket of pine cones; a framed flag; a American flag hanging from the wall; a potted plant; a repro antique lamp; and a make-up mirror. Why are these things here? Who the fuck knows. It reminds me of Steve Martin’s random “all I need is this thermos” scene at the end of The Jerk: “All I need is this conch shell. And this bucket of pine cones. And this deer bucket. And this…” Anyway, I suppose the setting could be a lot worse.
2) Palin Prim and Proper. Apparently the lady who hasn’t turned down a chance to exploit her family in a poorly-rated reality show and who made this face on national TV… CONTINUE READING