Who else would make a good roast these days?
After last night's trainwreck that was the Kevin Hart roast, I'm curious what and who you think might make for a good roast subject? Or is the idea of roasting really just dead, for any number of reasons as so many people can't take it, its just been overdone, or there's too few people that warrant one?
Kevin Hart seemed like the worst choice. For one, he's not really hated or beloved. He just is. He's a successful comic actor, who is also a comedian, but I'm not sure he really has enough love or hate that warrants watching.
A roast subject doesn't always need to be well liked. There was an old Chevy Chase one that was brutal but incredibly funny and entertaining to watch. This new crop of comics that perfectly skewered an aging delusional comedic actor that was known for a few things, but largely had become irrelevant. And Chevy Chase has always been so full of himself that its a joy to watch him taken down.
IMO the two best ones in recent memory were the Tom Brady one (in subject and tone overall) and James Francos (because he's a good subject and it was largely his friends doing the roasting). Tom Brady is pretty much a perfect subject. He's someone that's undeniably talented, but also widely hated and has that kind of punchable energy. So you can really shit on him while still being able to show respect. He's kind of earned it. Now I don't think you should only roast someone that's widely respected. Yes, that means its semi all in good fun, but there's gotta be the perfect level of undeniable respect and shit to actually make fun of which Tom has. Similarly, James Franco has that. Before his fallout, he was always weird and he had a lot of funny friends that were fine to point that out. He's maybe in the same boat as not beloved and not hated, but he had a lot of firepower to make fun of. Arguably more than Kevin Hart I'd say. And the shrapnel that went to his friends made it very entertaining.
The last few Comedy Central roasts really lost the plot. Sure, there's a lot to make fun of someone like Justin Bieber but there's really not enough to respect about him to care. Bruce Willis and Alec Baldwin and Rob Lowe maybe just felt too late? There's enough to shit on but its not undeniably entertaining. I wonder who would be good now? I'd obviously immediately think Chappelle, Louis CK, Mulaney, Seinfeld or Eddie Murphy. But honestly, would anyone of them be good? I'd almost rather just see the comedians they'd get for that riff with each other than shit on Chappelle. Like I don't think that would work either.
The Tom Brady one, in retrospect, felt like the perfect culmination of a lot, and now I fear we either won't have any more roasts or there just isn't many good subjects anymore, either because of divided politics or other issues.