Leslie Nielsen: not funny

Is Leslie Nielsen funny?

The creators of the CTV sitcom Robson Arms certainly think that the veteran Canadian actor, who turned 80 this past February, deserves his prominence as a comedy actor. Gary Harvey and Susin Nielsen (no relation) will add Leslie Nielsen to the cast of their show when it returns for a second season this fall. Asked whether he is funny, they say (via email): “Anyone who says ‘no’ to this question is an idiot!”

If so, the idiots include a critic for the online British magazine Film Focus, who saw Nielsen in Scary Movie IV and wrote: “One wonders if it’s not now time for the old fella to retire.” Or film critic MaryAnn Johanson of www.flickfilosopher.com, who says of Nielsen: “He never has been funny.” Or Mark Bazer, a writer for the Boston Phoenix, who summed up this line of thinking several years ago when he wrote: “Leslie Nielsen is not funny.”

Apparently some people think Leslie Nielsen isn’t funny.

That’s from the Canadian magazine Macleans. I’m quoted a bunch more, too, about how not-funny Leslie Nielsen is.

And don’t call me Shirley.

(Technorati tags: Leslie Nielsen, comedy, critics)