I’ve never been a fan of Louie Anderson. But I’ve never disliked him, either. His humor—a little
sweet, a little sad—just felt a touch safe to my tastes.
But put a wig on the guy and suddenly a little sweet and a little sad goes a long way. The most unpredictable things happen.
As Christine Baskets, the tartly passive-aggressive mother of Zach Galifianakis’s wannabe-clown Chip on FX comedy Baskets, Anderson demonstrates nuance and grace, and genuine acting chops. I dare say it’s the best acting we’ve seen out of a former Family Feud host so far. (Steve Harvey, we’re not counting you out.)
Anderson has garnered plenty of critical praise for the role, but his current chances of winning an Emmy for it—as calculated by award-handicapping site Gold Derby—are only middling. So allow me to plead my case for Mr. Anderson.
He says he based the character in large part on his own mother. The steely narrowing of the eyes tells you something about her that is not written in the script. When explaining her son’s lackluster clowning career: “Not even with Ringling Bros.,” she says. “Rodeo.” There’s a mix of pity and can-you-believe-it? disdain in her voice. I feel like he could have based Christine on my mother.
Over the course of the season, Christine could easily have been a broad comic foil to Galifianakis’s pathos. Instead, the way Anderson plays her, Christine’s best moments are the tiniest ones. The delight in her eyes when mentioning a new flavor of Costco sports drink. There’s the flash of simultaneous anger, embarrassment and protectiveness in her smile when she perceives a slight from an acquaintance at church. There’s the disappointment when she’s blown off by her favorite children, the loneliness of eating ice cream in bed, the happiness she exudes when talking about Kirkland products... Now, that’s range. You can’t help but be on Christine’s side.
Or when it comes to the Emmys, Louie’s.
But put a wig on the guy and suddenly a little sweet and a little sad goes a long way. The most unpredictable things happen.
As Christine Baskets, the tartly passive-aggressive mother of Zach Galifianakis’s wannabe-clown Chip on FX comedy Baskets, Anderson demonstrates nuance and grace, and genuine acting chops. I dare say it’s the best acting we’ve seen out of a former Family Feud host so far. (Steve Harvey, we’re not counting you out.)
Anderson has garnered plenty of critical praise for the role, but his current chances of winning an Emmy for it—as calculated by award-handicapping site Gold Derby—are only middling. So allow me to plead my case for Mr. Anderson.
He says he based the character in large part on his own mother. The steely narrowing of the eyes tells you something about her that is not written in the script. When explaining her son’s lackluster clowning career: “Not even with Ringling Bros.,” she says. “Rodeo.” There’s a mix of pity and can-you-believe-it? disdain in her voice. I feel like he could have based Christine on my mother.
Over the course of the season, Christine could easily have been a broad comic foil to Galifianakis’s pathos. Instead, the way Anderson plays her, Christine’s best moments are the tiniest ones. The delight in her eyes when mentioning a new flavor of Costco sports drink. There’s the flash of simultaneous anger, embarrassment and protectiveness in her smile when she perceives a slight from an acquaintance at church. There’s the disappointment when she’s blown off by her favorite children, the loneliness of eating ice cream in bed, the happiness she exudes when talking about Kirkland products... Now, that’s range. You can’t help but be on Christine’s side.
Or when it comes to the Emmys, Louie’s.
