A good Chaplin impersonation is all about the details. This week's clips zoom in on five wannabe Charlies
It's not hard to see why people like impersonating Charlie Chaplin. Who wouldn't want to borrow that split-second comic timing, the subtle wit, the mastery of the tiny gesture – a raised eyebrow, a slumped shoulder – that said everything while he said nothing at all?
Chaplin was a global celebrity before the age of mass media (though it has been reported he once came third in a Charlie Chaplin lookalike competition, so unassuming was he). His screen persona, a well-meaning but clumsy vagrant with social aspirations – wasn't showy, or imitable in an obvious way. This makes impersonating Chaplin tricky, because charisma, wit and vulnerability can't be thrown on like a tatty bowler hat.
Here's five Chaplain copycats giving it their best, and doing their damnedest to make a right Charlie of themselves:
1) Hong...
It's not hard to see why people like impersonating Charlie Chaplin. Who wouldn't want to borrow that split-second comic timing, the subtle wit, the mastery of the tiny gesture – a raised eyebrow, a slumped shoulder – that said everything while he said nothing at all?
Chaplin was a global celebrity before the age of mass media (though it has been reported he once came third in a Charlie Chaplin lookalike competition, so unassuming was he). His screen persona, a well-meaning but clumsy vagrant with social aspirations – wasn't showy, or imitable in an obvious way. This makes impersonating Chaplin tricky, because charisma, wit and vulnerability can't be thrown on like a tatty bowler hat.
Here's five Chaplain copycats giving it their best, and doing their damnedest to make a right Charlie of themselves:
1) Hong...
- 7/13/2011
- The Guardian - Film News
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