Charlie Sheen and the Importance of Boundaries

Like everyone else, I've been avidly watching Charlie Sheen's last two weeks of insanity, catching any glimpse I can of him in front of the cameras. As someone interested in comedy, it's worth noting why his first appearance, an interview on Good Morning America, was so hysterical and yet his latest effort, a web show called Sheen's Korner, fell so flat.

There are two obvious reasons why the interview was funnier than the web show. First of all it was shorter - ABC condensed what was probably an hour long interview into 6 minutes of premium content, whereas Sheen's self-produced web show dragged on for nearly an hour. Secondly, since the interview came first it had the element of surprise and novelty, whereas the web show essentially repeated the same "winning"/"Tiger blood" shtick.

But the third reason the interview was so much funnier than the web show is the most important and most interesting one for comedy fans and writers. And that is a difference in boundaries. When you tune into Good Morning America on ABC and this bottle-blond Martha Stewart clone is interviewing a celebrity, you expect some sentimental puff piece well within the boundaries of "decency." ABC News is, after all, a paragon of the Establishment Media. And then here's Charlie Sheen raving about having "Adonis DNA," being "bi-winning" and calling his enemies "losers" as he puffs on a cigarette. What's so funny is that not only is Sheen saying insane, hilarious stuff, but he's saying it in a forum that takes itself very seriously. He's unexpectedly crossing the boundary that the authorities (the interviewer, the show's producers) normally have set up. It's like the kid who makes farting noises in class - it's his flouting of the teacher's authority that makes his fart sounds particularly funny. And then the authority figure, the interviewer in this case, tries to assert her authority by trumping Sheen with her 'sanity' and 'decency,' but Sheen just bulldozes her. Given the context, Sheen is essentially giving a "Fuck You" to the American Media Establishment on their own airwaves.

On Sheen's own show, by comparison, there are no boundaries. So Sheen doesn't have to buck any authority, and there's no one fighting back at him. We don't have any expectations of decency for the show - in fact we expect it to be totally out of control - so there are no expectations to upend and no boundaries to be crossed. He's the authority and he's surrounded by a bunch of sycophants who cheer on his every word. This actually turns out to be a total buzzkill and not funny at all. Sheen says something crazy - so what? We expect that, and no one around him is telling him it's crazy, everyone is just saying "yeah, Charlie!"

So what's the lesson here? Be careful what you wish for when you say you want "NO BOUNDARIES!!!" Often times boundaries are good for comedy, because they give the audience an expectation of a line that will not be crossed or a way something will play out, and you as the comedy writer can totally surprise the audience by upending those expectations. Remember when an Iraqi journalist threw his shoes at President Bush during a press conference. Now THAT was funny. Giving that guy an "Anything Goes" web show... not so much