People have been asking me about what I think about Matt Walsh’s upcoming “Am I Racist” and I’ve been telling everyone the same thing. I am excited about it.
I’ve been very critical of most of all Daily Wire’s film projects since they launched DW+ and Bentkey so a positive review of just the trailer, and even me saying “I plan to watch in theaters.” has been a surprise to them.
But Matt Walsh’s “Am I Racist” has the potential to be really great, and that’s because it’s actually not a Daily Wire project. It’s a Matt Walsh project.
Let me explain.
If the rumors about the DW is true, it’s a highly controlled workplace. Even for artists who moved there to escape Hollywood bureaucracies. Allegedly, everything is pre-determined by committee, each executive with their own red pen. They have millions of dollars, followers and views. So everything has to be examined and controlled with fine tooth, bureaucratic combs. They don’t have the freedom to fail.
This is great for politics. But, it is the absolute worst environment for creativity.
This is why I often say, “Politicians make terrible artists, and artists make terrible politicians.”
The way each one communicates is inherently different. One communicates based on facts and data, not caring about your feelings. They want to be known for truth and honesty. They need to be trusted.
The artist communicates stories that impact your feelings, not really caring about your facts. They even have a category they work in called “Fiction” sometimes. It’s been a very successful and lucrative genre. We should try it sometime.
So Matt Walsh, not to be confused with the actual improv comic legend of the same name, started his career doing a morning zoo style radio show called The Matt and Crank Program. Matt Walsh would do prank phone calls, interact with the audience, and it would be live on air. Warts and all. Bad jokes and all. Future Media Matters source material. But that’s the job of a comic. To fail live. Over and over again. And that is what he did.
I don’t know a lot about the program Matt Walsh was on, but from the clips I could tell it was very much a Howard Stern like morning zoo show with a political twist. Shock comedy and all.
Imagine going from that, to the ever so buttoned up Daily Wire?
It’s hard to do, but Matt Walsh made the transition well and built a name for himself. And now it looks like Matt Walsh is really getting the chance to return to his roots.
Here is the point. You can’t micromanage and strike a red pen through improv comedy. There is no script. There are no bureaucracies dictating how things should go. Everything is decided in a moment and live with what is filmed. In those moments, Matt Walsh has complete creative control. No one can yell cut. No one can demand another take. It lives or dies at that moment, completely dependent on him.
From the trailers, “Am I Racist” seems to be a cross between two of the best improv comedians in the world. Nathan Fielder and Sacha Baron Cohen. Nathan Fielder’s “Nathan for You” is one of the best improv shows I have ever seen. And Sacha’s known for character improv since the days of Ali G and Borat. He took a deep political turn with his Borat 2 showtime series, where he was sued by Rudy Giuliani and again in What is America where he was sued by Roy Moore, but Roy Moore lost. But no matter what you think of his politics, Sacha Cohen is still one of the GOATs.
The challenge for Matt Walsh will of course be imitating these two, too much. The reviews at Variety are probably already written by angry leftists, calling him a cheap rip-off of Cohen and Fielder. But a mix of those two into one character is actually pretty unique and has a lot of opportunity.
When you watch the clips from Am I a Racist, you get the feeling that Matt Walsh is back to his original self. He’s free and in his original form. Here’s a clip of him in character at the DNC.
I have routinely gone really hard against a lot of the content The Daily Wire puts out. But that is because I know that a rising tide raises all boats. The success of The DW is very important, but without giving the artists the freedom they need to be able to create freely, it will never work.
I have a lot of hope for Matt Walsh’s film, let’s just pray those that carry the red pen don’t leave the best jokes on the cutting room floor as a means to keep political relationships and instead allow the political comedian to be a comedian first.
I wasn't really familiar with the Matt Walsh oeuvre prior to you bringing him to my attention. One of the big problems with conservative comedians is they just aren't funny. The best liberal comedians and heck the best comedians period can laugh both at the other guy and themselves. Can Matt make us laugh at the foibles of Conservatives too? I'll have to check out Walsh and see if he's the exception to the general rule.
"The way each one communicates is inherently different. One communicates based on facts and data, not caring about your feelings. They want to be known for truth and honesty. They need to be trusted."
I really thought this paragraph was about to end with "The other ones are politicians."