Friday, March 05, 2010

Gainesville Mayoral Candidate Forum - Who are their comedic doppelgangers?

As I sat watching last night's mayoral candidate forum on WUFT's North Florida Journal, I noticed the odd similarity of Richard Selwach to Chris Farley, both in appearance and mannerisms. Later while on the pot (where most of us do the heaviest of thinking whether we admit it or not), I realized that you could match each of Gainesville's mayoral candidates to a famous comedian. Here ya go, for entertainment purposes only.

Ozzy Angulo - Carlos Mencia

This political neophyte was very matter-of-fact and represented the working class of Gainesville. While not as boisterous as Mencia, Angulo pled his case in a language that everyone could easily understand. Dee de-dee!

Monica Leadon Cooper - Julie Hagerty

This was a bit of a tough call. You could also go with Lily Tomlin. There are also some elements of Rita Rudner there. But Julie Hagerty as Elaine in Airplane II just kept coming back to me, especially the line "we're also out of coffee" when a passenger asks her if she's telling them everything. Arguably the winner of the forum, Monica was at times an amalgamation of several classic comediennes and she was often hard to peg down.

Craig Lowe - Andy Kaufman

Craig was not what he seemed last night, which described Andy to a T. He was often stumbling over his words as he looked into the teleprompter with a deer-in-the-headlights look. If you've ever spoken with Craig privately, you know his intelligence and passion for certain issues know no rival. Kaufman was the same way: he exuded lovable, feigned ignorance and innocence, but all along you knew he was the smartest person in the room.

Don Marsh - Eugene Levy

A man who speaks in plain language matter-of-factly states his case so emphatically that he believes there is no way that others could have a position more correct than his own - sort of like that friend's father whom you can't convince is wrong. A candidate for those who remember the George W. Bush years with fondness.

Richard Selwach - Chris Farley

From the Javier Bardem-like haircut to his fidgety nature, Richard channelled the late fatman several times last night. See my initial impressions above.

Are these comparisons accurate? You decide for yourself as North Florida Journal repeats several times this weekend and WUFT-TV Channel 5. Check your listings and have a chuckle.