Mitch Hedberg had a joke about stand-up comedians becoming actors. "When you're a comedian in Hollywood, everybody wants you to do things besides comedy," Hedberg said. "They say, 'Alright, you're a stand-up comedian. Can you act? Can you write? Write us a script.' They want me to do things related to comedy, but not comedy. That's not fair. It's as though I wanted to be a cook and I worked my ass off to become a good cook. 'Alright, you're a cook. Can you farm?'" The point is, just because somebody can be funny on a stage, doesn't mean they're right for the movies. I think that applies perfectly to the following story.
Variety reports that Jeff Foxworthy, who has been a stand-up comedian since the mid-80s, has signed a deal to star in his first non-voice over feature film. While Foxworthy has had roles in movies like Racing Stripes and the upcoming The Smurfs, he's never put on a live-action performance. Written and directed by Bryan Coley, the film is a sports comedy called Crackerjack. In the film, Wes Murphy will play a "homegrown southern boy" who tries to lead his team in the local Church group softball league to the championship. Foxworthy will play the league's announcer.
At the very least we can be happy that it's just a supporting role. Even Chris Rock, who is one of the greatest stand-up comedians of all time, is responsible for some truly horrendous titles, so I can't even imagine what a Jeff Foxworthy-starring vehicle would look like. Actually, we probably wouldn't have to look much further than Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector.
