With this being a long holiday weekend,due to President's Day,I thought it might be fun to start things off with a salute to one of the men who made this extra day off possible,Abe Lincoln. Yes,Washington's birthday is also thrown into the mix officially but when it comes to the perfect go-to guy for presidential humor,Lincoln just seems to fit the bill so much better.
Perhaps,it's the stove pipe hat or the beard,plus his long lean look. Whatever his enduring allure is, Abraham Lincoln really possess a certain air of dignity that folks can't resist tweaking a little. While giggling is considered inappropriate in history class,these less than respectful depictions of Lincoln practically demand your mirth:
One of the comedy troupes that love to mock Lincoln is The Whitest Kids U Know and they truly do comic justice to that night in Ford's Theater. This first skit has Abe(Zach Cregger) and his wife Mary(Timmy Williams) fending off an intrusive stranger(Trevor Moore) who keeps hassling them during the play.
What amuses me greatly about this sketch is how much Timmy resembles Mary Todd Lincoln. Seriously,the guy is a dead ringer for that particular First Lady(no pun intended,I swear!)and gets off several good lines here as well:
The Whitest Kids' other Lincoln skit is one of their most popular routines and is a favorite during their live stage shows. I've had the pleasure of seeing this one in person a couple of times and it keeps getting funnier every time I see it. I also would love to see the play-within-the-play version of Hamlet,with the vampire army invasion included(a whole lot of cussing in this one,you have been warned!):
Long before The Whitest Kids,the gang at SNL took a swing at Lincoln lunacy with this short film that asked the question "What if Abe Lincoln had a time machine and knew how he was destined to die?"
Longtime SCTV regular Joe Flaherty plays Lincoln,who becomes the Terminator to John Wilkes Booth(played by Kids in the Hall cast member Dave Foley as an adult),who seems to have developed a rather strong motive over the years for ultimately eliminating his mysterious enemy.
The only SNL performer on deck here is Julia Sweeney,in a brief performance as Mary Lincoln(no offense,but Timmy still is better in this role):
Speaking of alternative history,Seth Grahame-Smith's Abraham Lincoln,Vampire Hunter is tops in this gruesomely entertaining field.
One might think that Lincoln would have been more suited to stomping out the likes of werewolves,this portrayal of Honest Abe as the Van Helsing of the Civil War is pretty convincing,to say the least.
While there may be more "factual" books on the shelves that focus on Lincoln,they won't be as fun and action packed as this tasty little tome is:
It's a shame that the Tim Burton produced adaptation of Abraham Lincoln,Vampire Hunter won't be at the multiplexes this weekend. We'll have to wait until June to see this hysterical history lesson come to life on screen but at least there's a trailer to tide over us until then.
So,Happy President's Day weekend,folks and do turn some of your thoughts to the legacy of Abe Lincoln during this time. It may not seem reverent to remember our sixteenth president in such a mocking way but at least he is being remembered. Not too many jokes are made about Franklin Pierce or James Polk,for example and it's better to be amusingly memorable than easily forgettable:
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