Stuart Smalley
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Stuart Smalley is a fictional character invented and performed by satirist and later Senator Al Franken. The character originated on the television show Saturday Night Live, in a mock self-help show called "Daily Affirmation With Stuart Smalley." Smalley's first name is Franken's middle name.[1]
The character was a spoof on individuals who are obsessed with twelve-step programs and become addicted to the actual act of going to therapy for addiction. Stuart is a member of many (sometimes fictional) twelve-step groups, including Overeaters Anonymous, Children of Alcoholic Parents Anonymous, and Children of Rageaholic Parents Anonymous. He is an effeminate man with a perfectly coiffed bleached-blonde hairdo, who regularly wears a yellow button down shirt with a powder blue cardigan.
It is frequently hinted that Stuart may be gay, but his sexual orientation is never clearly stated. All his romantic partners have names which could be male or female, like Dale, Chris, or Merle. One character who becomes a romantic interest in the novel appears in the movie, where the character is played by a man; however, in the movie, nothing indicates that the two characters ever meet outside the courtroom, let alone develop romantic interest in each other.
Within the context of the show, Stuart is quick to point out that he is not a trained therapist. However, he does his misguided best to help his on-air guests to work out what he wrongly perceives to be their problems. His guests are very often celebrities, however Smalley is seemingly oblivious to his guests' fame as he never uses their full names so as to "protect (their) anonymity." Smalley often projects his own problems onto others; thus he will attempt to solve an issue that is not really there. For example, in what many believe may have been the most amusing Smalley skit, he tried to help Michael Jordan resolve nonexistent doubts about his basketball-playing ability. While Jordan admitted it is natural to feel apprehension before games, he did not feel so scared he wanted to "lie in bed and eat Fig Newtons". In the end he almost always ends up breaking down and putting himself down, and the guest usually ends up comforting him instead. In a couple of the later sketches the idea was reversed, where the guest appeared to be on top of the world and self-assured, but Stuart would unknowingly make a comment that would shatter the guest's aura of invicibility, such as Stuart innocently asking Charles Barkley that he must be glad at winning so many world championships. At the time of the episode's airing, the Phoenix Suns had recently failed to win the 1993 NBA Finals, which suddenly causes Barkley to break down in tears and admit he feels he is a big failure in life, to which Stuart is the one to comfort and reassure him.
Other guests that would appear were his family members, such as Macaulay Culkin playing his nephew or Julia Sweeney playing his sister, who suffers from battered wife syndrome. One Canadian relative named Leon Smalley also had a show called "Today's Mediation", which became a big hit in Canada. Although the viewer clearly sees he is being a copycat of Stuart (or possibly the other way around), Leon does seem more self-confident on his show, which could be a reason for his greater success.
The character was popular enough to spawn a novel, I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like Me!: Daily Affirmations With Stuart Smalley. The book keeps in line with the concept of the character, and is presented (tongue-in-cheek) as a legitimate day-to-day affirmation book. Each page is dated and the reader is "supposed" to follow through as if they were actually seeking help. Naturally, however, things go wrong in the writing process, and thus the affirmations branch off into Stuart's own commentary about what a hard time he is having writing it, etc. He also discusses his past relationship with ex-significant-other Dale, "the Rageaholic".
An audiobook was also released, You're Good Enough, You're Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like You. The content of this audio book was completely different from the printed one, but followed through on the same gag. The tapes played guided visualizations meant to help the listener relax and focus; however, Stuart makes a vow at the beginning not to make any edits or corrections in the recording process because "I'm a perfectionist and if I start making changes, I'll never stop." As such it is full of humorous errors, including one gag in which Stuart tells his listeners who are driving to work to "close their eyes and envision..." something. (As such, there is a warning label on the box that says, "Do not listen while driving," a joke that doesn't make sense until one has actually listened to the tape.)
As the character's popularity increased, a film was released called Stuart Saves His Family. It chronicled the life Stuart leads and his relationship with a very dysfunctional family. His alcoholic father and enabling mother, overweight sister and equally alcoholic brother call upon him when an aunt dies. He is asked to oversee the sale of her home, bringing much-needed money to all of the family. At the same time, his public access self-help show is cancelled. Naturally, things go amok, and he must learn to deal with himself and his own life before he can attempt to help others. While many critics praised the film, including Gene Siskel (who awarded the film 3.5 stars out of four, in his print review) and Roger Ebert, the film was financially unsuccessful.
According to a March 1995 article in New York Magazine, Franken regularly lobbied to get the Smalley character on the air more in his last season on Saturday Night Live.
The character effectively disappeared after the box-office failure of the film and Franken's exit from Saturday Night Live, save one appearance where Smalley, bitter over the failure of the movie, refused to finish his affirmation, excoriated his viewers for not watching, and openly wept. At one point in that skit, Smalley (in reference to the film, its glowing reviews, and the film that beat it) commented: "But you didn't want 'funny' and 'poignant'. You wanted 'Dumb....and Dumber....and Dumber....and Dumber'!" Al Franken did do the character again when Al Gore hosted, and the character showed up from time to time on The Al Franken Show. Later, after Franken made a bid for a United States Senate seat that ended in success but also in controversy, he would be dubbed "Senator Stuart Smalley" by critics.
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[edit] Catchphrases
The character is known for a number of catchphrases, many of which are chosen not just for comic effect, but to play on a perceived tendency of the self-help movement to talk and think in psychobabble. Some, such as the phrase "stinkin' thinkin'", are taken from common 12-step slogans.
- "That's just stinkin' thinkin!"
- "You're should-ing all over yourself."
- "Denial ain't just a river in Egypt!"
- "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me."
- "I am a worthy human being."
- "...and that's...okay."
- "Trace it, face it, and erase it."
- "I don't know what I'm doing. They're gonna cancel the show. I'm gonna die homeless and penniless and twenty pounds overweight."
- "I'm in a shame spiral."
- "...Sara Lee...Mallomars ...Fig Newtons..."
- "It's easier to put on slippers than to carpet the entire world."
[edit] In other media
Stuart Smalley issues a warning against the use of alcohol in Buster Poindexter's third album Buster's Happy Hour
[edit] References
- ^ Al Franken, NNDB.com
