I am aware of the air beneath me.
In the U.S. when Jean-Claude Van Damme comes to mind, people will likely know who he is but it would invoke a high level of indifference. Most consider him a hasbeen, action-martial arts-actor who can do the splits. For the last 10 years or so, he’s made only direct-to-DVD movies, that even Jean-Claude Van Damme himself has called, “rotten.” He’s made back-to-back film stinkers but has still managed to make a name for himself. Maybe it was due to his flexibility, pecs and abs, and those famous “splits”? I wonder if he can still do those… Anyway. Because of the string of lackluster films and for his “wooden” acting (and no, I’m not talking about THAT video), he basically goes almost unnoticed. “Almost” because most people still recognize him. Remember the episode of him playing himself in Friends where he boasts he can crush a walnut with his butt cheeks?
That certain Friends episode just cracks open the surface of how the French perceive Jean-Claude.
In France, people see Jean-Claude Van Damme (who is Belgian, by the way) very, very differently compared to the U.S. He is a bit of a cult hero, not necessarily for his high kicks in cheesy B movies, but rather for his aphorisms that are inadvertently funny. He is hilarious and the French LOVE to make fun of him and the way he expresses himself in “franglais” - and they will NEVER, ever, let him forget anything he’s ever said that made them laugh. This is not to say they do it in a derisive manner, because while they do, in fact, mock him, they do it lightly and in a positive way, and despite the mockery, they find him unique and lovable.
Why? It’s sort of like this: JC says things that are like a cross between Yogi Berra’s quotes (”Nobody goes there anymore because it’s too crowded” or “Baseball is 90% mental, the other half is physical”) and “deep thoughts” from Jack Handy (“It takes a big man to cry, but it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man.”).
Since French TV is a lot about talk shows, you will find that you have a chance to see celebs up close and personal on all kinds of levels, and not just hear someone trying to plug their latest movie. That might be why JC isn’t seen the same way in the U.S. He simply hasn’t gotten enough on-air talk time to express his true self on English-speaking TV! I’m sure he’d say funny things in English, given the opportunity.
The most famous quote (that every French or French-speaking person is aware of) involves the theme of observation (insight), and JC talks about being aware using the word “aware” instead of the correct word in French (conscient), which throws the French into uncontrollable fits of laughter every time. I remember hearing another one from him where he says, “one plus one equals two but it could equal 11″ or something along those lines, and another where he remarks that if air was removed from the sky, birds would fall and so would planes.
He’s likable. He’s silly. Tout simplement. Just much sillier when he’s speaking French.
Knowing all of this about him now makes me appreciate him so much more and I am dying to see his new film called, JCVD, which is playing in theaters in France. It’s him playing himself but the movie is a fictional comedy. The teaser and trailer are hilarious, (The subtitles on the teaser are not that good, however.) and I think the movie is going to be great.
So. There you have it: why the French love JCVD so much. Well, they can’t continue the love for Jerry Lewis forever, can they? Maybe it’s time for someone new.
tags: france jean claude van damme jcvd aware
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As you know, the French love to poke fun at the Belgians, and JCVD is a perfect target: the accent, the non sequitur, the franglais, the wysiwyg candor, … His popularity is like the Ch’ti movie’s: weird, but in trying times people like to have a laugh at–and somehow empathize with–their favorite “tetes de turcs” (wipping boys). I am not a fan of JCVD, but I do admire his ability to sail through ridicule with such oblivious bliss.
Comment by Laure 06.08.08 @ 10:08 pmNice article… salut, Nice article, s’il vous plaît visiter mon site
Comment by mig33Citeureup 06.10.08 @ 3:27 amLeave a comment
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What a FASCINATING take on the whole thing.
Comment by Katia 06.08.08 @ 12:29 pmMy perception (from the French people around me) has been that they consider Jean-Claude Van Damme a total and utter joke. In fact, each time I’ve seen him made fun of on those endless bétisier shows, I feel they’re just considering him a total has-been and loser. Therefore I was perceiving this new movie as more of a defense mechanism on his part - a way of saying, yes these were my screwed up years, stop picking on me.
But I could be totally wrong! I never thought about it this way!