Collegiate Times

No comedian has stormed the college scene quite like Dane Cook.

In a mere five years, this Massachusetts native went from stealing the stage from another unknown to sharing a stage with those known all too well. A Burger King now evokes images of a befuddled Dane, replete with a drive-thru headset, screaming for sweet-and-sour sauce, and any tire screeches leave the listener disappointed when no culminating crunch punctuates the disrupted peace. Catholic mass no longer drags itself along with the undecipherable mumblings of a priest, but rollicks through with Dane's literal interpretations, centering on the Eucharist as a "cracker o' Christ." It has been a long time since a stand-up comedian of this caliber has graced any microphone with his spittle.

Like MTV, Comedy Central seems to have strayed far from its original, pioneering path, pushing into the background what was once its bread and butter, though Comedy Central retains its "Comedy." MTV would be better named DrivelTV.

But, on the occasional Friday, stand-up comedians can be found sweating and straining in front of Kleig lights, cameras and audiences, entreating their spectators for a laugh. Some do it effortlessly, such as Daniel Tosh, one who might be considered a contemporary, if not a successor to, the Dane, while others rely on guzzled rum and cokes to loosen their observers' guffaws instead of originality.

Stage-wise, New Yorker neurosis has been exhausted by Jerry Seinfeld, shock humor has died with Andy Kauffman, and social commentary by way of intelligent racism has found its best practitioners in Chris Rock, Katt Williams and Dave Chappelle. Even deadpan, delivery-centered, drug-fueled comedy seems to have fallen with Mitch Hedberg, a one-liner messiah who nearly lifted stand-up out of its current doldrums only to succumb to the source of his inspiration.

The days of sold-out stadium shows are now relegated to the past, along with Eddie Murphy's career and his tight red leather pants, but the insightful humor he exhibited pokes its head out now and again, aching to be realized by a comedian with his or her finger on the pulse of the times. And who better fits this bill than Dane? His second album, "Retaliation," reached number four on the Billboard 100 (the first comedy album to do so since Steve Martin used his SNL credentials along with his historical hysterics). He also became the first celebrity to "make" two million friends on MySpace, evidence that he is part of the generation he speaks to and for.

"I think he's quirky, but more witty, really," says junior international relations major Kristina Heeger, which is possibly an insight as to why his fame has fallen recently.

Cook purportedly said that he wants to pursue a career in film acting and will retire from the medium that sky-rocketed him to his illustrious fame. But razor-sharp wit can lose its bite in the movie business.

Junior business major Mike Bell said, "(Dane) is pretty funny, but his movies are just not that good." The tone on campus seems to be the same. In the past five years, Dane Cook has appeared in five movies and starred in one of them, to disappointing reviews.

On screen, his intense infectious energy translates as well as hieroglyphics before the Rosetta Stone. The only movie where he received anything near critical acclaim was in "Mr. Brooks," with Kevin Costner, when The New York Times described his character as magnetic. But one would think that such a brilliant comedian could transplant himself into a character like himself, and it would come with only stellar results.

Like MTV, when Dane Cook strays too far off his true path, alienation ensues, leaving him the savior that could, but wouldn't.