A New (British) Pauly Shore?

With the recent media blitz for his newest movie, The Tempest, Russell Brand has been making his rounds of the talk shows of late. I am not new to Russel having seen him make the rounds before and in movies such as Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but something popped in my head the other night seeing him on Craig Ferguson…

Is Russell Brand the new Pauly Shore?

There certainly are a lot of similarities between the two as they both represent a rock-and-roll, rebellious, nonchalant attitude and lifestyle within their characters and personas which carry over from film to television to reality and in reverse. Both have the crazy style sense, out of control hair and verbage (although some of Russell’s is accentuated by British slang and his accent).

The only real difference between the two is the main theme that personifies the character’s they portray in front of the camera and in public. It is a difference that is representative of the change in society’s mindset and the direction of the entertainment industry.

Shore’s character, the Weasel, was all about drugs and chillin’ out – a modern 1980s and early 90s take on the hippies of the previous generation. Brand’s image is that of a raunchy, adventurous, sex-craving wild man.

Beyond that, Brand is the comedic representation of today’s MTV musician-reality stars, ranging from Bret Michaels to Flavor Flav, with the stereotyped bi-curious leanings of a European. It is especially ironic considering it was MTV where Pauly Shore earned his popularity and that part of Brand’s beginnings were with MTV in the UK as a VJ while also starting his stand-up career.

But will the future hold the same fate for Brand. He seems to have the fortune coming about in an era of the industry where this kind of persona has the ability to break from the mold and typecasting extend a career beyond the five-year time span of popularity that cost Shore, who got lumped in with others like Carrot Top, the opportunity to remain successful. The other benefit is that Brand’s persona carries with it an underlying intelligence, albeit in the form of smart-ass quips and retorts, while The Weasel was the depiction of a moron that was the reason for or cause of using narcotics.

I know this sounds like a rip on Russell Brand, but I find him pretty funny. And, I will admit that I thought Pauly Shore was a riot as well, never taking him seriously and enjoying his movies for what they were; simple comedies. I think it’s completely unfair that he has been cast aside as he has and would love to see him make a comeback much like Christina Applegate has from her ‘dumb-as-a-rock’ character Kelly Bundy on Married with Children.

I actually think some kind of movie featuring the two would actually be pretty frickin’ hilarious. Perhaps he could play some sort of similar-to-life version of himself as a mentor to Brand’s Aldous Snow character from the movies Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him to the Greek.