On this episode of Morally Offensive, Bill and Cisco dive headfirst into Freddy Got Fingered (2001), Tom Green’s aggressively unhinged film that might be the worst comedy of the 2000s, or a misunderstood absurdist masterpiece, according to some. Filled with horse semen, broken bones, and a wildly uncomfortable false molestation subplot, it was a critical disaster. Yet, it somehow features Rip Torn, an Oscar-nominated actor who fully commits to Green’s chaotic vision. With the release of Tom Green Country and a new stand-up special, we ask: is it time to rethink Green as a proto-absurdist innovator rather than just an MTV shock jock?
We trace Green’s legacy from late-’90s shock humor to anti-comedy pioneer, clearing the path for the surreal chaos of Tim and Eric and The Eric Andre Show. The guys ask if Freddy belongs in the tradition of absurdist theater à la Ionesco and Beckett, the surrealist works of Bunuel, or if this is Tom Green using his blank check to self-sabotage his career in full public view. Either way, it’s one of the most deranged movies ever made, made with unique, original voice, and somehow, it might have changed comedy forever.
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