Funny Motivation: It Takes A Village To Raise A Village Idiot…

It’s easy to look at a bad performance and assume a person is just stupid or has no skill. Usually though, there’s a lot more going on behind the scenes.

I recently posted on how Nicolas Cage’s awful “not the bees!” performance in “The Wicker Man,” was a great example of why we all should be willing and able to move on from our failures – even people who have reached the top of their field can put in a miserable performance.

This week, a few awards and nominations were announced that reinforce this whole idea of people having highs and lows. Not only that, but it turns out there is even more we can learn. Take a look at two such nominees:

Sandra Bullock

Sandra Bullock made history by being the first person ever nominated for both a Razzie and an Oscar in the same year. The Oscars represent the “best of” for the year, the Razzies represent the “worst of.”

Her “best acting” nomination is for her performance in “The Blind Side,” and her “worst acting” nomination is for her performance in “All About Steve.” As far I know, she is considered a front runner for both…

One person having the best and worst performance in a single year. Astonishing.

(Side note: I know some people have always hated Sandra Bullock, even when does excellent work. Well I’m not ashamed to say I have been a huge Sandra Bullock fan over the years, especially when she first started. Speed, Demolition Man, Love Potion #9, and While You Were Sleeping – awesome! Then she made some clunkers. Ok, maybe more than just some clunkers – can anyone say “Two if By Sea,” “Speed 2: Cruise Control,” “In Love and War,” “Premonition,” “Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous,” “Murder By Numbers,” and “The Lake House?” The Lake House! How do you try recapture the “lightning in a bottle” that was Speed by recasting the two stars…in a sappy fantastical romance??? That’s…just….dumb… But I have always enjoyed Ms. Bullock. So there.)

George Clooney

Also nominated for an Oscar (for best performance by a male) is George Clooney for his work in “Up in the Air.” This same week EMPIRE magazine released their picks for worst movies of all time. Number 1? “Batman and Robin,” starring – you guessed it – George Clooney.

To be fair, Batman and Robin was an atrocious crime against cinema, comics, and humanity for many reasons. Mostly I blame the dialog, acting, directing, story, script, production, cinematography, editing, sound design, lighting, and all the grips – set, key, head and best boy. Other than that, it was fine.

While you can’t put all the blame on Clooney, he wasn’t great, and at the end of the day, he was the dude in the Batsuit…

There are a few important lessons we can all learn from the highs and lows of Bullock, Clooney, and Cage:

Lesson 1: Colossal Failures Take a Lot of Effort

There are a lot of people involved in making a movie. While you can often give a lot of credit or foist a lot of blame onto one person, usually it is a collaborative effort. Actors need good scripts and solid directing. Editors need the right raw footage. Directors need everyone to be solid.

When we look at an abysmal failure, we want to blame an individual. That makes it nice and easy for our minds to comprehend (and makes for a neat little “movie of the week” down the road). It is far more likely that a combination of factors and people led to it. Otherwise, Sandra Bullock would always be awful or always be awesome

In a nutshell “It takes a village to raise a village idiot”

Speaking of Colossal Failures and “Villages,” how about M. Night Shyamalan? How does a person go from the Sixth Sense to Lady in the Water? Amazing. Talk about highs and lows. But I can’t be too hard on M. Night, since he’s one of my people (what? I mean he’s a Philadelphian. What did you think I meant…?).

Question: What kind of “village” do you have? Is your team primed to pump out highly successful material or BatmanAndRobinesque village idiots? There may be one person at fault, but everyone has a responsibility.

Lesson 2: Be Not So Quick to Judge on One Effort

We human beings like to evaluate and categorize things as quickly as possible. It’s natural; it’s how we cope. It is also how we make big mistakes and incorrect generalizations.

If you only saw, “All About Steve,” and “The Wicker Man,” you would assume that Sandra Bullock and Nic Cage are the two worst actors in the history of the world. If you only saw, “The Blind Side” and “Leaving Las Vegas” you would think they were the two best actors in the world.

They are, of course, neither.

Realize that everyone has ups and downs. Don’t make rock solid judgements on a person (or location, business, restaurant, etc.) based on only one experience.

Question: What have you judged based on only one experience (good or bad)?

Lesson 3: realize that some people will judge you on one effort

On the flip side of “not judging others based on one effort,” is the fact that you must accept the reality that people will judge you based on one effort. This is why first impressions are so important.

Is it fair? No. Is it reality? Yes.

It doesn’t matter how good you were yesterday, last week, last month, or lest decade (and we all know people who try to live out their lives based on how good they were 10 or more years ago…). It only matters how good you are today, right now, in this moment. So do your best to be your best, all the time.

The refreshing side of this is that you can move on from bad past experiences. Even if you were really bad before, you can find new people to connect with and amaze when you get good (though admittedly, the internet does make it a little harder these days to move on from bad earlier performances).

Question: Are you doing your best to be your best, every day?

Lesson 4: Sometimes You Don’t Suck, You’re Just Used in the Wrong Way

You know what’s weird? Michael J. Fox as a tough soldier in Vietnam in “Casualties of War.” You know what else is weird? Golden Globe winner Raul Julia as M. Bison in Street Fighter(?!?!?). You know what else is weird? Keanu Reeves in any movie where his primary emotion is not “bewildered.” (Have you seen Keanu Reeves in “Much Ado About Nothing”? If that casting director can continue to get work after that, then truly, we all can recover from any failure ever. Any failure. Ever.)

You can be the most talented person in the world in your field, but if you get put in the wrong role, you may fail. If that happens to you and you start feeling depressed, just imagine me holding your head while channeling Robin Williams from “Good Will Hunting”: “It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault.”

Ok, the fact that you allowed yourself to get into that role in the first place may very well be your fault. But beyond that, realize that we all have our “thin slivers” of brilliance. It’s ok to push and stretch yourself beyond that (that’s how you grow), but if fails, pick yourself up, learn from it, and move on.

Sophia Coppola was universally panned for her work in Godfather III. But that wasn’t her thing. Her thing is directing, and she got an Oscar nomination for directing “Lost in Translation.”

My speaking presentations are a blend of improv comedy, motivational advice, business skill training, funny storytelling. Forgive me for being immodest, but I’m pretty awesome at it and audiences love it. Of course, if I get stuck in front of a group that wants hardcore systematized selling techniques or straight stand up comedy (or who have no taste) I can fail. it sucks. But it’s a matter of being in the wrong role, not being a failure.

Question: Are you in the “right” role for you? What is the right role? Have you even thought about it before?

Take a lesson from some of our favorite movie stars: when someone fails, whether that person is you or someone else, there are usually quite a few factors that contribute to it – make sure you have the whole story!

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