Monday, February 23, 2009

Monday, March 19, 2007

Unfrozen Geico Cavemen

I enjoyed reading this discussion of the Geico Cavemen and their comic possibilities, but I was struck by the lack of reference to the old Phil Hartman SNL character, Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer (UFCL). Perhaps it was before the author's time. The Geico chararcters share some essential qualities with Hartman's Cirroc, most significantly a total assimilation and mastery of modern culture, technology, and social conventions. The Wikipedia entry is surprisingly good (I do have my issues with Wikipedia, and only cite it when it seems to contain reliable information), and it captures the more comically inspired nuance of UFCL. In a devilish meta-twist, Cirroc actually embraces the stereotypes about primitive and unsophisticated cavemen, but only as a cynical ploy to manipulate juries with his minority status! "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm just a caveman..." being the equivalent of the "I'm just a country lawyer..." schtick from Matlock and countless other hackneyed bumpkin-who's-really-a-shark routines.

Another difference being, if memory serves me, that Cirroc was actually a bit of a prick. A classic, stereotypically arrogant hotshot lawyer type straight out of LA Law (the preeminent legal drama of the era), but playing the unsophisticated caveman card to cover this up as well.