Robert Redford may not be the first actor to come to mind when you think of comedy, but the man who would likely have been named People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive for the entire decade of the 1970s showed a true gift for comedy. In fact, one might well say that Robert Redford was much better light comedian than he was a dark dramatic actor. One look at some of the following comedies will be enough to dislodge that distasteful lump of “Out of Africa” from the salivary glands of your memory of Robert Redford.
The Candidate
“The Candidate” rightly won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, but was ripped off big time when Robert Redford failed to score a nod for Best Actor. Of course, you have to remember that this is the same year that Marlon Brando took home an Oscar for best actor in a leading role despite playing a supporting character. Ah well. If you need to be convinced of Robert Redford’s talent for comedy, just watch two scenes from “The Candidate.” The scenes where Redford’s young Senatorial wannabe is so punch drunk that he gets the giggles from the sight of a microphone and the scene in the back of the car when he’s so crazed from campaigning that his handlers think he’s temporarily lost his grip on reality are both excellent examples of Redford’s muted ability to have become a major figure in the world of surreal humor.
The Hot Rock
A heist movie with George Segal features one of the most memorable secret codes of all time: Afghanistan banana stand. The pairing of Redford and Segal in this film is further proof that George Segal worked best as part of a distinctive comedy team. George Segal possessed a talent for creating chemistry with his male co-stars that is second to none. Redford rises to the occasion and in the process “The Hot Rock” became the prototype for all those comic heist movies that have been made since. Some have ridden along with the spectacular foundation laid by “The Hot Rock” while others have starred Mark Wahlberg.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
It ‘s a western, but “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” is also a great comedy. Most of the comic brilliance of this film comes from Paul Newman, but Redford adds to the levity as well. When he’s showing off his shooting skills and failing miserably and asks, simply, if he can move, it’s a great moment. Much of that humor derives from the response to his offbeat inquiry, but Redford has such a masterful grasp on a lighthearted but off-kilter moment that he is able to milk the humor without even seeming to strain for effort. The best moments of the movie revealing the humor of the Kid come courtesy of Sundance’s chemistry with Butch and his intuitive acceptance that Butch should continue thinking because that’s what he does best. The Kid ain’t a thinker and sometimes his reaction is about a step behind that of his partner, but not in a way that makes him seem slow. These are the scenes where Redford truly reveals that had looks not become an obstruction, he could have had a great career as a comic actor.
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