What the Hell Happened to Damon Wayans?

[TMC]

http://lebeauleblog.com/2014/10/18/w...-damon-wayans/

Damon Wayans is part of a big family. Several members of the Wayans family have had successful careers in entertainment. After being fired from Saturday Night Live, Wayans co-created In Living Color with his brother, Keenen. The upstart sketch show was a hit and Damon Wayans was the breakout star. He left the show to pursue a movie career. But his career on the big screen never gelled. Eventually, Wayans retreated to TV in the form of a safe sitcom. These days, Wayans is in danger of being eclipsed by his son, Damon Wayans Jr.

What the hell happened?

[isiahthomas]

No entertainer has a long career forever. Damon Wayans doesn't need to make movies anymore. I'm sure he probably gets checks for old movies he's done and he probably gets checks for In Living Color and My Wife and Kids. I'm sure he's living well. Keenan Ivory Wayans isn't doing anything and he doesn't need to. I'm sure he's doing alright and getting checks from In Living Color and some of the old movies he's done. Marlon and Shawn aren't doing much either. Marlon makes movies every now and then like A Haunted House 2 he did which i think came out last year.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by isiahthomas

No entertainer has a long career forever. Damon Wayans doesn't need to make movies anymore. I'm sure he probably gets checks for old movies he's done and he probably gets checks for In Living Color and My Wife and Kids. I'm sure he's living well. Keenan Ivory Wayans isn't doing anything and he doesn't need to. I'm sure he's doing alright and getting checks from In Living Color and some of the old movies he's done. Marlon and Shawn aren't doing much either. Marlon makes movies every now and then like A Haunted House 2 he did which i think came out last year.

This review of Damon's movie Bulletproof (it's discussed at the 12:00 mark) with Adam Sandler from 1996, I think hits the nail on the head. Namely, Damon Wayans when you get right down to it, has always been a particular performer. For whatever the reasons, he had a hard time translating his success on In Living Color to motion pictures. The reviewers also noted that with a comedian like Adam Sandler, you at the very least, know what you're going to get. It's a bit harder to figure out and narrow down Damon Wayans' typical comedic persona.

For one thing, Damon you can argue, always came across as awkward and unnatural when he was asked to play a role straight whether it be in Bulletproof, Mo' Money, or The Last Boy Scout. Even on the Lethal Weapon TV series, Damon, playing the Danny Glover part from the movies, is ostensibly playing the straight man. Damon Wayans always thrived at playing characters instead of being a traditional leading man.

Even when Damon played more over-the-top, character parts like in Blank Man or Major Payne, they just felt like basic Saturday Night Live or In Living Color skits and concepts stretched out to two hours, and yet, they ran out of gas half way through. Bamboozled was arguably, the only movie in which Damon's talents as an actor and comedic performer were properly utilized.