Eminem's rapping talent is inarguable. I've seen him do it! You have to trust me here. He's deft, aggressive, even poetic sometimes, but what is it about rapping that makes the 37-year-old artist feel qualified to attempt sketch comedy on television? Eminem usually does such a good job of convincing me that he doesn't give a f*ck, but his frequent detours into TV comedy send the wrong message: that he's actually kind of desperate to entertain, even if he feels awkward doing it. Now he's scheduled to read off one of David Letterman's Top 10 lists, and its preview proves to be another in a comedy career that has yet to take off. Come with me on a narrated tour of Em's laughless TV past.
Here's Em going for deadpan in a Letterman preview. Dear Slim: Stop it.
During his long hiatus from releasing music, Eminem appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and tried wooing the planet with basketball humor. Even Jimmy couldn't successfully rebound. And Eminem's rap lesson with the talk show host wasn't much better.
In this MTV awards promo, Em pretends he spent the past few years trying to earn his high school diploma. The wit he expresses in music should really translate here, and yet this Billy Madison knockoff is a no-go.
And here's the most hilarious sketch of all. In a video that aired during a taped concert, Eminem pretends that he's going to kill himself (a familiar motif on his albums) before a screwball turn renders the whole segment a big laugh. It's a strange combination of "lame" and "grim" that I've missed since Carrot Top's peak.