Sunday Diva/Three From The Hip: Melissa McCarthy

Sunday Diva/Three From The Hip:

Melissa McCarthy

In my own personal big gay church, there is a wing dedicated to the Ladies Of Comedy. Theses are the gals who made us laugh and, on occasion, brought a tear to our eyes. They are visionaries, capturing aspects of the human condition while holding up a mirror to the world. Their characters, style, and phrases have helped form our daily vernacular in ways we are not even always aware of - but that is the power of comedy and the magic these ladies all possess. Breaking ground while breaking all the rules?

One bundle of fun...

Melissa McCarthy.

She's a breath of fresh air. Bold. But sweet.

Unafraid, she takes it right to the line, while never losing her dignity.

Her brand of comedy is very physical, yet she never sells herself short. There's a great deal of heart in everything she does.

The world has embraced her because she's the girl next door - the one who is as likely to make you laugh as tug at your heartstrings. 

I remember seeing her for the first time, in a little independent film where she played the ingénue/romantic lead. Even then, she brought something special to the screen, lending the character far more dimension than the script called for.

She's continued to bring that special something to the table, every time. Yes, she's outrageous, but it's always grounded in reality - and that's what makes it relatable. She plays the kind of  people who are frequently unrepresented in comedy and the entertainment business in general.

She's like a basket of fresh baked bread. Or a comforting blanket, giving the world a comedic hug.

And she's the entertainment world's trifecta: Beautiful. Smart. Funny.

I, for one, remain fascinated and can't wait to see where she goes next.

The gospel according to her?

Well, here are three from the hip, dropping from her lips.

The topic: What Makes 'Funny'

"I think everything that any actor does, I would assume, is shaped by how and where they grew up."

"I lived on a farm in Illinois, and we didn't have a lot of money. But I lived vicariously through magazines. I was obsessed with Jean Paul Gaultier. I still have the scrapbooks, and I've kept all my designs and sketches."

"I think there are people who really love the comfort of their small town, and there are people who feel stuck by it."

"As a teenager I went all Goth, but I wasn't mopey enough. I would pretend to be, but I'd end up making people laugh."

"I was never sullen. I was a terrible punk - I was still so chatty."

"I wore white kabuki makeup, had blue-black hair. At one point, I shaved an inch and a half around my hairline and continued the white makeup up so it made my head look slightly deformed. I thought it was hilarious."

"There was a three-year chunk as a teen where I should have been tranquilized and put in a cage."

"In my 20s, I used to cry about why I wasn't thinner or prettier, but I want to add that I also used to cry about things like, 'I wish my hair would grow faster. I wish I had different shoes...' I was an idiot... It's a decade of tears."

"I see teenagers or people who are 21 and think, 'I was an idiot at that age.' I was running around New York like a crazy woman. Thank God I only had three and a half cents to my name. I was too immature to handle success then."

"It's funny; as I get older I'm reverting to my roots - I want to plant stuff."

"I went to school for clothing and textiles and thought this is what I was going to do. Then I started working in costumes and literally said, 'I don't know if I can take the actors.'"

"When I went to college, I did clothing and textiles. It really wasn't until I moved to New York, my second night in, I did stand-up. I took a wild left turn, and instead of going back and finishing school at FIT, I started doing stand-up and acting."

"I did nothing but dramas for seven years in New York. I didn't really start anything comedic until I moved out to L.A. and found The Groundlings."

"I've never been interested in playing the boring ingenue."

"Comedy to me is all about the bumps and bruises and weird tics."

"I love to watch someone who just goes for it and isn't worried about whether it's silly or awkward or unflattering."

"If somebody's doing something, and you're laughing, and at the same time you're so embarrassed for them, it's my absolute kind of favorite type of laugh."

"Nothing's more charming than someone who doesn't take herself too seriously."

"I'm certainly not shy, but I like playing it because I love those characters that are incredibly confident but really still a mess."

"I think the reason I'm an actress is because I love playing kind of a more extreme people."

"Everybody's a train wreck in their own very special way. But there's something wildly freeing about someone who's unapologetic, who knows they're a wreck and doesn't even try to hide it, just bulldozes through life."

"More eccentric characters can push pretty far, but if you stay on the side of reality, it's always funnier."

"Funny is funny, and it can come in eight billion different shades and flavors, so I think it's silly to kind of limit it."

"I've been every size in the world. Parts of my twenties, I was in great shape, but I didn't appreciate it. 'If I was a 6 or an 8,' I thought, 'Why aren't I a 2 or a 4?'"

"Sometimes I wish I were just magically a size 6 and I never had to give it a single thought."

"When I was 22, I met with some janky manager, and she told me, 'You're never going to work at this weight.' I think I was a size 6 at the time. There is just this weird thing about how we perceive women in this country. I would love to be a part of breaking that down."

"I just don't lose weight easily."

"I don't really know why I'm not thinner than I am."

"I could eat healthier; I could drink less."

"I should be learning another language and working out more, but I'm just always saying, 'Ah, I could get hit by a bus tomorrow.'"

"Even when someone gets to looking like she should be so proud of herself, instead she's like, 'I could be another three pounds less; I could be a little taller and have bigger lips.'"

"I've never felt like I needed to change. I've always thought, 'If you want somebody different, pick somebody else.' But sure, criticism can sometimes still get to me. Some things are so malicious, they knock the wind out of you."

"I just think we tear down women in this country for all these superficial reasons, and women are so great and strong."

Arlene - Melissa McCarthy

SNL

Lawrence Welk and the Dawn of Autumn - The Finger Lake Sisters

SNL

Million Dollar Wheel - Melissa McCarthy

And one last parting shot...

"I feel like I got hit with a lucky stick."

"I've always had mostly gay male friends."

"My parents are kind and accepting. Because so many of my friends were gay, it was just an accepted thing in my house. I was very lucky."

"I wanted to be a drag queen so badly. I'll bet I still own more wigs than any drag queen - I love me a wig."

"I didn't really know how to write jokes, so I just told weird, long stories about being tall and beautiful and wealthy in New York. I'd tell them very seriously, but I kind of looked like a drag queen at the time with big wigs and crazy 12-inch platform heels."

"I just think that wigs and makeup and costumes completely transform me."