Is Russell Brand a Genius or a Flog?

[Poseidon]

Hi GD,

I've been fascinated by the man that is Russell Brand for a while now. I would say I'm a fan of his, I've liked his movies and I went and saw his stand up show a couple months abo, but I still find myself constantly questioning whether he is a genuinely deep, spiritual and enormously intelligent man or if he is just a pseudo-intellectual that has us fooled with his cunning ability to throw in big words effortlessly and reference guys like Carl Jung and Noam Chomsky.

There is no doubting he has the gift of the gab, but watching this interview he did with members of the Westboro Baptist Church made me see him differently. Even though he was taking the piss out of them a lot, he did make a couple of good points and did make the effort to listen to their views and have them be heard which I respected. He seems to be one of the few genuine advocates of free speech, being that he is for it even when he disagrees with it. ANyway here's the interview:



Also this 14 minute interview with Jeremy Paxman really demonstrates his linguistic abilities. He doesn't 'um' or 'ah' or stumble over his words even though he's talking at a mile a minute and spewing all sorts of wonderful things about the nature of celebrity.



And this video I just find hilarious



Anyway GD, tell me, is he as much of a smartypants as he comes across or am I falling for the charm of a walking-talking thesaurus?

 

[Tiff]

Hes obviously reasonably intelligent and witty as *..

There's few people as fast as him at a well constructed concise and hilarious remark in any situation.

He;s so fast sometimes it makes me think its set up.

Then the other 75% of the time he's not funny at all, and just a flog.

 

[Cap]

can't say I've ever liked him.

but i'll try to listen to those interviews later.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

I think genius is a bit strong. I’d say he’s highly intelligent, I think most stand ups that are very successful are.

Not a huge fan of his movies or routine, just not my thing, but yeah I think he’d have a pretty good base level of intelligence. From there it’s just how much you read.

 

[I bleed Blue]

He is very intelligent. Gift of the gab is a perfect description for him aswell.

He is definatly somone I would like to meet and talk to in real life.

The way he talks and his vocabulary are very impressive. You can just see why he has done so well with the ladies.

I don't think he is a flog at all.

 

[Tiff]

He is very intelligent. Gift of the gab is a perfect description for him aswell.

He is definatly somone I would like to meet and talk to in real life.

The way he talks and his vocabulary are very impressive. You can just see why he has done so well with the ladies.

I don't think he is a flog at all.

I can't imagine he'd be very good at holding a decent conversation unless he was talking about himself. He strikes me as the type who wouldn't listen, and when you're talking he's just waiting for you to stop so that he can carry on listening to his own voice.

Still a great wordsmith. Bu yeah, he'd be a s**t bloke to have a beer with.

 

[Poseidon]

I can't imagine he'd be very good at holding a decent conversation unless he was talking about himself. He strikes me as the type who wouldn't listen, and when you're talking he's just waiting for you to stop so that he can carry on listening to his own voice.

Still a great wordsmith. Bu yeah, he'd be a s**t bloke to have a beer with.

I remember listening to his talksports podcast with Noel Gallagher and he is capable of having just a normal conversation about sports and that, though he does still pepper it with his quirky little witticisms. Of course not sure what he'd be like off-air and away from cameras though, I definitely agree that he loves the sound of his own voice.

 

[Bosun]

I can't imagine he'd be very good at holding a decent conversation unless he was talking about himself. He strikes me as the type who wouldn't listen, and when you're talking he's just waiting for you to stop so that he can carry on listening to his own voice.

Still a great wordsmith. Bu yeah, he'd be a s**t bloke to have a beer with.

Well no as he doesn't drink (for memory)

 

[MaddAdam]

I remember listening to his talksports podcast with Noel Gallagher and he is capable of having just a normal conversation about sports and that, though he does still pepper it with his quirky little witticisms. Of course not sure what he'd be like off-air and away from cameras though, I definitely agree that he loves the sound of his own voice.

He used to write a fairly decent football column in the Saturday Guardian.

Apart from that he's an enormoflog.

 

[SugarShane]

Neither. Very clever and witty dude but far from a genius. The way he can dismantle a heckler or something is very impressive.

 

[Poseidon]

He used to write a fairly decent football column in the Saturday Guardian.

Apart from that he's an enormoflog.

He's a very talented and articulate writer. His 2 'booky wooks' are captivating reading.

 

[Poseidon]

Oh and this interview is just the sweetest

 

[Tiff]

Well at the end of the day he's a quite obviously slightly troubled human ex drug addict who is now wealthier beyond belief and has indulged in more vagina than ill ever see in my life.

I can't judge him.

 

[Tiff]

Oh and this interview is just the sweetest

That's awesome.

Most celebs see those opportunity's to boost pr, along the way looking like awkward pretentious judgemental flogs.

 

[JimDocker]

I wtached and listened to all 3 of those.

He is very articulate and genuinely witty. I think he has a pretty decent heart too. His article following Amy Winehouse's death was beautiful and heartfelt.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/jul/24/russell-brand-amy-winehouse-woman

Also, it was refreshing to see him act so decently when he divorced Kate Perry, with him leaving the house to her and not making any claims on her income which would have been considerable.

Having said that, I don't find him overly entertaining a lot of the time.

He is definitely interesting.

 

[Silent Alarm]

Was just going to say "flog," but the way he handled meeting that girl was probably the best I've seen, no patronisation and no awkwardness. Yep. I'll pay that.

Interesting how an extensive vocabulary is cool when you're a famous comedian, but it's pretentious and lame when you're on bigfooty. Dem double standards.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Interesting how an extensive vocabulary is cool when you're a famous comedian, but it's pretentious and lame when you're on bigfooty. Dem double standards.

Not necessarily. It’s all how you use it as to whether you sound intelligent or pretentious. I think the main difference is it’s a hell of a lot harder with the written word to convey exactly what you’re trying to say, and how you're trying to say it. And with somebody famous, even if they are writing, we’ve all seen them speak 1000 times and are familiar with them.

 

[Caesar]

Interesting how an extensive vocabulary is cool when you're a famous comedian, but it's pretentious and lame when you're on bigfooty. Dem double standards.

Nobody's ever been regarded as pretentious for having an extensive vocabulary, just for not employing it correctly.

Plenty of people know lots of words. A smaller number know lots of words, and also know how to use them all properly. But the smallest number of all know lots of words, and also know when not to use them. It's incredibly difficult and I have a great deal of respect for the people who manage it.

 

[JimDocker]

The interview with Marlena was lovely.

 

[Lord_Flashheart]

Definately an interesting character, The Westboro baptist church interview at one end, the getting your knob out and having a pull in front of Christina Aguilera on the other.

 

[jo172]

Was just going to say "flog," but the way he handled meeting that girl was probably the best I've seen, no patronisation and no awkwardness. Yep. I'll pay that.

Interesting how an extensive vocabulary is cool when you're a famous comedian, but it's pretentious and lame when you're on bigfooty. Dem double standards.

No synonym button in real life champ.

 

[Silent Alarm]

No synonym button in real life champ.

No worries, cobber.

Or pal.

Or buddy.

Or big fella.

Or any other synonym for "champ" that does nothing but make you look a patronising Mr. Kerr.

 

[Tiff]

No worries, cobber.

Or pal.

Or buddy.

Or big fella.

Or any other synonym for "champ" that does nothing but make you look a patronising Mr. Kerr.

Fair go mate.

 

[JD11]

this was quite amazing for what i assume was 'off-the-cuff'

 

[Gasometer]

Flog.

I like this Brit compatriot more: