Martin Short, the talented Emmy-winning actor who currently stars in Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building, was defended by notable stars after the recent release of a scathing op-ed. The 73-year-old veteran actor initially made a name for himself back in the 1980s, appearing on SCTV and subsequently the tenth season of Saturday Night Live, impressing audiences with his various humorous characters like Ed Grimley, a hyperactive manchild, Irving Cohen, a character inspired by famous singer and comedian Sophie Tucker, and Nathan Thurm, a shady defense attorney. After gaining prominence doing sketch comedy, Short transitioned to Broadway and television and film roles, starring in the western comedy Three Amigos, 1999’s Mumford, legal thriller Damages and most recently the mystery comedy drama Only Murders in the Building.
After the recent release of an extremely critical opinion piece titled “Why We Keep Putting Up With Martin Short”, where the decorated actor and comedian’s style of performance was described as “exhausting, sweaty, and desperately unfunny”, Entertainment Weekly rounded up various Hollywood stars who have come out to defend Short, singing his praises and condemning the piece. Check out their responses to the piece below:
Ben Stiller, the famous comedian and filmmaker claims Short is a comedic genius.
Star Wars actor Mark Hamill posted a collage of Short’s past roles, captioning it “Hard to believe people are actually debating whether or not Martin Short is funny. Newsflash: He is HILARIOUS.”
Television host and actor Jerry O’Connell praised Short for his patience and kindness, explaining an exchange between him and the veteran actor from when he was much younger: “When I was a kid, I walked up to Martin Short and told him I loved Three Amigos. He could not have been kinder to this annoying kid. I think about that exchange a lot.”
Succession star J. Smith-Cameron also commented on the piece claiming its “so entertaining that the article is a valentine in spite of itself.”
The Criticism Leveled Against Martin Short Explained
The biting op-ed, which was released by Slate, reflected on Short’s five decades in the industry. It particularly takes a look at the various characters that Short has played over the years, from Father of the Bride‘s Franck Eggelhoffer to Only Murders in the Building‘s Oliver Putnam, describing them as “over-the-top characters” and “unbelievably annoying”. The writer claims Short possesses an eager-to-please flamboyance, and he would do just about anything for a laugh.
Another major criticism of Short in the piece was his transition from sketch comedy to taking on movie roles. The writer makes the argument that Short’s transition was far from seamless, claiming that while he has starred in decent movies, they were mostly box office failures and other times he’s appeared in outright bad movies. He also argues that his one franchise hit, Father of the Bride features Short’s most unfunny character of all: Franck.
A lot of the criticism leveled against Short in this piece is quite harsh to say the least. While Short is admittedly an expressive and sometimes flamboyant actor, he is brilliant regardless, boasting a prolific career in film, television and theater. He recently received another Emmy Nomination for his outstanding work on Only Murders in the Building and with rumors of Only Murders season 4 already circulating, the veteran actor doesn’t look to be stopping anytime soon.
