John Goodman cracks his favourite joke of all time
“Three thousand years of beautiful tradition, from Moses to Sandy Koufax—You’re goddamn right I’m living in the f—king past!” – John Goodman.
John Goodman has delivered some of the finest comic lines in the history of cinema—the sort of lines that etch themselves on your psyche, spring up out of nowhere, and coax an incongruous chuckle out of you in the middle of a meeting on an idle Tuesday even though you haven’t seen the film in question for months or years. He was born to utter these lines and not much else, as he proclaims: “Believe me, nobody likes to loaf more than me.”
He is a man who never takes himself too seriously, his art and existence adhere closely to Kurt Vonnegut’s old assertion: “Everything about life is a joke. Don’t you know that?” Thus, it’s a good job he has spent a fair chunk of his career working with the legendary Coen brothers—the finest purveyors of life’s inherent mayhem in Hollywood history. Goodman is their screaming edifice of chaos on the ground.
However, when it comes to traditional jokes, Goodman doesn’t know too many. Nevertheless, like most of us, he still has a favourite gag. And he tells it like this: “A skeleton walks into a bar. The bartender says, ‘What’ll you have?’ The skeleton says, ‘Gimme a beer and a mop.”
It’s a simple but effective line with some joyously macabre imagery. It also happens to be Dan Aykroyd’s favourite joke. Goodman comically confesses, “Not only is this the only clean joke I know, but it’s the only joke I know.” Thus, it might not be saying much to crown it his favourite, but if you only know one, then it’s not a bad one.
All the same, he’s a stickler for a giggle. As he once said: “This happens to be that the power of laughter and love would beat out the power of fear every time. You know, I hate to sound corny about it, but it’s true.” It’s this joie de vivre and a keen eye for good material – whether that be a skeleton who literally can’t hold his drink or a Coen brother script (with the notable exception of The Flintstones) – that make him one of the most beloved comedic actors of all time.
