BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
(FOUR) ICE AGE
Leary voices “Diego”, a saber-toothed cat. He’s one of the main voices here. Leary isn’t exactly known for his kid-friendly stuff, but here he gets in on four really popular kid movies. The character gets to be sarcastic and witty, but is still one of the gang. I imagine this has to be one of the more financially beneficial jobs Denis has had in his run.
(THREE) THE REF
This 1994 dark comedy gets very little credit, but it’s pretty entertaining. Leary plays a criminal who breaks in to a failing marriage’s home. Shit goes down and Leary ends up having to referee the on-going war between husband and wife, Kevin Spacy and Judy Davis. The parody and satire of “counseling” is there and Leary is on his young A-game when it comes to rants and wit. This movie should have been bigger.
(TWO) STAND UP
Leary’s bread and butter is his standup comedy. This is what most folks know him from. A lot of people will say he “ripped off Bill Hicks” because of his ranty-no bullshit demeanor. I don’t know about that. Hicks never had great catchy tunes like “Asshole”. I dare anyone to hear that song and NOT have it stuck in their head.
(ONE) RESCUE ME
As “Tommy Gavin”, Leary put out a stellar performance. He’s a New York fire fighter dealing with the horrors of the job, the horrors of life, and the horrors of a post-9/11 NYC. It’s a deep as shit show, but with a really accessible approach. Not all of the characters are people I’d want to hang out with, but I had no problem getting through all 93 episodes. No matter what happened or how much I liked or didn’t like the character, Leary’s performance was top notch. I’d recommend this show to anyone. Seriously, watch it!
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