Jon Lovitz is good at playing people who want to sound more impressive than they are. His nasal voice and theatrical bluster make supporting parts count, though a succession of smug or grating men can become wearing.
Fi1m perspective
Lovitz's nasal voice can make self-satisfaction audible before a character has finished making his case. The theatricality suits people who want to be taken seriously while giving us reasons not to. His Saturday Night Live years (1985–1990) established the habit through Tommy Flanagan, the pathological liar, and Master Thespian, the ham actor. We like the effort we can hear in that delivery: these men are trying to impress, and Lovitz lets us notice the trying.
Penny Marshall's Big (1988) gives him a gentler setting, as Scotty Brennen alongside Tom Hanks. We recommend it for Hanks's convincing sense of a child's uncertainty and Marshall's light touch, with a reservation about how easily its sweetness dismisses adult life. We tend to prefer Lovitz in supporting parts, where he need not carry a whole story on that distinctive delivery. His fast-talking baseball scout Ernie 'Cappy' Capadino in A League of Their Own (1992) is a firmer example of that talent: a supporting part can give his comic manner enough room.
Happiness (1998) puts him in Todd Solondz's suburban ensemble as Andy Kornbluth. We laughed, then felt uncomfortable about laughing, because Solondz keeps returning to his characters' humiliations after the initial joke has landed. The restraint that gives the film its force is Dylan Baker's, and the slow pace makes the repetition feel excessive. For Lovitz, it is a harsher setting than Big, and a useful counterweight to the familiar smug comic parts. We value the film's willingness to make laughter difficult, even when we wish it would get on with things.
His voice work as Jay Sherman, the caustic film critic in The Critic (1994–1995), is an apt use of that nasal delivery. It can make an opinion sound settled before anyone else has spoken. The risk with his familiar casting is repetition: another smug or grating man does not automatically mean another good joke. We favour the supporting performances, where the bluster need not last all evening. Start with Big for gentleness; choose Happiness only with an appetite for uncomfortable comedy.
Biography
Jon Lovitz is an American actor and comedian. Born on 21 July 1957 in Tarzana, California, he was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy programme Saturday Night Live from 1985 to 1990.
He has appeared in films including Big (1988), Matilda (1996) and Happiness (1998), in which he played Andy Kornbluth. Lovitz has provided multiple voices for the animated series The Simpsons since 1991, and has guest-starred in series such as Friends (1994) and Seinfeld (1989).
