In times like this, we all need to laugh. Losing one of the greats is always difficult, and I'm not even sure that I've fully processed the news that Alan Rickman has died. He was famous for playing villains, from Snape to the Sheriff of Nottingham, Hans Gruber, and Shakespeare's Tybalt. However, I think we should take a moment to remember how great Rickman was at comedy, too. Not only to honor his memory, but to try and smile a bit today. If one sentence from Emma Thompson was enough to move me to tears, it's time to bring in the levity.
By Grabthar's hammer... what a guy. Like, let's talk about Galaxy Quest for a minute. If you haven't seen this movie, you gotta. It's about the cast of a Star Trek-like show who are called upon by aliens, who somehow obtained episodes of their show and thought they were real space explorers/warriors, to save the day. Rickman played Alexander Dane, a classically trained stage actor whose career was swallowed by playing an iconic alien character, similar to the late Leonard Nimoy and Spock. Every line dripped with a sardonic wit, and he had some epic eye rolls. Forget mustache-twisting evil for a minute, I will always remember Alan Rickman for his epic (and very British) snark and silent suffering.
I think that's one of the reasons we loved him as Snape in the Harry Potter films so much — because Rickman had the ability to be menacing and hilarious all at once. Say whatever you will about the Potions Master, this is pretty funny.
In the adaptation of Douglas Adams' comedic novel The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, Rickman voiced the depressed robot named Marvin, who roamed about the halls saying things like "Here I am, brain the size of a planet, and they ask me to take you to the bridge. Call that job satisfaction? 'Cause I don't." The casting was absolutely perfect. He also appeared in the Kevin Smith comedy Dogma as Metatron. Rickman's snark was equally as well known as his sneering, and it makes me smile just to think about it. Finally, let's let another one of Alan Rickman's hilarious (albeit also tragic) characters take us out. Will he be missed for comedy as well as villainy? Should we take a moment to chuckle at the many times he made us laugh?
Images: DreamWorks, Giphy (3)
