The fine art of swearing

OK, the kids have had their fun (well, given the rather dreary threequels we've gotten so far, not too much of it, actually.) Finally, in the fourth week of summer, it's time for the adult swim.

Well, not too adult, given that "Knocked Up," which I've plugged probably 5,000 times, comes from the fairly filthy mind of Judd Apatow, but you know what I mean. A man can only take so many green ogres and crying superheroes before he gets a hankering for a few well-placed f-bombs (ironically, though I thoroughly enjoy and endorse the art of limited swearing, I can't really do it in this blog linked from a family newspaper.)

The thought came to me yesterday when one of my fellow cubicle slaves, the very good reporter Heather Duncan, referred to some folks who can't abide by Macon's rather straightforward watering restrictions as "stupidheads." Now, I'm not mocking her by any means. It was the funniest thing I heard yesterday by far, and since Heather has an infant daughter, Delia, she has plenty of reasons to try and curb her swearing.

I, however, do not. I curse more than I should in my daily life and, frankly, I blame the movies. My favorites have often made literal use of the f-bomb and other verbal assaults, and I make no apology for that.

The master of the fine art of swearing, for my money, is still Roddy Doyle. Before he tried to get serious, Mr. Doyle managed to pen three of the funniest novels you'll ever read with his Barrytown trilogy, "The Commitments," "The Snapper" and "The Van," all of which were made into movies. On the big screen, Colm Meaney is his well-armed partner in cursing crime, and is exceptionally funny as the pater familias of the Rabbitte (in "The Commitments") and Curley (since bastard Alan Parker wouldn't relenquish the family name after directing the first flick) clans (in "The Snapper" and "The Van.")

Even better is one simply sublime scene in the "South Park" musical "Bigger, Longer & Uncut," which, if anything, is an ode to the f-bomb. In the best number, poor Mr. Mackie tries in vain to keep the kids from swearing with suggestions like this: "Instead of ass says buns, like kiss my buns or you're a buns-hole." It doesn't get much funnier than that.

All of which brings me to a simple plea. We need more smart R-rated comedies in the heat of summer. "Hot Fuzz" certainly was a treat, and another one comes today with Apatow's "Knocked Up." I'm not talking about the teen "comedies," which thankfully seem to have slowed down for the time being. I mean raunchy but not rude comedies by adults for adults who haven't forgotten how to laugh.

I'll certainly be at "Knocked Up" this weekend, and I hope you all will too.

Greenwalt gets revamped

When I first heard the premise for CBS' upcoming series "Moonlight" I simply had to say meh. A vampire who is a private investigator? I think I've seen that somewhere before.

Luckily, CBS has too, and they're not afraid to admit it. In the first good sign for this series I otherwise would have simply skipped, "Angel" co-creater David Greenwalt has been brought on as showrunner for the new series. At its best, "Angel" was every bit as good as "Buffy," especially in its third and fourth seasons.

"Moonlight" centers on a private investigator (Alex O'Loughlin) who is a vampire. In his eternal life, he is joined by his former bride (Amber Valletta), a seductive vampire who bit him 60 years ago, as well as a deceitful ally (Rade Serbedzija) who also is undead. The PI's life is turned upside down when he falls for a beautiful mortal woman. In the presentation, Shannon Lucio played the part, which is now being recast.

Sheesh. This doesn't just steal the premise of "Angel," but blatantly rips off much of the storyline of "Buffy" as well. But even if they are committing clear thievery, the presence of Greenwalt, who wrote some of the best "Buffy and "Angel" episodes, means I'll tune in at least a few times when and if this finally hits the air.