Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and John McEnroe in Netflix’s new coming-of-age dramedy “Never Have I Ever”. Photo: NETFLIX
Early in his tennis career, the footwear company Nike sold John McEnroe as the “Rebel With A Cause”.
The poster campaign featured McEnroe wearing a pair of white Nikes recreating the iconic 1955 Dennis Stock photograph of James Dean walking alone in a deserted, rainy and empty Times Square. These days, McEnroe’s poster sells for a fortune on eBay.
The 2018 documentary “John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection” discloses more than just McEnroe’s secrets. Actor Tom Hulce reveals that in preparing to play Mozart in the film Amadeus, he studied the tennis star’s moody on-court behaviour.
Ian McKellen also analysed McEnroe’s brooding playing temperament in preparation for the titular role in Shakespeare’s “Coriolanus”.
So why wouldn’t McEnroe himself try acting? Even if his method would be just walking through scenes effortlessly, pretty much always playing himself? So he did! McEnroe’s been a talkback caller to radio station KACL’s advice show in “Frasier”, a murder suspect in “CSI: NY”, and even guest-hosted “Saturday Night Live”.
In “Curb Your Enthusiasm”, Larry David took over as chauffeur to McEnroe on the way to a Paul McCartney concert. During the ride, Larry David bombarded him with myriad questions, everything from the frequency of married-couple sex to whether he’s jealous of gardeners because of their relaxed and meditative occupation. In this scene, Larry David assumes the role of McEnroe on the court.
Recently, a few episodes of the short-lived early ‘00s game show McEnroe hosted, “The Chair”, have been posted on YouTube.
The concept involved contestants sitting on a chair inside a pit, answering questions while keeping their resting heart rate at a consistent level. The test is to face off the “Heartstoppers”. Sparks rain down on the players, and flames rise up from the pit.
The episodes online show a pendulum engulfing the contestants’ heads. One test brings contestants face to face with hundreds of bees, another with a giant python. Unfortunately, the episodes where contestants are confronted by a dangling alligator and where the host serves tennis balls at the contestants haven’t yet surfaced.
McEnroe’s latest television project is narrating in the coming of age dramedy, “Never Have I Ever”. Created by Mindy Kaling (“The Office”, “The Mindy Project”), the show is partially based on her childhood in Boston and focuses on a teenage girl dealing with the recent death of her father, amidst schoolyard pressures to conform.
“Never Have I Ever” opens with archival tennis footage of McEnroe, and his unmistakable brusque tone: “This is Devi Vishwakumar. She’s a 15-year-old Indian American girl from Sherman Oaks, California, and it’s her first year of sophomore year. And I am legendary tennis player John McEnroe. Wow, I look great there … Now you may be asking yourself why is sports icon John McEnroe narrating this tale? It’ll make sense later, I promise.”
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It does begin to make sense when Devi’s late father, Mohan, visits her in a dream. Devi’s simmering temper also mirror’s McEnroe’s occasional on-court persona. McEnroe’s narration draws on experiences from throughout his tennis-playing career.
He comments on a confronting turning point in Devi’s life by comparing it to his shattering and heart-breaking loss to Ivan Lendl in the 1984 French Open final. He was forced to put on a happy face to make it through the trophy presentation. Hearing the sexagenarian narrator referencing millennial phrases like “serving a damn lewk” is perf. I can’t even.
We’re hit a deep lob halfway through the series, though, when “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” star Andy Samberg assumes the role of narrator for an episode that focuses on Devi’s schoolyard nemesis.
“This is Ben Gross. He’s a 15-year-old boy from Sherman Oaks, California. And I am American actor, producer, writer, fake rapper Andy Samberg. What can I say? I wear a lot of hats.”
In the absence of McEnroe’s experiential explanations of Devi’s behaviour, she is suddenly seen in a darker light. Samberg’s casting also recalls his role as Aaron Williams, the bad boy of tennis, in the 2015 tennis mockumentary “7 Days in Hell”.
In real life, the two narrators also both fancy themselves as musical types. As well as being married to American singer Patty Smyth, McEnroe played guitar on the Chrissie Hynde solo album “Stockholm”.
Samberg plays Colonel Carper in “SpongeBob Squarepants”. When Colonel Carper – clad in a white Elvis Vegas-era suit – hears the double act of SpongeBob on ukulele and Squidward on clarinet, the musical impresario immediately offers to manage the duo.
But it’s on the live-action children’s television series “Yo Gabba Gabba!” that Samberg really gets to demonstrate his musical chops.
Imagine a show that’s equal parts “H.R. Pufnstuf”, “Teletubbies” and the “Banana Splits”, with guests like Weezer, Mariachi El Bronx and the Flaming Lips.
In season two’s “Art” episode, just after “Mark’s Magic Pictures” (with Mark Mothersbaugh from Devo) turns out Eggs with Legs, it’s Dancey Dance time with Samberg and the Alligator Chomp. We’re taken on a technicolour trip as Samberg busts out his best moves with a red cyclops, a sky-blue cat-dragon, a yellow robot, a pink cornflower girl and a green furry monster.
Maybe, I’m in a flashback. Suddenly, I’m recalling Mindy Kaling dueting with Miss Piggy on “It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” for the 2015 Christmas special of “The Muppets”.
In the program, Kaling tries to convince the Muppets to allow her to sing while Kermit and Scooter battle to protect the integrity of the variety show. In the end, Kaling triumphs with an off-key performance, but somehow Christmas endures.
So, whether you are an athlete acting, an actor rapping, or a muppet wrangling a star, it’s OK to step outside your comfort zone and have a crack at something else once in a while. But remember your limitations: we’re not all McEnroe.
To be continued…
“Never Have I Ever” is available on Netflix
