Actors sans script: Russell Brand and the VMAs

If you’re gonna go political, try making it funny. Or smart. Or anything beyond crude and ignorant.

British bad boy Russell Brand of “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” fame did none of the above, apparently, while hosting the MTV Video Music Awards tonight.

Here’s a few choice samplings of his shtick - taken directly from an AP report:

• Brand referred to President Bush as “that retarded cowboy fellow.”
• Early in his opening monologue, Brand pleaded: “Please, America, elect Barack Obama. On behalf of the world.”
• Speaking of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s daughter’s boyfriend and would-be father, Levi Johnston, Brand sympathized with him: “That is the safe sex message of all time. Use a condom or become a Republican!

I remember seeing Rufus Wainwright in concert a few years back, and he let loose with a few choice anti-Bush comments. What struck me about the barrage was how dumbed down it was. Here’s this immensely talented musician who writes keenly observed lyrics, and he could barely muster a coherent thought against a politician he despised.

Going political risks losing half your audience. But you lose less if you’re funny, or cutting or so wickedly pointed even your ideological opponents will tip a cap to you.

Brand joins a growing group of artists who can’t muster any of the above when slamming those with whom they disagree.

UPDATE: The New York Times, ever true to its unbiased mantra, said of Brand - the “manic, intelligent English comedian, injected the show with politics (pro-Barack Obama), raunch and philosophical musings.”

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