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assessmentAssessmentTaking stock of people and ideas in the news.1NA=1154&NC=31263&DI=4098&PS=58270&PI=7315AssessmentfalsefalseIf you liked this Assessment column, check out Backstabbers, Crazed Geniuses, and Animals We Hate, a collection of our all-time funniest, meanest, sweetest, and weirdest profiles. CultureNewsspacernotembeddedassessmentMcCain's BFFMelinda HennebergerLindsey Graham may be more valuable as McCain's running buddy than as his running mate.noMcCain's BFFHow Lindsey Graham became John McCain's BFF.noJohn McCain and South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham have logged so many miles together, in nearly a decade of buddy-movie-style campaign road trips, that the conservative blogs call Graham "McCain's Mini Me." (And "Grahamnesty," in a swipe at McCain's immigration plan, and—because seventh grade is forever—"Senator Dramatic Chipmunk." ) Their policy differences are imperceptible, and when they switch positions, they tend to do that in tandem also, as when they simultaneously dropped their opposition to offshore drilling. On a personal level, they share a sense of humor based on insult—think George W. Bush, only funny—an interest in military history, and a history in the military.truenotochyperlinkno2008814123837PMThursdayAugAugust128/14/2008 4:38:37 PM6335431431700000002008814124656PMThursdayAugAugust128/14/2008 4:46:56 PM633543148160000000assessmentWTF, WKW?Grady HendrixHow Wong Kar-wai lost his way.noWTF, WKW?How Wong Kar-wai lost his way.noIn 1991, when Wong Kar-wai released his dreamy 1960s period piece, Days of Being Wild, he wrote in the director's statement: "I really do not think it matters much if my films are critically well-received or not. What is essential is that I want my audience to leave the cinema having enjoyed the film, and that means the whole world to me." Imagine his frustration, then, when Days was released to resounding critical acclaim and complete commercial failure, as were his next four movies. At some point he must have decided to reverse the formula—valuing critical acclaim over audience enjoyment—because this week his first American film, My Blueberry Nights, arrives in the United States, and it's the cinematic equivalent of seeing Wong disappear up his own posterior, eased by gobs of critical praise.truenotochyperlinkno20084350355PMThursdayAprApril174/3/2008 10:03:55 PM63342839035000000020084350355PMThursdayAprApril174/3/2008 10:03:55 PM633428390350000000assessmentJeff Zucker 2.0Rebecca DanaThe golden boy of television takes on the Web.noJeff Zucker 2.0Television's golden boy.noJeff Zucker may not be the most loved executive in the television business, but over his spectacular 15-year career, he has earned a place among the least-objectionable. On Feb. 6, Zucker became the president and chief executive officer of NBC-Universal. The event, commemorated with a rousing afternoon conference call with reporters, otherwise passed without incident. When Jeffrey Immelt, the chairman of NBC's parent company, General Electric, announced Zucker's promotion, he said his protégé was "passionate," inspired "loyalty," and had "1,000 percent" of the company's support. That Zucker is commanding 10 times the percent of support even humanly possible is unsurprising. He is a world-class manager and an adept sycophant. His skills include golf, self-possession, television programming, and the ability to look ecstatic at cocktail parties. He has been in line for this job since the earliest stages of infancy.truenotochyperlinkno200721355500PMTuesdayFebFebruary172/13/2007 10:55:00 PM633069861000000000200721355500PMTuesdayFebFebruary172/13/2007 10:55:00 PM633069861000000000assessmentTenaciously DisappointingSam AndersonThe tragic squandering of Jack Black's awesomeness.noTenaciously DisappointingThe tragic squandering of Jack Black's awesomeness.noWhen I first saw the poster for Nacho Libre last summer—a picture of Jack Black leaping shirtless against the sky in tights and a cape, with wild hair and a mustache—I was excited for weeks. It seemed to promise the kind of film I'd been waiting five years for him to make: inspired, proudly absurd, uncorrupted by giant CGI gorillas, and with ample space for his signature improv. It turned out (except for a glorious moment or two) to be the exact opposite—even the 13-year-old who came with me thought it was lame. As always with Black's movies, I entered the theater primed to laugh and left feeling the kind of existential dread usually reserved for having just seen Oedipus Rex tear his eyes out.truenotochyperlinkno2006121321910PMWednesdayDecDecember1412/13/2006 7:19:10 PM6330161635000000002006121321910PMWednesdayDecDecember1412/13/2006 7:19:10 PM633016163500000000assessmentTroubadorkSam AndersonTwenty-five years of "Weird Al" Yankovic.noTroubadorkTwenty-five years of "Weird Al" Yankovic.no"Weird Al" Yankovic first appeared on television in 1981, wheezing out "Another One Rides the Bus" (his public-transport themed revision of Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust") in quilted Technicolor pants. Since then, he's methodically dismantled our national soundtrack and rebuilt it, piece by piece, out of wretched puns, accordion riffs, and percussive armpit-farting. His work forms a shadow Top 40 of the last 25 years: "Eat It," "Like a Surgeon," "Addicted to Spuds," "Fat," "I Think I'm A Clone Now," "Smells Like Nirvana," "Amish Paradise," "It's All About the Pentiums." His new album has hit the Top 10 just in time for his 47th birthday, and its first single, "White & Nerdy," a parody of Chamillionaire's "Ridin'," has become YouTube's most popular music video of the month. (YouTube is essentially the Great Alexandrian Library of Weird Al videos.) Somehow, at an age when Weird Al's early pop muses have died or retired or been charged with pedophilia, he still has something to tell us about youth culture. What is it? And why are we still listening?truenotochyperlinkno2006101932530PMThursdayOctOctober1510/19/2006 7:25:30 PM6329686833000000002006101932530PMThursdayOctOctober1510/19/2006 7:25:30 PM632968683300000000200311442542PMTuesdayJanJanuary161/14/2003 9:25:42 PM631781583420000000200311442542PMTuesdayJanJanuary161/14/2003 9:25:42 PM631781583420000000falsetruefalsefalsefalsefalsetrue20011018111443PMThursdayOctOctober2310/19/2001 3:14:43 AM6313904368300000002001102610408PMFridayOctOctober1310/26/2001 5:04:08 PM631396982480000000