I’ve been a fan of Mike White since his peculiar and memorable performance as a possibly sweet but potentially scary BFF stalker in the peculiar and memorable indie Chuck & Buck. In fact, I remember encountering him in an elevator at the Sunset 5/Virgin Megastore complex in West Hollywood around the time of the film’s release. I didn’t say anything about his awkwardly funny, fidgety performance at the time because I didn’t want to bother him...but Mike, if you’re reading this now, nice job! And good luck on The Amazing Race!
Yes, that’s right...for those of you outside the reality show loop, Mike White, whose acting and/or writing credits include Freaks & Geeks, Year of the Dog and School of Rock (in which he played Sarah Silverman’s pussy-whipped boyfriend, Ned Schneebly), kicked off the first leg of the fourteenth season of the globe-trotting, Emmy-hogging CBS game show last night, partnered with his father Mel.
Mel White is a pretty interesting cat in his own right, as it turns out. Like many Christians (especially of the evangelical variety), he spent years denying his homosexuality, attempting to “cure” it with everything from prayer and psychotherapy to exorcism and electroshock therapy. Unlike the Larry Craigs of the world, however, Mel eventually just admitted, “Yep, I’m gay,” and switched from ghostwriting books for Billy Graham, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson to authoring his own autobiography, Stranger at the Gate: To Be Gay And Christian In America. Anyway, Mel and Mike have now joined eleven other teams in a race around the world, competing against familiar Race archetypes like the ditzy blondes determined to prove they’re not ditzy, the dating couple with rage issues and the muscular dwarf stuntman brothers (although, to be honest, the dwarves they’ve had on the show in the past weren’t technically stuntmen...they just fell down a lot).
Like the other racers, Mel & Mike set off from a military base in Los Alamedos, California and proceeded by plane, train and automobile to Switzerland, where they faced challenges like bungee-jumping off a dam and hauling gigantic wheels of Swiss cheese down slippery slopes whilst being relentlessly mocked by mustachioed men in leiderhosen before eventually arriving at the pit stop in the top half of the pack with a respectable fourth place finish.
The Screengrab will continue to provide periodic updates on Mel & Mike’s progress for the rest of the season...but our money’s on the dwarves.