Opie’s Call to Action

Ron Howard wants to talk about the election. So does Andy Griffith and Henry Winkler. (This video has swept across the Internet like wildfire, but in case you haven’t seen it, it’s worth the four minutes. Watch it. If you like you can consider it my birthday present.)

Here’s the video.

The AP article, reposted from MSNBC:

As the election nears, Ron Howard is getting desperate.

In a video posted Thursday on Funnyordie.com, the actor-turned-director reprises his role on The Andy Griffith Show as a way to rally support for Barack Obama.

While speaking into the camera, Howard has his beard shaved, dons a youthful red wig, and puts on the kind of outfit he would have only worn as Opie Taylor in the ’60s.

“I’ve never done this before and I hope never to do it again, but I guess you could say I’m feeling pretty desperate these days,” explains Howard. “So as a demonstration of my sincerity, this is for you, America.”

Then, in black-and-white, Howard sits down in the woods to talk to “Pa”: Andy Griffith. Griffith advises Howard-as-Opie that he’ll be able to vote someday, so long as he eludes the butterfly ballot.

That’s not the only old TV show revisited by Howard, who years ago traded child stardom for directing movies like A Beautiful Mind and this fall’s Frost/Nixon.

Another wardrobe change prepares him to step back into Happy Days, the beloved show that ran from 1974-1984 in which Howard played Richie Cunningham.

Standing in front of a vintage car and clad in a leather jacket is Henry Winkler, once again with the unmistakable coif — and greaser demeanor — of the Fonz. Winkler, still having some trouble with his pronunciation, tells Howard this election is everyone’s chance to right a wr-wr-wrong.

Stepping back out of character, Howard says he, Griffith and Winkler returned to their television roots to urge support for Obama and “really think through this important election.”

The video is the latest clip from FunnyOrDie.com, which has made news this election season by putting Hollywood celebrities in funny political videos. The site, which was co-founded by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, has produced popular videos featuring Paris Hilton in a mock campaign ad and Gina Gershon as Sarah Palin.

Because the videos are produced quickly — McKay and company can dispatch a small crew in just hours — the site can create timely videos related to the news. In another video posted this week, Natalie Portman and Rashida Jones suggest their solution to the economic crisis: “Puppies!”

The video came together when Howard called Judd Apatow, the director and producer who has frequently collaborated with FunnyOrDie. Apatow referred him to McKay, who wrote a draft of the script with Howard’s input. Jake Szymanski, who directed the Hilton video, shot it.

“We were all in TV heaven,” McKay said in an e-mailed statement. “I mean, it’s the Fonz and Andy Griffith. Those were my second Fathers.”

Heartsick!

Damn my sieve of a brain! At the end of today’s treatment, my brilliant acupuncture physician and dear friend, Jeannette Westlake, mentioned that she had read yesterday’s post and didn’t see her name mentioned.

I summoned all my linguistic prowess and said, “Huh?”

She unfolded the Sample Ballot she had just received in the mail, and showed me her name and that of her husband, J.D. Hallowell:

Now, I just skipped over that section of the ballot because I don’t live in Sebastian Inlet and I don’t, as the saying goes, have a dog in that hunt. Had I a brain that could remember important information instead of endless piles of useless trivia, I would have recalled a conversation from several months earlier where Jennie told me that she and J.D. would be on the ballot, but I hadn’t given it a thought since then.

They spelled her name wrong on the ballot, but she assures me it’s still valid.

Alas, it’s too late for me — my ballot is signed, sealed, and sent. But it’s not too late for you. If you live in my part of the world, and you see these dear friends’ names on the ballot, won’t you take a moment and cast your vote for them, and make up for my being a Bear of Very Little Brain?

I thank you, my mother thanks you, and the good people of Sebastian Inlet will thank you.

I Voted Today

Floriduh is doing one thing right: They’re helping more people vote by offering absentee voting to everyone, not just those who are actually going to be out of town on election day. Which is a good thing, because I waited over four hours to vote four years ago, and came thisclose to saying Screw It. Since then, they’ve added an additional polling place in our neighborhood, but I still didn’t relish the crowds, and of course Mom can’t get to the polls anyway. So we signed up for absentee ballots, and they arrived in plenty of time. Over the weekend Mom and I cast our votes, and today I mailed our ballots. I feel so patriotic.

I would appreciate it very much if you would vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden (you might be interested to read what The New Yorker said about him). If you’re in Florida, please vote NO on Amendment 2. And if you’re in Brevard, Indian River, or Osceola Counties, please vote for Stephen Blythe for Congress.

But even if you vote some other way, thus consigning your immortal soul to Hell, you can still get some free ice cream on election day. Yes, Ben & Jerry’s wants to thank you for voting by giving you a free scoop of ice cream! Go to a participating Ben & Jerry’s scoop shop on November 4 between 5 and 8 p.m., show them your “I Voted” sticker, or a photo of you in front of your polling station, or do the “I Voted dance,” or just tell them you voted. Seriously.