Hitchens is a professional curmudgeon, and iconoclasm is how he makes his living. Yes, Hope did go on far too long with his completely predictable jokes about the golf scores of Presidents and entertainers, and he did continue performing after he was fresh and funny, during a period when he was an institution rather than an entertainer. Unlike Steve Allen, who remained the funniest guy in the room until he died, Hope lived so long that he became a guy who used to be funny.
All that is true, but for about 15 years there, in movies from the late 30's until the early 50's, Hope was very funny. He played a unique role for audiences - he was often the everyman character in the film who commented on the action, saying the things we would say if we were there, often talking into the camera. When I was a kid, I thought his movies were marvelous, as did many others who grew up with them, like Woody Allen.
Now if Hitchens asked people to explain why Jerry Lewis is considered a comedian, he would have a point there. It is possible that Lewis has never been funny at any time. But Hope - I found him tedious and irritating at times, but he's given my life a lot of laughs as well.
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