comedy
Judd Apatow is Ruining Hollywood—Waah!
ian spiegelman · 04/27/08 11:35AM"The appearance of Jason Segel's genitalia in the romcom Forgetting Sarah Marshall had American critics crowing about how the film has courageously broken one of the last taboos in mainstream cinema. Yet Segel's flaccid member looks pathetic and laughable, especially because it's attached to a body that is doughy and pallid. It can't seriously be accused of being capable of anything, let alone of breaking a taboo. So obviously devoid of sexual intent, it symbolises not so much his character's abject emotional condition at his girlfriend's rejection of him, but the sorry state of masculinity in American movies today." The Times of London's Christopher Goodwin goes on to piss and moan about how actors such as Seth Rogen, Michael Cera and Jonah Hill have replaced the manly men of yore-and conveniently dodges a crucial and trend-piece-killing point.
One More Thing
ian spiegelman · 04/26/08 04:19PMBud Light Rips Off Once-Funny Comedian
ian spiegelman · 04/25/08 11:08AMScandal! Entertainer Owes Back Taxes!
Pareene · 04/25/08 11:00AMComedian Al Franken is running for Senate out in the frigid wilderness of Minnesota. He's running against Norm Coleman, an oily scumbag whose best argument for remaining a senator is that he's not comedian Al Franken. It will be a bitter and dirty race. The GOP is painting Franken as an out-of-touch Hollywood liberal, which is untrue: he's an out-of-touch New York liberal. They can't use the New York Jew line against him, though, as Norm Coleman is a real New York Jew. And Coleman's "wife" is a political prop—she lives in Hollywood, of course, where she is trying to be an "actress." So this is what they're trying on Franken now: he didn't pay his taxes once.
One More Thing
ian spiegelman · 04/19/08 04:48PMSomeone Might Suck Worse Than Dane Cook After All
ian spiegelman · 04/12/08 03:09PMThe battle to be crowned America's most humor-resistant comedian is down to the final two. For three weeks, Dane Cook has reigned at the top of his bracket in "The Unfunniest Comic" competition on WBCN's "Toucher & Rich" show, easily knocking out Jay Leno and Dave Coulier. In a shocking upset last week, Jimmy Fallon beat out insufferable hack-and possible material thief-Carlos Mencia. Since then, Fallon has been unstoppable.
Even Economist Trying To Make News Funny
Ryan Tate · 04/07/08 10:27PMApparently no one can just deliver the damn news any more, straight, everyone has to try and be funny. First it was the Daily Show, then Colbert Report, then Fox's attempted conservative news satire and most recently CNN's planned comedy news show. Now the Economist, the starchy British magazine, has launched a site in collaboration with Chicago's Second City improv troupe.
Walken Returns to SNL
ian spiegelman · 04/06/08 03:42PMDane Cook in the Battle of a Lifetime
ian spiegelman · 04/05/08 08:04AMSad Hillary Can't Sell Sniper Joke
Ryan Tate · 04/04/08 05:14AMHillary Clinton opened her appearance on Jay Leno's Tonight Show with some humor: "I was worried I wasn't going to make it [onto the show] - I was pinned down by sniper fire at the Burbank airport." It's a funny line, more self-deprecating than her past material, but the audience totally saw the joke coming and it fizzled. Clips:
Who Is America's Worst Comedian?
ian spiegelman · 03/29/08 08:27AMSure, the first person you think of is Dane Cook. With his blend of vagina jokes, date-rapey fans, and factory-distressed jeans, guy's a total douche cocktail. But what about Carlos Mencia? How can a man tell a retard joke that doesn't make me laugh? To celebrate March Madness, radio jocks "Toucher & Rich" on Boston's WBCN are whittling down a list of 16 lames to see who will emerge as "The Unfunniest Comic."
Har Har
Richard Lawson · 03/27/08 09:57AMComedy Central is trotting out yet another fake news show, this one from the geniuses behind Mind of Mencia and Mad TV. David Alan Grier, comedy's perpetual also-ran, will host the regrettably titled David Alan Grier's Chocolate News which, we're guessing, is a rehashing of current events seen through an "urban" lens. Which will be funnier, this or CNN's upcoming news parody? Yup, that's right. Neither. [Comics Comic]
Tracey Ullman Takes on Easiest Mimicry Challenge Yet
Pareene · 03/26/08 04:11PMTracey Ullman, that talented comedienne who is also kind of annoying, has a new Showtime sketch show. On it, she imitates Arianna Huffington, that brilliant blog-promoter who is also kind of ridiculous. A brief clip is attached—the impression is impeccable (and looks quite friendly, jokes about celebrity hairstylists "blogging brilliantly" aside). It's no "Breakaway," but it's nice to see Ullman's keeping busy.
Good News, Everyone!
ian spiegelman · 03/23/08 04:01PMYeah, yeah, John Adams Part 3 is on HBO tonight–Will Adams and Ben Franklin convince the French to fund the struggling Revolution? Will Franklin offend Adams with his womanizing ways? Screw that. It's Bendering time! Two hours of brand new Futurama hotness is almost upon us. And the show's creators are totally getting even with the Fox execs who cancelled the show two years ago.
Tina Fey Sez Jon Stewart's Not Funny!
Pareene · 03/19/08 12:38PMTina Fey "RIPS" Jon Stewart! Where "rips" means "makes a mild joke at the expense of his show." Fey told Reader's Digest (ha! wait, really?) that laughter is preferable to applause, in comedy. Breaking! "You can prompt applause with a sign. ... My friend Seth Meyers coined the term 'clapter,' which is when you do a political joke and people go, 'Woo-hoo.' It means they sort of approve but didn't really like it that much. You hear a lot of that on [whispers] 'The Daily Show.' " You know, she's 100% right, if depressingly, completely un-self-aware. [NYP]
Ads During Phone Sex: Only A Joke For Now
Hamilton Nolan · 03/18/08 02:26PMHere is what we are almost positive is a ridiculous jokey parody of an ad agency that's been floating around the web, although you never know in these crazy times of foam-filled Miami streets and hypnotizing games for children. The brilliant idea—which will surely become reality in only a matter of time—is political product placement in phone sex scripts [Sunday/Knight Productions]. In the purported audition video below, they subtly sell Hillary Clinton's candidacy with profanity, racial insensitivity, and the slogan, "Experience C(o)unts!" Seeing is agreeing:
$10 Mil Per Laugh Makes Comedy A Safe Hollywood Bet
Seth Abramovitch · 03/06/08 03:14PMDid the winter movie season—with its prestigious yet completely depressing crop of cattle-bolt murderers, paralyzed wink-authors, Alzheimer's sufferers, and the like—get you down? Fear not: As the NY Times reports, a massive crop of Hollywood comedies are coming down the pike. Didn't care for the potty-mouthed Russian Roulette humor of Semi-Pro? No matter, as every taste will be accounted for in The Great Comedy Rush of 2008: Apatowian sex farce, period screwball, and the wacky worlds of surrogate pregnancy and Mossad have all been covered. To predict how they fare, we might look to the past—in 1988, the Times notes, a recent writers strike and weakening domestic economy provided the backdrop to four comedies (Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Coming to America, Big, and Crocodile Dundee II) that dominated that summer's box office. But as it turns out, there's a far simpler method to determine how much your dumb comedy is going to rake in:
Jordan Carlos Could Be The Next SNL Obama
Hamilton Nolan · 02/29/08 04:17PMWhen we suggested this morning that comedian Jordan Carlos might be a good candidate for President of Saturday Night Live Obama Impersonators, little did we know that Carlos actually has an Obama impression. One that is available to watch! Sometimes we are impressed by our own keen powers of prediction (which flow from ignorance—thanks, tipster!). Below, the comedian's "BA-L-ACK OBAMA" sketch from Funny Or Die. Lorne Michaels: consider this an audition. Whether Jordan Carlos wants it to be or not!
Festival Offers Parade Of Potential Obama Impersonators To Racist SNL
Hamilton Nolan · 02/29/08 11:03AMThe "Black Comedy Experiment," a sort of comedy festival that, in an odd twist, does not feature whites, is going on in NYC until March 1. Its parade of up and coming black comedians offers the perfect chance for Saturday Night Live boss Lorne Michaels to finally find somebody to play Obama. Because the whole Fred Armisen-looking-stern-in-blackface-and-speaking-monosyllabically (not that there's anything WRONG with that) was just not quite enough to catapult the impression into SNL's all time greats. Judging purely on who could be most successfully made up to look like Obama based on their photo [of course, we are white, so (joke)], we'd say Baron Vaughn or Jordan Carlos have the best shot. Although the role will probably go to Charles Star. Watch the clip below, in which Jordan Carlos explains why he is your only black friend, and judge for yourself: