• I might regret this but I made a sketch about the world famous hacker organization Anonymous. Already picturing my Dad telling me to take it offline. Well, for the time being, it is alive and well on YouTube with approximately 15 views. The video is titled “At Home With A Guy From Anonymous” and stars yours truly as “Guy from Anonymous,”my wife Anna as his girlfriend who just wants to know the man behind that mask and Joey Melton as “guy in elevator who isn’t phased by people wearing Anonymous masks.” This thing is an homage to a lot of things- a.) Anonymous, b.) Beck and Kyle SNL sketches, c.) “Marriage Story” d.) the wildly underrated “Delocated” e.) the works of Tony Zaret (I’ll admit I stole a lot of his editing tricks here- the guy has impeccable style) and f.) the tone of “What We Do In The Shadows.” Then, right after I finished editing this bad boy, I watched an episode of “Corporate” that felt a lot like it. I’m a comedy thief. Still, I’m very happy with this- it’s 3:14 long and moves along at a really nice clip.
Also, this is the first time I’ve ever really timed how much time I spent working on a sketch. I’ll break it down. IDEATION: About an hour of brainstorming joke ideas I wanted in there with Anna. ACTUAL WRITING: First draft took about 30 minutes. When you have all the jokes/structure laid out, it’s kind of easy to just get it all out there. PUNCH-UPS: Another hour. My friend Dave Stolz and I texted ideas back and forth for a good chunk of time one day and I did a really helpful rewrite session with Barak Ziv and Shenuque Tissera. SHOOTING: Two hours. Did a ton of pickups for the montage sequence. EDITING: Three hours or so. Learned how to pitch shift (much easier than expected). SUBTITLING: Two hours! Much more time consuming when you have a ton of dialogue and you want to stylize the subtitles so they don’t give away jokes too fast. TOTAL: About 9.5 hours for a 3-minute sketch. Kind of like a whole work day. Not bad. Would be cool if this was my job. Anyway, the link is in the comments, of course. Feel free to let me know if this was a worthy use of my 9.5 quarantine hours.
• I’ve always loved the concept of a spec script show where the screenwriters had never seen an episode of the show they’re writing for. It’s a perfect canvas to paint comedy on. Still, I’d never attended or participated in one. One could say, I could write a Spec Script for a Spec Script show *rimshot*. Well, that all ended yesterday when I took part in Chris Khatami’s brainchild, reading the part of entitled rich kid Adam Brody in Sarah Kennedy’s poignant coming of age/social satire episode of “The O.C.” (alongside my old “Free Fries” show co-host Veronica Garza who I haven’t seen in a minute) and a shadowy government agent in Jamie Carbone’s sly “Prison Break” spoof that dumbed the show down perfectly exploiting the absurdity of its premise. The cast was hilarious and Shane Hosea’s perfect, sarcastic line readings of Sarah’s already funny stage directions had me rolling nailing her tone and adding even more to the proceedings. The link is in the comments and was such a fun time.
• Got a SECOND show in last night hosted by Genevieve Rice and co-produced by O.G. comedy friend Michael Palladino. Amazingly, Anna and her entire family watched this show. Too kind- they already knew my bits but they put up with it anyway. This show, The Birdcage Live, was a zippy showcase of comics I’d seen before and admire (Kwasi Mensah and Robert Buscemi have chops) alongside some comics I am a new fan of like Chad Opitz and Maryjay Berger. As for me, my set was energetic but not necessarily perfect. Got a little preachy about “standing up during Zoom shows” which is the worst kind of energy to project but I still did. In the middle of my performance, as I was doing a joke about scales, I realized, “Damn, I should be a prop comic,” and ran to the bathroom and grabbed a scale for my bit. Not sure if it added anything but Zoom shows definitely encourage props. I couldn’t help myself. This is a slippery slope for me to go down on. Anyway, if you want to see me run out on my set and return with a scale, the link is a long scroll away.
• A little late to the game here but I finally saw the very funny Ethan SP’s Comedy Cellar set. The footage taken from this show was one of the final live events in March before New York went full quarantine and his set ultimately sets the tone for what was to come for all of us in quarantine. Ethan’s comedy is about people trying to be better versions of themselves (which is honestly a very funny concept to explore) which is what we’ve all been doing these past five months. In this eleven-minute set, he tells relatable stories of folks crying and self actualizing in odd situations like oral sex (yeah, I tried to keep it PG-13 here) and a homeless guy realizing life is not so bad. I’d say this clip is a perfect distillation of his voice and well worth a watch (you know where to find the link. It’s in the comments).
• The only outdoor show I’d been to before this week was the extravagant Rebecca Trent produced Michael Che pop-up show a month or two back in Long Island City. Just hadn’t gotten around to make it out to any others. However, the most interesting thing I’ve noticed while observing from afar online is just how damn good the lineups for these shows are. It’s just headliner after headliner. So, this past Monday, I made it out to my second show of Rebecca’s, at the same location as the last one. The lineup was out of control but due to scheduling constraints (I gots to get 10,000 steps and make dinner after work- no exceptions), I was late. Luckily, Anna who came with, and we were still in for a treat. The show felt like a legit show similar to the days of yesteryear. Spaced out seats, booming speakers. Very cool to see the outdoor form has already evolved and been improved upon. We’re all learning to adapt and this show really has. Anyway, to the comedy. We came in right before Jessica Kirson headlined the thing. I’ve been a fan forever but never had the chance to see her live. She’s electric. From lightning quick crowd work to well crafted act outs about the elderly to bits about wanting to do literally anything other than reading her daughter a bedtime story all hit the comedy sweet spot for me. There’s another show tomorrow with an eclectic lineup of headliners and if you’re interested, there’s info in the comments.
• Here’s a fairly lengthy listing of books, podcasts and movies I completed this week:
“Best. Movie. Year. Ever. How 1999 Blew Up The Movies” by Brian Raftery: As a movie nerd, this was one of the most engrossing reads I’ve ever encountered. Seriously, I spent many nights up until 3 AM not wanting to go to sleep, telling myself I would call it a night after “just one more chapter.” To quickly summarize, Raftery waxes rhapsodic about 1999 as a year and all the great films were released that year (he argues quite well that it is the greatest movie year ever. I think he’s right). There are stories about Brad Pitt and David Fincher on a beach in Mexico ringing in Y2K (this story was so insane it shook me), the rise and fall of Harry Knowles from Ain’t It Cool News (remember that?!), the bizarre existence of the cast of “The Blair Witch Project” who were listed as “deceased” on IMDB so the movie appeared more realistic losing them acting gigs in the process, behind the scenes of “Boys Don’t Cry,” the origin of “Being John Malkovich” and “Magnolia,” plus everything you ever wanted to know about what it was like on the film set for Stanley Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut” (there was something like 400 days of filming. Makes me laugh just thinking about it). If you’re a fan of movies or are just a pop culture junkie, this book is the perfect 300 page read. I felt lost when it was over and started my next read. It just wasn’t the same. Raftery’s splashy, witty prose is hard to match. This is a major recommendation. Link to buy it on Amazon (sorry for promoting Amazon) is in the comments.
“Good One” podcast with Roy Wood, Jr. and Maria Bamford: Got a bit of a nostalgic kick for early April (nostalgic isn’t right; more like “Oh, yeah, that’s what it was like”) listening to this pod recorded at the beginning of quarantine on the state of comedy. To kick things off, Jesse David Fox has an abbreviated interview with Roy Wood, Jr. who talks about things sort of returning to a sense of normalcy in June. In a way, he was right. That was around the time of the advent of outdoor shows. More interestingly, he predicts an upcoming comedy boom (I hope!) and also what it was like doing comedy on 09/12/2001 (yeah, he did that). He said, “Back then, people were asking ‘Should I laugh?’ Now, they’re asking, ‘Should I leave the house?’” I genuinely forgot we were all afraid to even leave our apartments back then. He eloquently added that, “Comedy is a conversation- I use words, the audience use sounds.” That’s what he misses. Never heard it put so beautifully. The Maria Bamford back half of the episode has her talking about what she was doing pre-quarantine, performing for strangers over coffee (literally just one one one for feedback) which is kind of brilliant. Now, in quarantine, she finds herself eating Easter candy for breakfast (THAT reminded me of April) and how she’s doing Zoom therapy sessions with people (I guess my free comedy therapy thing was not the most original idea in the world after hearing that). Anyhow, this episode felt like a real time capsule of when we didn’t know what the future held. We still don’t. Link below.
“Good One” podcast with Nikki Glaser, Jenny Yang, Nore Davis, Laurie Kilmartin and Jim Gaffigan: This second “comedy in quarantine” follow-up episode has much more quick hit interviews of comics’ varying experiences in lockdown. Still, it’s more hopeful than the previous installment as this reality has become more normalized. In this one, Fox speaks with Nikki Glaser first. She discusses how, at the beginning of quarantine, she was trying to keep up with others and realized she was addicted to stand up. Very relatable. Once you are removed from the scene and are away from the nonstop grinding, you realize you don’t need it as much. Still, she talks about going to headline at a club in Salt Lake City because others were doing the same and feared being cancelled for potentially getting audience members sick since her mere existence was responsible for them being there for the show. It was a quick and stirring chat. Next up, Fox spoke to Jenny Yang who has been doing cosplay stand up shows on Animal Crossing. I’ve never played but am intrigued. Honestly, sounds really cool and kind of what it’s like to be at a show except with animated visuals. Nore Davis was next and talks about being initially apprehensive about doing Zoom shows but now loves them. I’m with that. In fact, he put out a quarantine special. I wouldn’t go that far but it’s cool to see this become a trend and that comics are writing new material at a quick clip. Conversely, Laurie Kilmartin, the next guest, said all Zoom shows feel the same (OK, that’s fair, there is a sameness to them) but optimistically pointed out that moving to do your set in other parts of the apartment makes it feel like she’s performing in different clubs. Brilliant. Finally, Fox talks to Gaffigan (who was his first ever guest). He discusses the absurdity of doing drive in shows quipping, “They speak to the question- how desperate are you to perform?” Got a laugh when he said (paraphrasing here), “The first show was bad. Couldn’t hear any laughs. Thank God, the people with Range Rovers had their roofs off.” More power to him for doing new forms of comedy. Yes, the link is in the comments for this episode as well.
“Project X” (2012): I can’t believe this movie exists. We all remember the viral marketing campaign and insane stunt parties that followed, right? It didn’t seem like this was real. Well, it is. I’m ashamed to admit that I liked it quite a bit too. As much as this “punches down,” (and some of it feels genuinely illegal) the leads are charismatic, the setpieces are fantastical and some of the dialogue is sharp in that “Superbad” way that we all stole from 2007-2015. The story is typical- shy, well meaning kid (Thomas Mann) has the house to himself for his 18th birthday while his parents are out of town. His brash friend (Oliver Cooper, apparently he went to ASU for a year according to Wikipedia) inspires him to throw an EPIC (remember epic?) get-together. There are drugs, pyrotechnics, flying dogs and other things that shouldn’t be typed. I’ll sadly admit I got big laughs out of the young security guards the gang hired that take their jobs very seriously. The ending is a major let down with loose ends tied together way too easily and one of the dumbest epilogues I’ve ever seen during the credits. Still, this whole thing is A PERVERSE GUILTY PLEASURE THAT I’LL ADMIT I ENJOYED (Streaming on Cinemax- I’ll admit it; I paid $9.99 for a one-month subscription like a sucker).
“It Started As A Joke” (2020): I’ll always be angry with myself that I never got around to going to the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival. That’s the type of thing I moved to New York to experience but just never made it out. Luckily, this artifact exists and I’m so glad it does. This is a super quick 76-minute documentary featuring alt-comedy legend after legend interspersed with highlights from the Fest that made me feel like I’d been there and also simultaneously nostalgic for great shows. Midway through the doc, it shifts gears and becomes a bit more melancholy as Mirman and his wife detail her cancer and how they process it. I was not expecting this film to get so heavy but here we are. The film shows the progression of Mirman doing material about his wife’s ailment which honestly felt a little strange; he should have been home with her rather than talking about her onstage but I digress. Anyhow, the film climaxes with a fantastic scene at the final iteration of the Festival and Eugene is onstage talking about his wife’s diagnosis while she watches. This inspires the following comic Bobcat Goldthwait to do a beautiful tribute to his best friend Robin Williams impersonating him perfectly. Finally, Jon Glaser (who you may remember from “Delocated”), on the grief material train, tells a beautiful story about his father who he sat with while he was sick. Glaser ended up crying onstage. It was extremely moving. At the end, Mirman’s wife gets a chance to shine too which is a nice touch. The movie ends up being a love letter to her. IF YOU LIKE COMEDY DOCS, YOU CAN’T DO MUCH BETTER THAN THIS (Streaming on Amazon Prime).
Stay Tuned (1992): Read about this flick on one of my favorite sites, Slashfilm. It’s a cool idea for a story where a TV-obsessed man (John Ritter) and his neglected wife (Pam Dawber) are sucked into a television through their cable satellite (I think?) traipsing from channel to channel trying to survive an evil Jeffrey Jones character (the whole time I was thinking, man, Phil Hartman would have been so much better in this role) who wants to kill them for some reason. The movie has its odd, dated tics too. It begins with a voiceover from the nerdy son explaining the plot and then he has a reduced role- you can feel the studio saying, “Folks, we need some exposition here! Let the kid tell everyone what’s going on!” Then, he compares his Dad to Cosby. Always good for an LOL. There are “Wayne’s World,” “Driving Miss Daisy” and “Northern Exposure” parodies that are far from relevant (wonder if they even worked in 1992) propped up next to an outdated Salt N Pepa cameo. I’ll admit I was excited for a brief Don Pardo voice only appearance and an extended Eugene Levy role that he did the most with, that one could. I love the “going into a bunch of genres of movies” genre (it’s a genre unto itself!) but somehow I just got soft “Truman Show” vibes from this. THIS MOVIE WALKED SO TRUMAN SHOW COULD RUN (Streaming on Amazon Prime).
Three Stooges (2012): I don’t think there’s a more hit and miss directorial duo in cinematic history than The Farrelly Brothers. They’ve made sublime comedies like “Kingpin” and “There’s Something About Mary” and they also made this “Three Stooges” reboot(?). Yes, the committed performances from Will Sasso, Sean Hayes and Chris Diamantopoulos are impressive but this thing falls flat (also, the low-profile names attached to star did not inspire confidence in the movie- the Farrellys should be getting A-listers). I don’t understand the extended cameos from Sofia Vergara, Larry David, Jane Lynch, Jennifer Hudson and Kate Upton (OK, I get why she did it). They must have owed a favor? In any event, this was clearly a passion project, I get that. I know the Farrellys love their slapstick and this was most likely an attempt to capture the magic of “Dumb and Dumber,” for which I commend them. It just doesn’t work. You know, it’s not good when the biggest laughs come from the “Jersey Shore” cast (but man, they act horribly). Finally, just want to say that using the haunting music of Beirut for the climax is a crime against cinema. DAMN, I FEEL LIKE ROGER EBERT WITH HOW ANGRY THIS MOVIE MADE ME EVEN THOUGH I COULDN’T MAKE SOMETHING BETTER (Streaming on Cinemax).
The Sugarland Express (1974): In college, I literally took a class on Steven Spielberg (thank you, Joe Fortunato- the course was also about George Lucas), but still there are a few movies of his I’ve never seen. This curiosity always intrigued me. This was the movie he made RIGHT before “Jaws” and you can see all his chops on display. The only things missing are an iconic score and the spectacle of a shark. “The Sugarland Express” is a ripped from the headlines true story about a young woman (Goldie Hawn) breaking her baby daddy out of jail and taking a policeman hostage along for the ride. Kinda feels like a less funny “Raising Arizona.” The expertly shot action sequences and car chases are in full effect right next to a strong lead performance from a young Goldie Hawn (she has a very funny scene where she really has to pee while they’re on the lam). IT’S NOT “JAWS” BUT YOU CAN SEE HOW IT GOT HIM TO THE NEXT LEVEL (Streaming on Cinemax).
“Altman” (2014): One of the greatest directors of all-time was in desperate need of documentary treatment. This brief doc (under 80 minutes) is full of talking heads where collaborators share anecdotes and talk about what makes a movie “Altmanesque;” this is spliced with clips of Altman’s films and tales about what was going on his life when he made them. There are no real surprises here (other than an opening shot on a beach illustrating an Altman quote that looks more like an amateurish home movie than film) but THIS IS COMFORT FOOD FOR A CINEPHILE. BASICALLY, IT’S LIKE IF A DIRECTOR GOT A GREATEST HITS ALBUM (Streaming on Amazon Prime).
• Not comedy or film or pop culture for one second! My Mom’s place of business, Native Health, was featured in the Arizona Republic this week (check the link in the comments). They’re doing some really innovative things like providing boxes of food to those in need in the community along with virtual classes for young students. As mentioned before, it’s exciting to see folks adapt to our present situation and truly make an impact. I’m really proud of my Mom for this.
• I have a surprisingly action packed comedy week for the first time in ages. I’ll be taking part in Flappers’ Burbank Comedy Festival (yes, my first virtual comedy festival) this coming Wednesday at 8 PM EST and Friday at 12:30 PM EST. Expect a recap about this in seven days. It’s coming whether you like it or not.
Finally, one last thing.
Wear a mask.
That’s it.
01.) At Home With A Guy From Anonymous: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWvJqL62Ys4&t
02.) Spec Script: https://www.twitch.tv/specscript
03.) Genevieve Rice and Michael Palladino’s The Birdcage Live show: https://www.facebook.com/genevieve.rice/posts/10109291061115937
04.) Ethan SP at the Cellar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOI2N5G2HKE
05.) Rebecca Trent’s Culture Lab show: https://www.facebook.com/ratrent/posts/10158422828325928
06.) “Best. Movie. Year. Ever. How 1999 Blew Up The Movies” by Brian Raftery: https://www.amazon.com/Best-Movie-Year-Ever-Screen/dp/1501175394/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2QNVW8TFNQIKR&dchild=1&keywords=brian+raftery&qid=1596985032&s=books&sprefix=brian+rafte%2Caps%2C132&sr=1-1
07.) Good One Early Quarantine Edition: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/comedy-under-quarantine-with-roy-wood-jr-and-maria-bamford/id1203393721?i=1000470734915
08.) Good One Present Quarantine Edition: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/comedy-under-quarantine-five-months-in/id1203393721?i=1000487056312
09.) Native Health Article about my Mom: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2020/08/06/coronavirus-arizona-covid-19-forced-phoenix-urban-indian-centers-change/5459610002/
10.) Flappers Wednesday 8 PM EST Show: http://flc.cc/I4WS5JF
11.) Flappers Friday 12:30 PM EST Show: http://flc.cc/TOBPBH2
