• Yom Kippur is a day of atonement and when you’ve done any type of comedy, you always feel a tinge of guilt about most things you’ve just said onstage. Whether it be crowd work with a stranger that gets too personal or a joke that doesn’t sit right, there’s always room to feel like you’ve really messed things up. Never does one feel that sense of dread that you’ve done the wrong thing more than at a roast. Feeling inspired by my past experiences as a roaster and the breakneck pace in which Anna Paone and Catherine Lamoreaux churn out short play after short play, I decided to write a ten-minute one-act called “Just Jokes” loosely based on a roast battle I had in 2016 against Erica Spera that I shouldn’t have won. Yeah, I used our real jokes in it too (with Erica’s permission).
This week, I had the good fortune of Dragonfly (Anna and Catherine’s theater company) putting on a production of said one-act starring Russell Dolan as a surrogate for me (it honestly felt like I was Larry David and he was Jason Alexander playing me), Samantha Mishinski as his fierce and more skilled opponent who breathed a sensitive life into this, Matt Maran doing the best damn Matt Maran one can do playing Matt Maran and Nick Endo and Justine House as the lead’s friends who help our hero craft his bits. It went way better than it had any right to as each performer brought the necessary venom to their dialogue making it feel like we actually were in the room at Comedy Fight Club four years ago (the show is still going strong outdoors). Hopefully, we can stage this thing or film it someday.
Final highlight from the reading was that my parents watched. In fact, my Dad Andy Levy, one of Dragonfly’s biggest fans, asked all the questions in the Q and A at the end. What a mensch. If you want to see this for yourself, the link from Dragonfly’s page is in the comments.
• David Horning and Steve Mers are two of my favorite Cleveland comics who co-host the sublime “You Can’t Laugh At That” podcast with Gheramy Demery producing remotely. The two bring on comics who have tackled taboo topics in their material and then go into great detail about how to make these uncomfortable premises into jokes audiences feel at ease with. This past Monday, my episode about “surviving cancer” dropped. To be completely clear, I am a survivor of testicular cancer and am totally fine. My situation PALES in comparison to pretty much any other cancer patient. Still, I did jokes about it for a few years and we got to the bottom of it on this episode. In fact, David and Steve sort of taught me the secret of writing jokes about trauma. It felt like therapy when we discovered it (you’ll have to listen to hear said secret). Plus, we don’t JUST talk about my cancer. I share my theory on why spur of the moment Tweets do better than ones that sit in your drafts for weeks, jokes batting .980 meaning you’ve done a joke 50 times and it doesn’t work once and now you hate it and “Tigging.” What is “Tigging?” Check out the link. Yeah, it’s the day of atonement but I’m not going to apologize for telling you to check out that pod. That’s what friends of the pod are for.
• So many friends did cool stuff this week. Here’s some very short recommendations for your reading, listening and viewing pleasure (all the links are in the comments):
- My friend Charlton Jon wrote the ultimate “Truman Show” fan fiction with his short story “Unreal” about an extra on the set of the Truman Show (set within the world of the movie). Medium clocks it as a six-minute read but it goes by even faster if you’re familiar with the film. Charlton sprinkles details from the film into the piece like Truman’s best friend’s dark backstory that implies there’s so much more to this movie than we ever knew.
- From 2013-15, I worked at Luke’s Lobster on the Upper East Side alongside a number of incredibly gifted artists. I couldn’t believe that everyone had a talent outside of making lobster rolls and it’s been a treat watching everyone’s careers progress. This week, I had the pleasure of seeing a Luke’s collaboration between old pals Sean Cahill and Thomas Wynn. Sean is the longtime frontman for the group The Next Great American Novelist and has been steadily releasing catchy music online with amazing videos to boot. However, his linking up with Thomas Wynn was easily my favorite. Thomas’ single take dance music video for “Ice Moon” is hypnotic, beautifully choreographed and incredibly watchable while Sean’s most accomplished vocal performance as his voice registers at an almost tribal yell toward the end. Can’t believe I made shrimp rolls with these dudes a few years back.
- Liz Glazer makes the best funny short, confessional video diaries. They combine archival footage from her life, monologue from the present day and stand up clips to create a collage that would feel at home on NPR. My absolute favorite of hers was her tribute of sorts to Joan Rivers that she released this week. The first ⅔ are hysterical with expert match cuts to Liz belting pop songs while driving to a chilling, beautiful finale. The best comedies undercut you with emotion and the final minute here is a wallop.
- Hattie Hayes and Matt Storrs are one of the all-time great comedy couples. Their performing styles complement each other beautifully; Matt is droll, erudite and hilarious while Hattie is freewheeling, fearless and hilarious. This morning, I caught their short audio video (all subtitled) of Hattie talking to Matt in her sleep and I couldn’t stop laughing. It’s a barely coherent conversation that only gets funnier as it moves along. Goes to show- some people really can do comedy in their sleep.
• Yup, watched so many movies and listened to so many pods these past seven days. I’m going to try to keep this short out of respect for YOU.
“Drowning Mona” (2000): Consistently been at the top of the “I gotta see this thing” list. Lived up to the hype. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to tell you that the movie begins with a grisly scene where a car flies off a mountainside into a river with poor Bette Midler as the eponymous “Mona” meeting her demise and drowning. The rest of the movie is figuring out just how we got there which felt like dramatic irony straight out of Shakespeare. It’s a lot of fun with Danny DeVito as the chief of police and Casey Affleck, William Fichtner and Jamie Lee Curtis as prime suspects all bringing a humanity to the proceedings while also chewing the hell out of the scenery. On top of that, there’s a totally surprise Will Ferrell AND Melissa McCarthy cameo halfway through that made my jaw drop. Had no idea they were in this thing. Ferrell’s generous, goofy style wasn’t quite right for the movie but I didn’t care; I’ll watch the guy read WiFi passwords (that’s the 2020 version of reading the phonebook). Also, the movie reintroduced me to the song “Popcorn” by Hot Butter. It’s one of those 70s oddities you’ve heard a billion times but can’t name. YOU HAVE TO FIND OUT WHO DROWNED MONA, TOTALLY WORTH YOUR TIME (Streaming on Amazon Prime).
“Hooking Up” (2020): Anna and I are on a bit of a “Detroiters” kick (we’re almost done) so I was crazy excited to see Sam Richardson in a lead role in a feature. Speaking of cancer before, the movie ALSO tackles it. I am not the first. To get you up to speed, Richardson’s character is a survivor of testicular cancer (relatable) who crosses paths with a raunchy sex and love addict (Brittany Snow from “Pitch Perfect;” you’ll definitely recognize her) who accidently ends up in his support group for survivors. Then, we get super high concept. She’s a columnist who was just fired from her beat and pitches one final story to win her gig back: she wants to revisit every places she’s ever hooked up, hence the title. She chooses our cancer survivor who has only ever been in a monogamous relationship as her guinea pig. It’s fun. This movie won’t change the world but it’s one of the better low budget streaming comedies I’ve seen. Yes, there are on the nose speeches about love and battling addictions and too familiar story beats like Sam’s character wanting to be an artist but not following his dreams but the two of them are so likeable together that you forgive them for all of it. They banter like a couple who have completely simpatico senses of humor. GOOD, LITTLE MOVIE IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING LOW KEY (Streaming on Hulu).
“Blush” (2019): The New York Times recommends off the beaten path streaming films every so often and I make sure to prioritize their recommendations like a dutiful subscriber. Really glad I saw this one about an unfulfilled housewife played with a familiar malaise by Wendi McClendon-Covey (from “Reno 911” AND “Bridesmaids”) married to a sad sack you’d be shocked to see in a dramedy- Steve Little from “Eastbound and Down” (his surprising third act arc is genuinely heartwarming if a bit sad). This slice of life, semi-episodic indie feels like an attempt at an Oscar film but never got the big release it deserved. Still, it has a lot to say and doesn’t phone it in. It all begins with her watching her recently widowed sister’s cat. She befriends a very liberal family living next door and somehow ends up being made out with the Mom, Dad and Son. If it all sounds shocking, it is. They all use the same tactic to make out with her which is equal parts disturbing and very funny. That’s not entirely what this is about though; ultimately, this is a movie about how being a people pleaser can lead to more damage in your personal life than happiness. THE NEW YORK TIMES KNOWS WHAT THEY’RE TALKING ABOUT (Streaming on Amazon Prime).
“Legalize Everything” (2020): Eric Andre goes places you wouldn’t even want to go. For the first half of this special, I considered turning it off. The whole thing seemed graphic for the sake of being graphic but I love his show so much and I know there’s something going on behind all the drugs and sex jokes that I stayed tuned in. I’m so glad I did. About halfway through, Andre hits a groove and his jokes start humming. From the COPS theme song bit (not worth spoiling; it made me laugh crazy hard and was a brilliant observation) to re-enacting a kid walking on his elderly parents having sex, it got more and more bonkers so much so that you had to appreciate the audacity. He closed by chatting with an audience member’s Mom over FaceTime and she was even more willing to go wild than Andre had anticipated. By the end, I kinda loved this. IT’S ALL OVER THE PLACE AND DISJOINTED BUT FULL OF LIFE (Streaming on Netflix).
“Double Threat” with Rian Johnson and Karina Longworth: I’d never listened to Tom Scharpling and Julie Klausner’s pod before. For the first half hour, it was super jokey with them making fun of haunted paper towel dispensers and Terry Gilliam’s laugh. I thought they had Rian Johnson and wife Karina Longworth sitting there and just not letting them talk. Nah, they weren’t there but I could have sworn they were. When they came on, they let their presence be known with a story from Rian about how Elvis watched “Doctor Strangelove” five times in theaters back to back to Karina, the esteemed film critic becoming a newfound basketball fan. There wasn’t a ton of substance but it was a solid jokey podcast and the end where Scharpling and Klausner act out going to see Tenet in theaters during COVID times was my favorite part. Rare that a podcast finishes on a high note.
“Good One” with Cecily Strong: As always, I’m a sucker for the SNL podcasts. This was fine. I feel like there’s still a better, deeper Cecily Strong interview to be had but I’ll settle for hearing her share her process for developing characters (in the case of Drunk Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Talked To At A Party, she was a Colin Jost creation) and her solid Idris Elba impression that she never got a chance to do on the show. There’s the requisite tale of how she got hired from Improv Olympic for the show and both the host and subject cried discussing some tragic events she had to go through earlier this year which I have to be honest is pretty rare for comedy podcasts. Still, I know there’s more. Either way, not bad for fans.
Not a lot for me this week in comedy. There’s my one-year wedding anniversary with Anna tomorrow (we finally eat the wedding cake sitting in our freezer), Yom Kippur and the Presidential Debates. I’m officially an adult.
G’mar chatima tova, friends.
01.) Just Jokes reading: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=690312111835041&extid=qKpc21RMRYAgwBbh
02.) David Horning’s podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cancer-ft-matt-levy/id1495600197?i=1000491980899
03.) “Unreal” by Charlton Villavelez: https://medium.com/@CharltonJonV/unreal-32094b316d4b
04.) “Ice Moon” by Sean Cahill and Thomas Wynn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buVNmPPjuzo
05.) “Ghost Errands” by Liz Glazer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwrb4wT3B3Y&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR31MKRXjKFXeFBiAwlk8YlgIiPE8VrCbCzeqJtsucDq6wRjFIDu_dyNnwE
06.) Sleep Talking with Matt Storrs and Hattie Hayes: https://www.facebook.com/100000198100389/videos/4406313829385177/?extid=MkN4qtQxDQuTkYYj
07.) Double Threat with Rian Johnson and Karina Longworth: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/now-my-wife-kicks-with-rian-johnson-karina-longworth/id1503252863?i=1000491192350
08.) “Good One” with Cecily Strong: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cecily-strongs-jeanine-pirro/id1203393721?i=1000488463298