• Perhaps the most missed aspect of pre-pandemic comedy jumping from mic to mic was the camaraderie. You’d train from bar to used theater space to garage on random Wednesdays and run into comics that you may see every day for the next year or you may never see again but connect on social media. Then, you’ll always remember that person as “that guy or girl I walked to the train with in 2014 after I bombed in Greenpoint.” That was the case with fellow comic Ari Rubin. We met forever ago at a Brooklyn mic and years later, because of that mic, I had the opportunity to do his character-based, scripted improv show “Rubin On Wry” this past Wednesday evening. Thank you, Zuck, for allowing us to stay in touch. Anyhow, in my “Rubin on Wry” episode, I come in at the 25-minute mark and play a comedic character you may have never seen from me but is a very real facet of my personality: the no-nonsense customer service representative. This is who I am M-F 9-5 PM EST. For my bit on the show, I awarded Ari with a prestigious title that I surprised him with at the last minute going with something other than what we came up with beforehand. Even with the switch, he was a consummate pro and I was the one giggling like Fallon when things got heated between our characters. Check it out and if you’re a character based comic interested in doing this show, hit up Ari. It won’t quite be the same as meeting after a bad mic but before you’ll know it, you’ll become a part of his Christopher Guest 2.0 world.
• Just released the seventh episode of my Rizzle series “Minute Made” starring my wife Anna Paone as a woman who wants to be “Made into a woman that goes viral on Twitter.” It sounds like a premise more fit for a 10-second TikTok (to bring a third app into the conversation) but Anna brings nuance to the proceedings showing us a whole range of emotions from the initial serotonin hit that comes with virality to the backlash inevitably tied to anything with enough eyeballs on it. And yes. She mustered up real tears for a silly vertical video. Kid’s a star.
• Two quick recommendations if you’re looking for some quick hit content on the web that won’t disappoint:
-Davidson Boswell is quietly churning out some of the most vicious Cuomo satire on Twitter and deserves recognition. Take his excellent recent Tweet “Everybody criticizing Cuomo right now: I’d like to see YOU singlehandedly kill 15,000 senior citizens in a month.” Perfect deconstruction of how indefensible America’s former governor is. This mock serious tone is repeatedly replicated and always hits a little different than everything else the algorithm produces. I’ll leave you with another favorite if you haven’t already followed: Uploading my consciousness to Twitter so that I can tirelessly defend Cuomo. As a bonus, he writes great jokes about other topics too. See “Wish I was either way smarter or way stupider. This middle ground is not working out” as proof.
- I instantly laughed out loud at Dan Fitzpatrick’s short TikTok where he does a reel of jokes tied to “Childhood boasts that just sound sad in your late 20s.” Right off the bat, the smugly satisfied grin and backwards cap coupled with his first brag, “My parents let me sleep in the basement” work so well for this premise. From there, it only gets funnier. Dan gets more enthusiastic and the boasts become more and more pitiful. Perfect way to spend a minute if you’re looking for an instant hit of joy.
• This week, I saw a hodgepodge of independent film, comedy documentaries, fringe Oscar contenders that got left behind in the cultural conversation, cult classics I’d never actually finished and a podcast featuring a fairly reclusive legend. Here’s a brief summary of each.
“Teenage Badass” (2020): There’s not a wealth of great Arizona-based funny feature films. There’s “Raising Arizona.” There’s “Hamlet 2” in Tucson. There’s the Danny McBride starrer “Arizona” and now there’s the hysterical coming of age feature “Teenage Badass.” The movie, while a love letter to AZ (seeing a character wearing 90s Suns gear warmed my heart), is first and foremost about the minor rise and crashing fall of indie band “Stylo and the Murder Dogs.” In an early scene, we see the film’s director Grant McCord booted from the band as their drummer; both he and the lead singer want to count down to when they actually begin playing leading to a hysterical argument. McCord eventually gives up paving the way for the titular Teenage Badass Brad (McCabe Gregg, bringing just the right amount of wide eyed innocence to the role as a kid who always dreamed of drumming) to come in and snag his spot. What follows is a fully-realized portrait of a band on the verge coming to grips with sudden success after a gig goes well (featuring comic Chris Thayer as a pitch perfect deadpan sound guy) that leads to a local TV spot which then lands them a manager in Kevin Corrigan (if you don’t know the name, you’ll know the face). There are falling outs, reunions and a killer cover of “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” What matters most is McCord packs every scene with pathos never mocking his characters but giving them lives outside the band like Tucker Audie’s bandmate who is defined by his whipped marital status or Brad’s tough love single mother Rae (Julie Ann Emery) who supports her son’s dreams and shows us that while he’s a teenage badass, he’s also still just a kid. That’s not to mention just how killer the music in the film is performed by the band or the inventive compositions and lighting dreamed up by Director of Photography Andric Booker. THIS IS EASILY THE FIRST GREAT ARIZONA COMEDY OF THE 2020s (Streaming on Amazon Prime for $3.99).
Patrice O’Neal’s “Killing Is Easy” (2021): It’s easy to recognize just how incredibly funny Patrice O’Neal is. It didn’t matter if he was riffing on “Tough Crowd” or doing polished bits onstage, he was pound for pound one of the funniest to ever grace the stage. Finally, there’s a doc to do his story justice rather than an assortment of the clips scattered on YouTube.
The first thing that struck me about this doc was how different Patrice’s material was. Most comics (myself included) often come at you with a punchline that might be the third thing that comes to mind. Patrice would go all the way down to the last you might think of that sounds illogical at first before making complete sense. You might agree with what he says only 10% of the time but you’ll most likely find yourself in stitches and seeing the world in a new way (give or take some of his audacious pre-cancel culture opinions). What’s even better is we get to see notorious ballbusters like Rich Vos, Bill Burr (there are many hilarious photos of a young, nerdy Burr standing next to the always confident Patrice), Robert Kelly and Jim Norton (plus, Dane Cook haha) get dewy eyed talking about their favorite comic before going back to talking smack about their old friend.
Cobbled together with low quality clips of his sets where the brash material shines, interviews with friends and family where it’s revealed his nickname was Bruiser and chock full of road stories no one knows like the time he threw a phone book at Kevin Hart while he was onstage and how he would talk PAs out of their optimism toward the industry, there isn’t a dull moment here-- the guy led an incredible life and should have been a household name. It should be noted that there are also surprisingly serious moments as well embedded here. Namely, a section that highlights awful racism Patrice and other Black men encountered in Boston in the late 80s that made a major imprint on his life and material. THIS IS EVERYTHING A COMEDY DOC SHOULD BE (Streaming on Comedy Central).
“Bad Education” (2020): Why this isn’t on the shortlist for Best Picture this year is a true shame. This zippy “Based On A True Story” social commentary starring Hugh Jackman as a cheery, seemingly perfect superintendent treating even the dopiest of students like future world leaders while harboring a number of secrets is one of the most entertaining movies I’ve seen all year. Jackman is truly fantastic as a chipper educator who seems to do everything by the book exemplified best in an early scene when he sits in the bleachers with cohort Allison Janney and breaks his no carb diet for a single bite of a pastrami on rye. Things start to crack when Jackman’s character tells a student journalist to treat a puff piece about the school’s plan to build a skywalk like it’s The New York Times. Watching this man crumble feels like a perfect spiritual sequel to “Election.” Ray Romano makes an extended cameo as a board member and as the secrets get more and more bombastic, it becomes more and more fun to watch Jackman try and weasel his way out of the problems he created for himself. I HATE MYSELF FOR THIS BUT “BAD EDUCATION” IS “GREAT ENTERTAINMENT” (Streaming on Amazon Prime for $3.99).
“The Assistant” (2020): This was another movie pulsing with Oscar Buzz upon its initial release and has since been relegated to the dregs of “Popular on Hulu.” Anyhow, it’s a smart, soundtrack free, depressing slice of life about an assistant (Julia Garner) for a Harvey Weinstein type that will ring true for anyone that’s new in the entertainment business. Our protagonist is just five weeks into her new gig, working weekends, missing her Dad’s birthday and beginning to feel the cruelty of her boss and superiors in the office. In fact, this is what a real office feels like much more so than “The Office.” Director Kitty Green perfectly captures the din and anonymity of being the “new assistant” who isn’t in on the inside jokes and is resigned to silence on elevator rides. There’s unspoken harassment, belittling and a “the boss can get away with anything because he signs the checks'' attitude. Then, male coworkers dictate Garner’s apology emails to send to the boss. It’s cringeworthy and eye opening. That’s not to say that the movie doesn’t have light touches like a new assistant that comes in to work with our hero and unwittingly says hysterically naive lines like, “I know film, my uncle worked in craft services.” Most painful and funny of all is the boss’ response to an apology faux sincerely saying, “You’re good but I want you to be great.” It’s that fake inspiration that keeps people under higher ups’ thumbs forever. While not entirely enjoyable (because of its relatability), THIS IS THE MOVIE THAT PUTS A SPOTLIGHT ON THE MODERN TOXIC WORK ENVIRONMENT BETTER THAN ANY OTHER I’VE SEEN (Streaming on Hulu)
“Lethal Weapon” (1987): Sue me. I’ve never seen this. I know “I’m getting too old for this shit” (which is said THREE times in the movie) and that this is essentially the template for 80s-tastic buddy cop comedies but I’d never actually plunked down to check out the whole thing. Now that I have, I gotta say, it’s exactly what I expected with a few surprises thrown in for good measure. Credit where credit is due- I love that we start with Christmas in LA. This is the exact opposite of the “White Christmas'' we've come to know and love in film. We meet Danny Glover’s family man detective Murtaugh celebrating his 50th birthday (this dude’s been old since before I was born) and then his subsequent pairing with live wire Riggs (real life live wire Mel Gibson). The action that follows isn’t important. You know they’ll end up joking their way through every grenade toss and shootout. What is important is how it’s done. There’s quite a bit of “unethical filmmaking” where there aren’t realistic consequences to violence which I became hip to in film school. Come on, dudes. Don’t glorify getting shot. Then there’s quite a bit of blatant sexism AND sexualization of Glover’s underage daughter. To be fair, this is sadly true of a lot of 80s-tastic flicks. There is still a lot to like though. A scene where Gibson works with a jumper off the ledge of a building is simultaneously suspenseful and lighthearted, Gary Busey shows up in a welcome villainous turn and there’s even a goofy “Three Stooges” homage. Amongst it all, a friendship is formed between the two cops and eventually the suicidal (yes, there is quite a bit of weary heaviness here too) Gibson ends up finding a family in Glover’s (sorry for the most obvious spoiler of all time). So, yeah. Tonally all over the place but my man Richard Donner (“Goonies” director for those keeping score) and Shane Black (“The Nice Guys!”) package it nicely and give a bit of heft and humor to a fairly well worn genre. HEAVY CHEESE WITH A NICE DARK STREAK (Streaming on Showtime).
WTF with Eddie Murphy: First thing I do on Monday mornings is check to see who Maron booked. I’m lame like that. This week, I pumped my fist when I saw it was Eddie. Yes, he’s been on “Comedians in Cars” but I wanted a real sitdown career discussion. Before that though, there’s a Maron prelude where he details the life and death of Richie Tienken, the booker at The Comic Strip and Eddie’s manager in the 80s. This prescient intro got the conversation off the ground and led to Murphy’s origin story as a kid on Long Island winning comedy competitions at 15 and admiring Pryor before doing club gigs with now long-since-forgotten comic friends of his from the late 70s. It was especially interesting to hear about how when he started comics were as scarce as magicians and ventriloquists but by the time he was 18, the scene had blown up. A year later, he was on SNL.
What makes the interview special though is not the standard biographical strokes we’ve all heard before but the details that often get lost when interviewers aren’t comics. Here, Maron goes deep with Eddie talking about Gilbert Gottfried being a comic’s comic back in the late 70s and early 80s, the legendary booker Lucien Hold telling EDDIE MURPHY that he had no material (Maron countered this with, “Lucien told me he had enough angry white guys”) and everyone only having ten minutes back then. The two of them speed through Eddie’s SNL tenure dwelling instead on unknown stories about Eddie asking Pryor to listen to his album on a plane(!) and Dick Cavett and asking Eddy Grant how his dreadlocks came to be (the true highlight of the episode). We’re also treated to Murphy’s Rodney impression and how he really felt after he was given a Razzie.
However, what made me realize what makes Eddie great is he doesn’t simply say “That person was funny” when telling a story. He becomes that person and recalls every detail. Eddie would never, ever say, “You have to be there.” As heard in this episode, he’ll transport you there.
“Metropolitan” (1990): I’m a sucker for talky movies that don’t really need a story to hold on to; they simply exist on the virtue of quippy dialogue and flawed characters. Noah Baumbach might be the modern master of this form but Whit Stillman created a pretty solid blueprint with this breezy character study about a group of well-to-do yuppie socialite youths that spend all their time together at small high class parties for themselves. You know the type. They wear suits everywhere but are really just insecure 19-year-olds. I especially loved one character claiming that he “reads literary criticism so I don’t have to read the books AND I get an opinion on it.” I felt exposed when I heard that one. That’s the sign of a good movie or a book- when you’re taught something about yourself not even you knew. Better yet was, “I haven’t read The Bible but I have an opinion on it.” What the movie lacks in story (there’s a thread where a kid is caught in a big lie to friends that would barely qualify as a plot; we’re here for the atmosphere), it makes up for in its foresight of 21st century gaslighting and fake news (they’re all awful to each other). More than anything, this film felt like the origin of modern American politics. The players are overly sensitive and lying and while in the film they get their comeuppance and are then portrayed as good guys in the end, we know what the future holds for these types. THE ULTIMATE WITTY, URBANE MOVIE THAT MIGHT BE THE MOST INSUFFERABLE THING YOU’VE EVER SEEN IF YOU HATE THESE KINDS OF PEOPLE (Streaming on Showtime).
- Finally, a bit of light reading. Seth Rogen was profiled in the New York Times a little over a week ago going into great detail about his new life as a ceramicist crafting weed accessories. The guy is a business, man. Excited to see where he’s at in ten years. Perhaps running a weed-themed political party. I could see it. I linked it in the comments, my friend.
• Slow week for me this week. Just a Fantasy baseball draft and a lot of HelloFresh. If comedy stuff happens, it’ll be a welcome surprise.
Signing off for the week.
Over and out
