As I'm sure you have all heard by now we lost another clown this week. I found out while on a break at work and I have to say it affected me for the rest of my shift. Whenever we lose someone who makes people laugh the world, as a whole, suffers.
If Rodney Dangerfield was the King of self-deprecating humor Phyllis was surely the Queen. Her style of comedy was straightforward and pure. Her humor was quick one-line punches that always felt fresh and could entertain for hours.
Since her passing all the major media outlets have had pieces run about Phyllis and while all have put emphasis on her place in comedy history and have been informational I have found that the best article/quote on the matter has come from TMZ. TMZ spoke with Joan Rivers who said " The only tragedy in [Diller's] entire life is that she was funny in an era when you had to look funny to be funny."
The pioneers of modern comedy are slowly passing away and with each one the world becomes a sadder place. All we can hope for is that with the advent of YouTube their images, their words, their thoughts and their ideas continue to live on and inspire generations of clowns for years to come.
There are few people in North America who have not heard of Jerry Seinfeld. He was a wildly popular stand-up comic during the stand-up comedy boom of the 80's and early 90's. He found his way to success the way every comedian dreams of - he honed his craft in the clubs, he got on the tonight show and then got his own sitcom - during those boom years this was every comedians goal. Seinfeld just did it better those before him and it's arguable that no one has done it better since.
During the early stages of his incredibly successful sitcom "Seinfeld", Jerry capitalized on his fame and released a book filled with his material.(This also became a common step in the stages of success for comedians, Drew Carey, Jeff Foxworthy and Chris Rock to name a few put out books when their popularity hit a certain level). I was only nine years old when this book came out and while I was familiar with Seinfeld the show, I was not familiar with Seinfeld the comedian. When I finally reached that peak age of obsession I decided this would be a book that I would one day own and read however this turned out to be a rather exhausting experience. Trying to find a book that was initially published in 1993 in a genre that the bookstores do not generally offer much shelf space to even the new releases proved to be difficult. I did manage to find a copy in a downtown Toronto bookstore and I promptly read the hell out of this book.
"SeinLanguage" is as exactly as I described it earlier, it's a collection of Seinfeld's material in written form. If you are even remotely familiar with Seinfeld the comedian, many of the bits will be familiar but there are tons of material that you will likely have not heard. Based upon how many jokes are based off of antiquated technology it's not wonder much of this book felt like fresh material to my eyes. He jokes on answering machines and car phones and these bits do not hit as hard today as they would have when people still used answering machines and car phones. Regardless, "SeinLanguage" is at it's best when Seinfeld is talking about the mundane and ordinary. It's what Jerry has made his career off of and its those bits that still have an element of truth almost twenty years later that will make you laugh out loud or lol. So be forewarned if you plan on reading this on the subway or in a crowed cafeteria.
Many(or all) of these bits have since been retired by Jerry in his comedy special, "I'm telling you for the last time." and his return to stand-up with all new material was wonderfully documented in the movie "Comedian." I have since had the opportunity to see Jerry perform live and loved his new material. It's very family oriented and geared toward the "joys" of having a family and family responsibilities.
SeinLanguage is one of the easiest reads I have ever had and truth be told, because I was so excited to read it, I plowed through it which I know affected the timing and delivery of the jokes in my mind. So my recommendation would be to find yourself some time when you can read it slowly and hear Seinfeld reading the book to you. Unless of course you have enough money then just hire him to actually read it to you.
An excerpt from the introduction of SeinLangauge:
"But the pressure is on you now. This book is filled with funny ideas but you have to provide the delivery. So when you read it, remember - timing, inflection, attitude. That's comedy. I've done my part. The performance is up to you."
Some years ago when I first began to start taking comedy seriously and was thinking about giving it my first go at an "open mic" I stumbled across "George Carlin on Comedy"(GCOC). "George Carlin on Comedy" is an audio CD that was released on the Laugh.com record label and it's website boasts "You'll find out how Carlin became a star, and how you can be one too." As an aspiring comedian, who better to learn from than the person I idolize most I thought?
I can remember listening and re-listening to this CD back then as I prepared and practiced my routine and this week as I was preparing to go back on stage for the first time in five years, I found it, dusted it off and gave it a listen for some last minute inspiration.
What I found was some interesting insights from arguably the greatest comedian of all time. The interview is conducted by Larry Wilde over the course of several separate interviews that were edited together to produce something comprehensive and helpful. In the liner notes it states "This interview was recorded long ago on analog tape in the subject's office, home or dressing room and therefore may contain background noise, tape hiss and other anomalies associated with early recording equipment." Which does help explain why the interview appears, broken or scattered and there are times when the sound is far from ideal.
GGOC is divided into two parts: Part One is mostly a brief biography of George's life and his take on growing up and how it affected his future on stage. Part Two is mainly his take on the industry, his habits, routines and his advice for a new comedian. Part One is for the comedy nerd in all of us. Part Two is for those of us who dare brave the blinding lights and risk hearing crickets after spending hours crafting a joke that we believe will change the world like Carlin's "7 Dirty Words".
It's hard not to recommend listening to Carlin do anything let alone provide some candid insight into what he feels are prerequisites to becoming a comedian and how the industry works. Will you find out how to become a star comedian as the website claims? No, because as with anything the only way to get better is to practice, practice, practice but if your looking to aide your motivation along, this is as good a place to start as any.
This is normally where I would put a clip of some kind from the said item being reviewed however finding any additional information about this CD proved to be very difficult instead I have chosen a clip of Carlin being interviewed by Jon Stewart. Two of my idols on the same stage.
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis and Seth MacFarlane
Release Date: June 29th, 2012
I have a saying I used to like to pass along to my employees when I was in a position of power and that was, "They don't always respect that smartest guy in the room but they generally respect the hardest working." After watching "Ted" I get the sense that Seth MacFarlane is always both. There is no denying his work ethic(voice actor, writer, director, animator, producer and singer) or his quality of work(numerous Emmy nominations and wins as well as a Grammy nomination for his debut album) so it should come as no surprise that his debut film is one of the funniest movies I've seen in years.
MacFarlane writes, directs, produces and stars in Ted the story about a man and his teddy bear. What happens when an eight year-old boy has his wish come true and his teddy bear comes to life to be his best friend? They both grow up, they get jobs, they meet women and they experiment. And as in every man and teddy bear relationship there comes a time when Man(Mark Wahlberg) must choose between the love of his life(Mila Kunis) and his bear(Seth MacFarlane).
If you are familiar MacFarlane, you will be familiar with his style of comedy. It can appear random, it can be biting, edgy or shocking, it will be no holds bard and no topic will be off limits, but most of all, it will be funny. Right from the opening scene MacFarlane sets the tone for the movie getting the audience it's first belly laugh and it just continues from there. Ted is wonderfully animated and feels right at home on screen with the his two "A list" actor co-stars. It may seem odd but the chemistry between the three is remarkable. The surprising thing to me is that the shock value of seeing a teddy bear curse and drink(along with several other things) never really wears off.
However MacFarlane does not rely solely on Ted to carry the movie. He develops a solid love story/triangle with Wahberg and Kunis and this movie does have moments where it felt a bit like a romantic comedy. He keeps the pacing brisk and the laughs coming.
Over the years I've seen a lot of comedies and even the worst screenwriter can string together some cliches and get a laugh that's why so many of my reviews start off positive but usually end with a form of criticism However this movie does not get that from me. This is a star studded, finely written, well directed and niccly paced comedy that deserves your time and money.
Documentaries about stand-up comedy are becoming very common these days and I think it's because the topic is intriguing to even a casual fan of the art form. Anyone who has ever told a funny story to a group of friends and gotten a laugh has probably thought about trying it out on a real audience. That's where the fantasy ends for most people, as a brief thought. However for those who decide to try their hand at an "open mic" night at their local watering hole it can be an overwhelming experience.
"I Am Comic" is documentary that sets out to define what "stand-up" comedy is and what it's like. Jordan Brady(a comedian of some note in his own right) assembles a list of comedians too long to mention to go over such topics as(and I am paraphrasing a little here) dealing with hecklers, the anatomy of a joke, going on the road, taboo subjects, earning money etc.,
The comedians that Brady interviews all give very honest and real answers. This a rare glimpse into the mind of a comedian. There is very little self-promotion and only a few go for a laugh in their response. As an amateur comedian it is somewhat reassuring to see that even the people who are at the top of the industry have all paid their dues. In that regard this movie worked well.
Where the movie shines though is with the sub-plot of comedian Ritch Shydner who, while helping Brady assemble the list of comedians to interview, gets the itch to go back on stage after a thirteen year retirement. Ritch is a comedian with whom you will instantly recognize and say "oh yea, I remember him" and watching him tackle his first open mic after such a long hiatus is as compelling as anything I've ever seen.
Is this movie perfect? Not at all. Brady struggles at times balancing between his main topic which is as complex as any subject out there with his secondary story-line of following Ritch attempt to get his career going again. I found the latter to be the more intriguing of the two and I believe Brady did as well as the movie seems to shift focus and not as seamlessly as one would hope. To be fair it suffers from the fact that I have also seen Jerry Seinfeld's "Comedian" which is a far superior movie covering much of the same topics and in a much more concise way. In the end we get to see some of the top performing comedians give their insight into an industry and art form that has a relatively simple concept to grasp but nearly impossible to master and that alone makes this movie worth watching.
Good day eh, it's like Canada day up in the Great White North today and in honor I decided to fry up some back-bacon on the coleman right and get a sixer and listen to the two greatest hosers this country has like ever produced eh. So, this my review of Bob & Doug McKenzie's album "The Great White North". It's a beauty eh. The end.
Bob & Doug McKenzie - The Great White North
Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas
Originally released in 1981
One of the many things that makes Canada different than most nations is that we do not seem to take ourselves so seriously. We as a people take self deprecating humor to the extreme when we talk about our home and native land. It's not really that cold, our Army isn't that poorly equipped and our alcoholic tendencies are, at the very least, exaggerated. The Canadian stereotype is one that it is firmly rooted in our heritage at this point and one we take a certain amount of pride in and right at the beginning of our cultural image is the advent of "pop culture" and Bob and Doug McKenzie.
Bob & Doug McKenzie are fictional brothers played by Rick Moranis(Bob) and Dave Thomas(Doug) who first came to the spotlight after premiering as a sketch on the hit program SCTV(Second City Television). Initially the concept came about as a result of the CBC(Canada's Broadcasting Corporation) requesting that something on the show be uniquely Canadian. Moranis and Thomas gave them exactly what they wanted but thought they were mocking the system. Faced with the pressure to create something unabashedly Canadian on a show filled with Canadians and filmed in Canada they thought was a ridiculous request so they came up with the idea of the most stereotypical Canadians they could imagine. Enter Bob & Doug a couple of Canadians who wear toques, drink beer, smoke and eat nothing but back-bacon and donuts. The trouble was rather than "sticking it to the man" it became a major success in both Canada and the United States. At the peak of their popularity Bob & Doug McKenzie recorded an album for which they received a Grammy nomination and released a movie("Strange Brew"). They were Canada's answer to Cheech & Chong
After listening to their album late one night I will say this for all of the younger readers, you may not get this humor. It's certainly not "high brow" humor by any stretch of the imagination however the album does not age well. It is likely more a sign of the times as it is anything because the banter between Bob & Doug still feels fresh and envisioning you are there hanging out with them takes little imagination however something feels off. The album plays up jokes about the A side versus the B side that I'm not sure the average twenty something will truly appreciate. The stories told are clean and sterile with little bite to them which makes the album safe for literally anyone to listen to but it just adds to the feeling that it's lacking something.
What it's lacking is being able to see Bob & Doug interact with each other. In preparing for this article I easily spent close to an hour watching old sketches on Youtube and I will admit that I laughed harder at those clips than I ever did listening to the album. However, you would be a fool to pass up a chance to own a copy of "Bob & Doug McKenzie's: The Great White North" and give it a listen, if for nothing else than to relive a time when the comedy album still mattered. So grab a touque, a sixer, some back-bacon and turn the album on and just "Take off eh!"
Starring: Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen and Leslie Mann
Release Date: July 31st, 2009
Adam Sandler was at one point my life the funniest person in the world. "Billy Madison" came out when I was eleven and danced the line of being a PG 13 movie and I loved every minute of it. "The Waterboy" came out when I was fourteen and what fourteen year old boy couldn't relate to being an undersized misfit who somehow manages to find the strength to take on the bullies and be the hero. Not to mention hiding copies of his popular(yet R - rated) comedy CD's or Tapes from my parents. However sometime after 1999's "Big Daddy" I began to lose interest in Mr. Sandler. I never saw "Punch Drunk Love" and while movies like "Mr. Deeds", "Eight Crazy Nights" or "50 First Dates" were enjoyable time wasters, I seemed to lose my love for the man who I would quote throughout my teenage years. In fact his movies became so cookie cutter that I stopped getting excited by seeing Adam Sandler's named being associated with a movie. The movies I did have some hope for all too often let me down. "Grown Ups" was disappointing, as it could have been something special, but not nearly to the same extent that"I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry" let me down. Which explains why it took my nearly three years to see "Funny People".
In "Funny People" Sandler plays comedian George Simmons who is a megastar in the comedy world and is essentially a parody of Sandler. George is diagnosed with a rare form of Leukemia which is normally terminal but a new set of experimental drugs has been shown to work in eight percent of patients. It's George's only hope. Once diagnosed George takes to the stand-up stage to work out the emotions he's hiding behind his "always on" persona. He befriends a young and very green comedian Ira(Seth Rogan) who he hires to be his personal assistant and, in a lot of ways, his friend. George has to come to grips with his impending doom and take stock of his life. This of course leads us to "the one who got away", Laura(Leslie Mann). Will George rectify his life and give himself the happy ending that has avoided him all these years, or will he die an unhappy, unfulfilled thirty something year old man?
Writer and Director Judd Apatow has been responsible for bringing us some of the best comedies in the last ten years and his affection for those who make us laugh is very real and can be felt from beginning to end in this movie. He gets the absolute best out of Sandler and Rogen and gives the audience more than just another comedy. This movie ventures into the "dramadey" realm and on more than one occasion I felt a tear swelling in my eye.
"Funny People" does have it drawbacks and it is not without fault. The 146 min running time is at least fifteen minutes too long and there are moments that could have been left on the editing floor. Also, there are times when the comedy feels forced as if the movie had been too serious for too long and Apatow felt compelled to lighten the mood.
All that being said this instantly became one of my favorite movies of all time. It has a subject matter that I can relate too and fantasize about(this would be the equivalent of me being chosen to work for Louis C.K.), and it gave me a reason to root for one of my childhood idols again. Most importantly it moved me in a way I was not expecting and any movie that can do that deserves to be seen.
