A Message from the UPA

Here's something I wrote awhile back that I thought I'd share. Enjoy!

Jermaine Godsworthy
54 Roughside Rd.
Toronto, Ontario
L1E 4Z6

Dear Ms. Clarke

    My name is Jermaine Godsworthy and I am the current President of the Ugly People Association(UPA). It has been brought to my attention by one of our members that you have been making "funny faces" while at work to entertain your co-workers. While this may seem like an innocent and fun thing to do, I assure you this is no laughing matter.

    Were you aware that 1 out of every 3 people is deemed ugly? Those numbers are staggering. It is the most commonly held disability in all of North America and the tragic part is most suffer without ever being properly diagnosed.

    I beg of you on behalf of the UPA to please be more considerate and to stop making "funny faces". It is a terrible practice that should be outlawed, and with our growing movement, will be someday. Should you insist on continuing this egregious practice we, the UPA, will have no choice but to seek disciplinary action from your corporate offices, up to and including termination.

Thank you for your attention to this matter,

Jermaine Godsworthy
President
Ugly People Association
jermainegods@upa.com

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A Charitable Review

    On Friday December 17th, the Durham Improv group held a "Night of Comedy" at the Dubliner Irish Pub & Restaurant with proceeds going to The Denise House (an emergency shelter for abused women and their children).

    The night began with the emcees (Christian Pritchard & Kasia Bodurka) taking the stage and getting the crowd warmed up, while working through some audio technical difficulties. They handled the minor blip like pros and brought on stage Kyle Lucey who preformed stand-up comedy. Kyle's confidence, animated delivery, and current themes (Facebook stalking, etc.) won the crowd over. The crowd was now good and ready for what some people (okay, me) are calling the highlight of the show: Sheri Prescott's grade 12 Improv class.

    The eight performers (Brandon Paris, Kash Reddick, Meghan Williamson, Sarah Clancy, James Keating, Alex Jackson, A.J. Fisico and Hunter Birch) took the stage, and their "stage presence" was enormous; they seemed to command people's attention. The group preformed classic Improv games (like the ones found on "Whose Line Is It Anyways?") including a few I had never seen before, which was a pleasant surprise. There were a lot of young, up-and-coming talent on the stage at that moment, and one can't help but wonder if we'll look back at this one day and say, "I knew them when...".

    As hard as it was to follow Sheri's class, Adam Wilkinson, Kendra Hughes, Kyle Lucey and Bryan Hudgin came on next to preform some sketch comedy. There was a sketch about "the Beast" from Beauty and The Beast being trained by the "Dog Whisper" as well as (arguably) the world's worst date. These were both well written and acted, but the initial audio problems continued and the pub seemed to be very loud with conversations, so only the first couple of tables were able to truly enjoy these pieces, which is a shame as they were very funny.

    Before a brief intermission, we highlighted what we were there for: The Denise House. The Denise House at this time of year is always at or near maximum capacity, and they need all the support they can get. I encourage you to visit The Denise House website and give in anyway you can for a very good cause.

    Finally the Durham Improv group took the stage. With the audio problems cleaned up and a now slightly drunker audience, Stephanie Herrera, Sheri Prescot, Nick Dipchand, Adam Wilkinson, Kyle Lucey, Arylnne Ruiter, Bryan Hudgin and I took the stage for some long-form Improv. The 20 minute set was one of the craziest, longest, bizarre, story-lines that I have ever had the privilege to be a part of, and we made it work. The audience loved it (granted, maybe not as much as the performers did) but it was a fitting end to successful night.

A Very Wordy Review

This week I take a listen to the latest offering by Bo Burnham.

Words, Words, Words

Bo Burnham

Recorded on June 30, 2010 at Carolines on Broadway

Released: October 19, 2010

    Bo Burnham may not be the most recognizable name to a lot of my readers and that's what makes a review like this so enjoyable. My brother first turned me on to Bo Burnham about two years ago when he got me to watch some of Bo's now infamous Youtube video's. I was instantly hooked and as someone who considers himself a "comedy conisouer" viewed Bo as a force to be recoknoed with even back then.

    As I listened to Words, Words, Words, one predominate thought kept running through my head: "If he can keep up this level of quality for his career we are witnessing the development of a comedy a legend." Bo raps through most of his songs and does so with crude, thought provoking lyrics that are delivered at break neck speeds and its because of this that one doesn't truly appreciate a lot of what Bo talks about until one listens to the album a couple of times. He's clever, quick witted and a master linguist.  What causes Bo to stand out from the rest is the obvious brains behind the sexually charged lyrics. Many, MANY comedians try to use vulgar language to hide their lack of content but Bo uses it to show his understanding of how it  and how it can be made funny. 

    Every track is enjoyable and will have you laughing and thinking at the same time. My single complaint with the album could be viewed as a compliment and that is the production values on the track "Rant" may be too good. I found myself engrossed in the beat and rhythm on that song and paid very little attention to what Bo was talking about.

    Needless to say at this point, if you have never heard Bo before or listened to one of his albums what are you waiting for...we are witness the development of a legend.

Now here's two tracks from Words, Words, Words and one from Bo Burnham(Bo's first album)

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Being Offended By Nothing

    I apologize for not posting more frequently. Life, as it is one to do this time of year, keeps getting in the way.

    About two months ago I got rid of my cable package and now my household does not have The Comedy Network(I know it feels like a sin for someone like myself) and as such I lost my daily dose of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Unless I happen to catch it at midnight on a basic cable station however that does not happen very often as I am usually sleeping or still at work however three nights ago I was able catch an episode of the smartest show on television.

    Jon decided to take on The War on Christmas and Jon put together ONE OF THE BEST SEGMENTS I HAVE EVER SEEN ON THE SHOW. The clip is long(over 9min) so only view if you have the time but it's definitely worth it. Even if your not normally a Jon Stewart fan I think any reasonable thinking person will be able to appreciate what Jon does here. 

    Normally I would simply place the video here for you to enjoy however Comedy Central is(understandably so) protective of their biggest money maker and does not allow their videos to be embedded here in Canada unlike the Youtube videos I post so you will have to visit the following link and watch a brief commercial then enjoy...

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart - The War on Christmas

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A Self Indulgent Post

    Please forgive a moment of sheer self indulgence on my part. Below is a GIANT poster of an upcoming comedy event that I will be taking part in. Get a group together and contact me directly for tickets. You'd hate to be turned away at the door.

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A Grown Up Review by an Immature Man

Grown Ups

Starring: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider and David Spade

Released: June 25, 2010

    When "Grown Ups" was first released this past summer I had many of my friends wonder why I didn't appear overly excited about seeing it. The movie on paper appeared to have everything I would want and more, but there was something holding me back. Regardless of the reason I did miss my opportunity to see "Grown Ups" in theaters largely due to a review I read about the movie in a local Toronto paper. Which proves one thing. I do know how to read.

    The review that I read had described "Grown Ups" as more of a "gross out comedy"  starring five men who are longing to recapture their youth on film, which proves one thing. The reviewer in question only paid attention to one scene. 

    "Grown Ups", at his heart, is an attempt at a "dramedy" for middle aged men. The characters are relate-able and familiar(we've seen all these characters before just with different names) and the script is well acted. However there's something missing that stopped me from truly loving this movie. 

    It's not a lack of talent. All of the lead actors are at their best here and the supporting cast(including the children) are excellent.

    It's not a lack of humour. On several occasions I found myself laughing out loud(or LOL'ing for you young kids).

    What it's lacking is direction. I wanted this movie to be more serious. I wanted to feel a deeper connection to all of the characters. I wanted the serious and heart and warming moments to last longer and not be interrupted by ill timed jokes. But sadly, all too often just when the viewer is starting to feel something that could have a lasting effect on them a joke or sight gag is inputed and ruins the moment.

    In the end I'm glad I watched "Grown Ups" and would happily recommend it. It's an enjoyable film, with an excellent cast and an attempt at something that hasn't been done well in years. However, Adam Sandler and crew had a chance to do something special with this script and this movie but instead it becomes another average movie worth watching a couple of times then forgetting about.

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