In the interim between episodes, NBC or some other lowlife has posted an Internet video of Andy Kindler ranting, Mel Gibson-style, at an LCS contestant. I don't think it's particularly funny, and I wonder if it was Andy's idea, or if the network made him do it.
Back to the show. We have a new ad: A woman and a man lounging in beach chairs, side by side, reading their Kindles. The imagery reminds me of another ad campaign. Sure, she's reading, but he isn't—everyone knows men don't read. He's waiting for the Cialis to kick in.
And saints be praised, we have two musical bits, both of which work. I'll get to one later. The other involves Craig Robinson asking for a drum roll and getting one—on a steel drum. Droll drum roll.
We eventually learn that Rachel Feinstein has been eliminated. Looking back on last week, her naïve/sarcastic character rant about Las Vegas not being the center of the universe's sweetness may have run a bit long. In light of the elimination of Feinstein and Adomian, it looks like people are not into characters.
With only six performing, there's time for each to have a little pre-recorded skit before their bit of stand-up.
Jonathan Thymius has a cute little film about his side business, the Comedy O Gram. His on-stage stuff is the usual: slow, baffling, and sporadically hilarious. (Best line: "Birds.") The judges are puzzled and admiring.
Next up is Roy Wood, Jr., who [We interrupt this blog for a bout of antenna wrestling. Channel 2's broadcast seems to be at war with, well, the atmosphere. Jeez. I mean, would you buy a car if it doesn't get along with, um, roads? So I'm up there, twisting the rabbit ears back and forth, and random unfunny digitized bits are popping up on my TV. Communication is not happening. When I finally start getting a coherent signal, the judges are congratulating Roy for being his usual brilliant self. Luckily NBC makes the episode available for replay on the Internet.]
As I was saying, Roy Wood, Jr., tries to get his mom to wear a sling on her arm to garner sympathy. I give that one polite heh. OK Roy, but our hearts already went out to you when you told us you were from Alabama, our world's third world. In his stand-up bit, Roy talks about a guy who thinks there's a racist conspiracy to short him on chicken nuggets. Then he switches to octomommery: These women who take fertility drugs and end up with multiple births shouldn't keep all the babies; they could go on a show called Last Baby Standing! Pretty funny. In his critique, Andy works in a reference to "Dance Your Ass Off," which is a callback to that video I mentioned earlier. Did Andy do that on his own, or was he "encouraged"?
Myq Kaplan's film is a little song he performs, accompanying himself on guitar. Pretty funny stuff. His stand-up is about cell phone avatars, final (non-)burial instructions, and a run on one of the Final Destination movies. (He kind of assumes people haven't heard of the movie series, but isn't it popular among young audiences?) A lot of Kaplan's humor is, "This is how clever I am. See me being clever? I overwhelm you with my cleverness and my superiority to most of the world." Luckily, he really is quite clever. Natasha delivers an interesting critique—that he would win Last Comedy Writer Standing—which a lot of people probably felt was a put-down; I took it to be a slightly left-handed compliment.
Tommy Johnagin's intro plays up his middle-America roots; he's from St. Louis, and thus America's comic. He does a rapid-fire routine that goes from pregnancy to baby care to a run on masturbation. The judges all think he was very funny, and Andy likes his posture.
Mike DeStefano's little film shows him getting a manicure and pedicure. At the mike, he talks about heroin addiction, has a "good one" about a submission to a Chinese restaurant suggestion box ("free Tibet"), and disses a Blackberry addict. I loved the judges' comments: Natasha—your core audience is in prison; Greg—one of the few likable violent people; and Andy—best set yet.
Felipe Esparza is introduced with a clip on his East L.A. workout routine, which is pretty funny. He talks about Arizona's anti-illegal immigrant law and custody sharing.
My rankings, from top to bottom: Johnagin, Wood, Kaplan, DeStefano, Esparza, Thymius. Yes, I'm hammering on Jonathan Thymius every week. But it would be a pleasure to see his act; I just rank him below these other talented comics.
One more comic will be eliminated. Next week will be the final performance show. (Although I am hoping in the finale Robinson, Kindler, Leggero, and Giraldo will all get a chance to do a bit of stand-up; I'd like to see what they've got.)
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
LCS 2010: Final 7
So ... the comics eliminated were James Adomian, Laurie Kilmartin, and Maronzio Vance. Adomian was my slight favorite last week, but apparently John Adams jokes are not comedy gold.
Seven comics this time, and the judges are back! (Apparently with ten comics performing the producers realized there wouldn't be time to pick up the judges' reactions, but with seven comics they can squeeze the judges in.)
Mike DeStefano starts off the night with a routine that flows nicely. His first joke is about ridiculously expensive soap—which must be so good it can wash out shame; and that leads to him talking about his childhood and his difficulty expressing emotions; and that leads to some relationship jokes. Everyone loves Mike's jokes and persona.
Roy Wood, Jr., talks about soccer, student loans, and black-latino relations. That last bit is especially smart and insightful, and I worry that the general public won't get it. (It involves remembering that there was a civil rights struggle.) The judges like his material and his soothing voice.
Myq Kaplan spends most of his routine making fun of dumb people (who think if someone is smart they must be gay [?]) and emphazising that he is gay-friendly but not actually gay. I've been slowly warming up to Myq and like his set tonight, as do the judges.
Rachel Feinstein does a nice character bit about a drunk propositioning her in Vegas. The judges all love her, though Natasha points out that some viewers may find her Deepak Chopra reference obscure. (See: John Adams.)
Tommy Johnagin jokes about hot girls being dull, a breakup that turned him into a stalker, and a car that wouldn't start because the starter was broken. Natasha like him but didn't think he brought his best material; Greg and Andy approve.
Felipe Esparza is pretty funny while leaning heavily on ethnic humor. Natasha points out that his jokes were "easy" (possibly a nice way of saying they bordered on lazy or clichéd?), and Andy says even if one doesn't like the jokes, one has to like the guy delivering them. Greg loves the set.
And Jonathan Thymius (who I thought would be one of the three eliminated) brings his brand of slow comedy. He has one of the funniest jokes of the night, about going to a massage parlor and getting a more plausible, realistic ending (which Andy cites). But he also has some gags that don't quite work. Natasha calls him silly, gross, and weird, while Greg says he's funny to watch. Early in the series Thymius was one of my favorites, but I'm cooling to him.
How would I rank tonight's routines? From top to bottom, I'd go with DeStefano, Johnagin, Wood, and Kaplan bunched tightly together; followed by Feinstein; followed by Esparza and Thymius, also closely ranked. But even my least favorite bits were funny. One comic will be eliminated, but I have no idea which one.
Seven comics this time, and the judges are back! (Apparently with ten comics performing the producers realized there wouldn't be time to pick up the judges' reactions, but with seven comics they can squeeze the judges in.)
Mike DeStefano starts off the night with a routine that flows nicely. His first joke is about ridiculously expensive soap—which must be so good it can wash out shame; and that leads to him talking about his childhood and his difficulty expressing emotions; and that leads to some relationship jokes. Everyone loves Mike's jokes and persona.
Roy Wood, Jr., talks about soccer, student loans, and black-latino relations. That last bit is especially smart and insightful, and I worry that the general public won't get it. (It involves remembering that there was a civil rights struggle.) The judges like his material and his soothing voice.
Myq Kaplan spends most of his routine making fun of dumb people (who think if someone is smart they must be gay [?]) and emphazising that he is gay-friendly but not actually gay. I've been slowly warming up to Myq and like his set tonight, as do the judges.
Rachel Feinstein does a nice character bit about a drunk propositioning her in Vegas. The judges all love her, though Natasha points out that some viewers may find her Deepak Chopra reference obscure. (See: John Adams.)
Tommy Johnagin jokes about hot girls being dull, a breakup that turned him into a stalker, and a car that wouldn't start because the starter was broken. Natasha like him but didn't think he brought his best material; Greg and Andy approve.
Felipe Esparza is pretty funny while leaning heavily on ethnic humor. Natasha points out that his jokes were "easy" (possibly a nice way of saying they bordered on lazy or clichéd?), and Andy says even if one doesn't like the jokes, one has to like the guy delivering them. Greg loves the set.
And Jonathan Thymius (who I thought would be one of the three eliminated) brings his brand of slow comedy. He has one of the funniest jokes of the night, about going to a massage parlor and getting a more plausible, realistic ending (which Andy cites). But he also has some gags that don't quite work. Natasha calls him silly, gross, and weird, while Greg says he's funny to watch. Early in the series Thymius was one of my favorites, but I'm cooling to him.
How would I rank tonight's routines? From top to bottom, I'd go with DeStefano, Johnagin, Wood, and Kaplan bunched tightly together; followed by Feinstein; followed by Esparza and Thymius, also closely ranked. But even my least favorite bits were funny. One comic will be eliminated, but I have no idea which one.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Under the Radar
Sometimes laziness is good. Or at least it can produce good results, by accident.
Like most papers in the U.S., the Houston Chronicle can't be bothered to review every Bollywood film that comes to town. Or any, actually. So if you're curious about some Hindi film that's showing here, you have to go to Google, or one of the review aggregator sites.
Which is how I found this fun review in the Times of India for the film I Hate Luv Storys. I'm not going to see the movie, but I'm grateful it came to town so I could read the review.
Like most papers in the U.S., the Houston Chronicle can't be bothered to review every Bollywood film that comes to town. Or any, actually. So if you're curious about some Hindi film that's showing here, you have to go to Google, or one of the review aggregator sites.
Which is how I found this fun review in the Times of India for the film I Hate Luv Storys. I'm not going to see the movie, but I'm grateful it came to town so I could read the review.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Advertising for Myself
I've just posted a review of The Missing Person, a detective film starring Michael Shannon, on my blog Second-Chance Cinema.
The Poor Man's Comfort
Some of the people I live among would appear to exist on the margin of society. I was passing one such neighbor today when something occurred to me:
No matter how poor you are, they can never repossess your tattoos.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
LCS 2010: Final 10
Tonight each of the final 10 comics does 2½ minutes of comedy, and the TV audience votes on its favorite; the 3 lowest vote-getters are to be eliminated.
Laurie Kilmartin takes a very long time getting around to a punch line about the "other" woman (with whom her husband was having an affair) being a bad speller. Are we laughing yet? She goes on to talk about her 3-year-old son, and finishes with a darker ending to The Little Engine That Could. Seemed pretty weak.
Felipe Esparza tells a whole series of unrelated jokes, including one about an encounter with a cop which I just didn't get. He leads off with the best—a gag about sharing bunk beds with his brother, and the brother sharing the upper bunk with a wife. Again, not a strong set.
Roy Wood, Jr., does an extended bit about a sports fan mistaking his Izod logo for a Florida Gator; for me the humor didn't build but petered out. He then questioned the popularity of swimming as a sport, and he described his failure as a Career Day speaker (he made the mistake of telling the truth). The last bit was the best, which is how a routine is supposed to work.
Maronzio Vance comes up with an original bit about Pay Attention Man and his sidekick Didn't He Tell You; the bit could have been developed a bit more, but maybe Vance didn't want to invest all his time in one gag. Instead, he goes with a bit which says, in essence, "If you can spell chlamydia, you must have it! Har har!" I'm sure the 12-year-olds in the audience were laughing their heads off.
Rachel Feinstein talks about her mother and grandmother being experts on rap. Apparently middle-aged and older Jewish ladies taking an interest in rap is just a scream. For some.
Tommy Johnagin talks about his mother and his grandmother, and how his grandfather drove a car into a beauty salon. And then he finishes with a couple of ugly stripper jokes.
Jonathan Thymius takes a slow approach to his 2½ minutes; at one point the room goes completely silent. He fiddles with the microphone, does a few weak gags, belches, and pretends his failure is due to lack of juggling equipment.
James Adomian goes after Aesop for being judgmental, and does an extended imitation of Paul Giamatti as a self-loathing John Adams.
Mike DeStefano talks about a friend with too much self-esteem, does a black guys/white guys joke, and tells an anecdote about his work as a drug counselor.
Myq Kaplan talks about his grandmother's work in the grammar police; being a vegan; street musicians; and the correct way of pointing.
It seems like everyone brought their B material this week. Maybe they all figured their chances of continuing were 7 out of 10. I thought Adomian was the best this week (though how much of the audience will make sense of the John Adams material?). Who will be eliminated? Probably Thymius; his style seems like the worst fit to the short time allowed. Maybe Kilmartin and Esparza, but I'm a poor judge of what will be popular.
This was a strong field, despite the weak material tonight. I'm sure each of the 10 could give a very solid 15-minute routine.
Other than the brief time allowed per routine, this format may be the best at sorting out the talent. But I will miss the old format of comics declaring, "I know I'm funnier than ...", followed by an elimination duel between the least respected comic and one or more of their adversaries. Season 1 is still my favorite, with Rich Vos and Dave Mordal scheming (unsuccessfully) against Dat Phan. (Perhaps that whole rivalry was a put-on.) Comics were thrown into odd competitions to try to get an exemption from the showdown. Sometimes these tested their mettle as a comic, and sometimes (often) these were just stupid. One of the better ones was when comics were turned loose in a department store to gather material for prop comedy; the routines were judged, of course, by Carrot Top. Regardless of these side contests, many comics stayed in the overall competition by keeping their heads down. It wasn't fair or a pure measure of comic talent; often it was cheesy and embarrassing; but it was kind of entertaining.
Laurie Kilmartin takes a very long time getting around to a punch line about the "other" woman (with whom her husband was having an affair) being a bad speller. Are we laughing yet? She goes on to talk about her 3-year-old son, and finishes with a darker ending to The Little Engine That Could. Seemed pretty weak.
Felipe Esparza tells a whole series of unrelated jokes, including one about an encounter with a cop which I just didn't get. He leads off with the best—a gag about sharing bunk beds with his brother, and the brother sharing the upper bunk with a wife. Again, not a strong set.
Roy Wood, Jr., does an extended bit about a sports fan mistaking his Izod logo for a Florida Gator; for me the humor didn't build but petered out. He then questioned the popularity of swimming as a sport, and he described his failure as a Career Day speaker (he made the mistake of telling the truth). The last bit was the best, which is how a routine is supposed to work.
Maronzio Vance comes up with an original bit about Pay Attention Man and his sidekick Didn't He Tell You; the bit could have been developed a bit more, but maybe Vance didn't want to invest all his time in one gag. Instead, he goes with a bit which says, in essence, "If you can spell chlamydia, you must have it! Har har!" I'm sure the 12-year-olds in the audience were laughing their heads off.
Rachel Feinstein talks about her mother and grandmother being experts on rap. Apparently middle-aged and older Jewish ladies taking an interest in rap is just a scream. For some.
Tommy Johnagin talks about his mother and his grandmother, and how his grandfather drove a car into a beauty salon. And then he finishes with a couple of ugly stripper jokes.
Jonathan Thymius takes a slow approach to his 2½ minutes; at one point the room goes completely silent. He fiddles with the microphone, does a few weak gags, belches, and pretends his failure is due to lack of juggling equipment.
James Adomian goes after Aesop for being judgmental, and does an extended imitation of Paul Giamatti as a self-loathing John Adams.
Mike DeStefano talks about a friend with too much self-esteem, does a black guys/white guys joke, and tells an anecdote about his work as a drug counselor.
Myq Kaplan talks about his grandmother's work in the grammar police; being a vegan; street musicians; and the correct way of pointing.
It seems like everyone brought their B material this week. Maybe they all figured their chances of continuing were 7 out of 10. I thought Adomian was the best this week (though how much of the audience will make sense of the John Adams material?). Who will be eliminated? Probably Thymius; his style seems like the worst fit to the short time allowed. Maybe Kilmartin and Esparza, but I'm a poor judge of what will be popular.
This was a strong field, despite the weak material tonight. I'm sure each of the 10 could give a very solid 15-minute routine.
Other than the brief time allowed per routine, this format may be the best at sorting out the talent. But I will miss the old format of comics declaring, "I know I'm funnier than ...", followed by an elimination duel between the least respected comic and one or more of their adversaries. Season 1 is still my favorite, with Rich Vos and Dave Mordal scheming (unsuccessfully) against Dat Phan. (Perhaps that whole rivalry was a put-on.) Comics were thrown into odd competitions to try to get an exemption from the showdown. Sometimes these tested their mettle as a comic, and sometimes (often) these were just stupid. One of the better ones was when comics were turned loose in a department store to gather material for prop comedy; the routines were judged, of course, by Carrot Top. Regardless of these side contests, many comics stayed in the overall competition by keeping their heads down. It wasn't fair or a pure measure of comic talent; often it was cheesy and embarrassing; but it was kind of entertaining.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
LCS 2010: Semi-Finals Day 2
So tonight one of our sponsors is a diabetes test; and we also have a repeat of the Plavix commercial (for people who've had a heart attack and don't want another). Good to know the show is staying true to its audience.
And Craig Robinson has trouble staying in the spotlight, because OMG the lights are being run by a cigar-chomping chimp! Can this show get any more cutting-edge?
Among the judges, it's Greg Giraldo's night to shine; he's sharp and interacts well with the comics. Andy's funny too, and Natasha is lively and cheerful. And I suspect she (and probably the other judges, though I'm not paying as close attention) wears the same low-cut outfit as Day 1 so that if they want to the producers can dice and slice and move "Day 1" acts to "Day 2" and vice-versa.
At one point I want to call the judges the Sanhedrin, but that feels vaguely incorrect.
Roy Wood, Jr., starts things off. In his audition I liked his writing, but tonight he brings the whole package, writing and delivery. He talks about bad dates, and cryptic wedding invitations, and how men prepare for the possibility of sex on a date, and how women prepare for the possibility of fighting off sex on a date. All original and funny stuff, and I already want to see him in the final ten.
Fortune Feimster tells a story that revolves around her less-than-stunning looks (and her status as a lesbian). I like her, but I'm only lukewarm on the material, which isn't much more than, hey everybody, look at me, I'm a lesbian stereotype.
Jerry Rocha (from Dallas) does some OK gags, the best of which is an impersonation of a customer service woman at a credit card company.
Guy Torry jokes about Obama; claims to be tripolar; and makes fun of Hillary Clinton in the Iowa caucuses, which manages to be both a dated and obscure reference. The audition joke about the girlfriend with hot sauce in her Louis Vuitton purse may have actually been funnier. Anyway, the judges are unimpressed, and Torry kind of goes off, knowing he's doomed.
Jacob Sirof starts off saying, "That was awkward," acknowledging Torry's meltdown. He makes fun of motorcycle jackets, and then he does an extended bit about breaking into a friend's home and hugging the sleeping friend. I think it was supposed to be about discomfort with possibly gay behavior or something. Maybe I'll wake up tonight understanding the joke and laugh.
Nikki Glaser talks about the advantages of having a baby when you're a teen (your parents are still young enough to raise the kid themselves) which I thought was pretty funny. She then tells some abortion jokes which are probably supposed to be edgy but just feel awkward.
Taylor Williamson is a sort of shlubby fellow who reminds me a bit of Max Wright (though there's not really much resemblance). He tells some strange jokes about a labradoodle and about a camel with tiny humps which I kind of like even though they are puzzling and kind of feel like a misfire.
Nick Cobb does a bit about being stoned when his girlfriend dumps him. I think the jokes are OK, but the judges prefer his other material.
Mike Vecchione talks about his Catholic upbringing, his father's gambling problem, and street hoods using babies as jewelry. Pretty funny.
Cristela Alonzo says she's from the Mexican part of Texas, i.e., Texas. Maybe you have to live in Texas to get the joke. Growing up, she felt sorry for girls with common names; if you were Jennifer, for instance, the kids would have to use a nickname to distinguish you from the other Jennifers—and who wants to be called "mustache Jennifer"? Again we have an instance where the judges prefer a comic's other material.
Kurt Metzger does a bit about Tiger Woods's press conference and throws in a jab at Lady Gaga. Metzger is my favorite comic, but this isn't quite his best.
Laurie Kilmartin continues her bad mother act, and she does a funny bit about a Russian boyfriend.
Tommy Johnagin jokes about babies, pregnancy, and kissing. Say, aren't those in reverse chronological order? Anyway, he aggressively presses the judges to know if he's a finalist. They love his act and his ambition.
Claudia Cogan tells jokes about temp workers. Not great.
Maronzio Vance asks why you get a credit check when you apply for a job; after all, one of the reasons for having a job is to improve your credit. His grandfather once told him to just show up somewhere and start working. (If he isn't picked for the finals, will he show up there anyway?)
Jason Nash imitates baby monitor noises (not too funny) and discusses the proper use of "f* it" by a three-year-old (very funny). The judges are familiar with his act and all love him.
James Adomian complains about a friend who insists he watch "Lost"—all 200-or-so hours. He's also into Gary Busey's weirdness. The judges think he's fantastic and want him to do impressions.
Carmen Lynch talks about Latinos who want to be her boyfriend; they are much shorter than she is and follow her around. I found myself laughing, then thinking, "Hey wait, was that racist?" I like Lynch's deadpan style and wish she had used some other material.
Finally, Brian McKim talks about a place with fine food and adult toys, and he tells pee jokes involving five-year-olds in Phoenix. He's pretty funny, but this is probably the end for him, which is a shame, because he and his wife have a nice blog at sheckymagazine.com.
The comics are called out in groups.
Group 1: Jacob Sirof, James Adomian, Jerry Rocha, Claudia Cogan, and Guy Torry. Torry's no fool; he's carrying his luggage. Adomian is announced as the finalist.
Group 2: Carmen Lynch, Tom Shillue, Roy Wood, Jr., Jason Nash, and Kurt Metzger. Wood deservedly gets the finalist slot, though it's a shame to lose Metzger.
Group 3: Laurie Kilmartin, Nick Cobb, Fortune Feimster, David Cope, and Cristela Alonzo. Kilmartin gets the nod.
Group 4: Nikki Glaser, Taylor Williamson, Tommy Johnagin, and Brian McKim. It's Johnagin.
Group 5: Maronzio Vance and Mike Vecchione. Vance is the finalist.
(Shillue in Group 2 and Cope in Group 3 were actually edited out of the show, but were identified by McKim in his blog and can be seen in a few group shots.)
And Craig Robinson has trouble staying in the spotlight, because OMG the lights are being run by a cigar-chomping chimp! Can this show get any more cutting-edge?
Among the judges, it's Greg Giraldo's night to shine; he's sharp and interacts well with the comics. Andy's funny too, and Natasha is lively and cheerful. And I suspect she (and probably the other judges, though I'm not paying as close attention) wears the same low-cut outfit as Day 1 so that if they want to the producers can dice and slice and move "Day 1" acts to "Day 2" and vice-versa.
At one point I want to call the judges the Sanhedrin, but that feels vaguely incorrect.
Roy Wood, Jr., starts things off. In his audition I liked his writing, but tonight he brings the whole package, writing and delivery. He talks about bad dates, and cryptic wedding invitations, and how men prepare for the possibility of sex on a date, and how women prepare for the possibility of fighting off sex on a date. All original and funny stuff, and I already want to see him in the final ten.
Fortune Feimster tells a story that revolves around her less-than-stunning looks (and her status as a lesbian). I like her, but I'm only lukewarm on the material, which isn't much more than, hey everybody, look at me, I'm a lesbian stereotype.
Jerry Rocha (from Dallas) does some OK gags, the best of which is an impersonation of a customer service woman at a credit card company.
Guy Torry jokes about Obama; claims to be tripolar; and makes fun of Hillary Clinton in the Iowa caucuses, which manages to be both a dated and obscure reference. The audition joke about the girlfriend with hot sauce in her Louis Vuitton purse may have actually been funnier. Anyway, the judges are unimpressed, and Torry kind of goes off, knowing he's doomed.
Jacob Sirof starts off saying, "That was awkward," acknowledging Torry's meltdown. He makes fun of motorcycle jackets, and then he does an extended bit about breaking into a friend's home and hugging the sleeping friend. I think it was supposed to be about discomfort with possibly gay behavior or something. Maybe I'll wake up tonight understanding the joke and laugh.
Nikki Glaser talks about the advantages of having a baby when you're a teen (your parents are still young enough to raise the kid themselves) which I thought was pretty funny. She then tells some abortion jokes which are probably supposed to be edgy but just feel awkward.
Taylor Williamson is a sort of shlubby fellow who reminds me a bit of Max Wright (though there's not really much resemblance). He tells some strange jokes about a labradoodle and about a camel with tiny humps which I kind of like even though they are puzzling and kind of feel like a misfire.
Nick Cobb does a bit about being stoned when his girlfriend dumps him. I think the jokes are OK, but the judges prefer his other material.
Mike Vecchione talks about his Catholic upbringing, his father's gambling problem, and street hoods using babies as jewelry. Pretty funny.
Cristela Alonzo says she's from the Mexican part of Texas, i.e., Texas. Maybe you have to live in Texas to get the joke. Growing up, she felt sorry for girls with common names; if you were Jennifer, for instance, the kids would have to use a nickname to distinguish you from the other Jennifers—and who wants to be called "mustache Jennifer"? Again we have an instance where the judges prefer a comic's other material.
Kurt Metzger does a bit about Tiger Woods's press conference and throws in a jab at Lady Gaga. Metzger is my favorite comic, but this isn't quite his best.
Laurie Kilmartin continues her bad mother act, and she does a funny bit about a Russian boyfriend.
Tommy Johnagin jokes about babies, pregnancy, and kissing. Say, aren't those in reverse chronological order? Anyway, he aggressively presses the judges to know if he's a finalist. They love his act and his ambition.
Claudia Cogan tells jokes about temp workers. Not great.
Maronzio Vance asks why you get a credit check when you apply for a job; after all, one of the reasons for having a job is to improve your credit. His grandfather once told him to just show up somewhere and start working. (If he isn't picked for the finals, will he show up there anyway?)
Jason Nash imitates baby monitor noises (not too funny) and discusses the proper use of "f* it" by a three-year-old (very funny). The judges are familiar with his act and all love him.
James Adomian complains about a friend who insists he watch "Lost"—all 200-or-so hours. He's also into Gary Busey's weirdness. The judges think he's fantastic and want him to do impressions.
Carmen Lynch talks about Latinos who want to be her boyfriend; they are much shorter than she is and follow her around. I found myself laughing, then thinking, "Hey wait, was that racist?" I like Lynch's deadpan style and wish she had used some other material.
Finally, Brian McKim talks about a place with fine food and adult toys, and he tells pee jokes involving five-year-olds in Phoenix. He's pretty funny, but this is probably the end for him, which is a shame, because he and his wife have a nice blog at sheckymagazine.com.
The comics are called out in groups.
Group 1: Jacob Sirof, James Adomian, Jerry Rocha, Claudia Cogan, and Guy Torry. Torry's no fool; he's carrying his luggage. Adomian is announced as the finalist.
Group 2: Carmen Lynch, Tom Shillue, Roy Wood, Jr., Jason Nash, and Kurt Metzger. Wood deservedly gets the finalist slot, though it's a shame to lose Metzger.
Group 3: Laurie Kilmartin, Nick Cobb, Fortune Feimster, David Cope, and Cristela Alonzo. Kilmartin gets the nod.
Group 4: Nikki Glaser, Taylor Williamson, Tommy Johnagin, and Brian McKim. It's Johnagin.
Group 5: Maronzio Vance and Mike Vecchione. Vance is the finalist.
(Shillue in Group 2 and Cope in Group 3 were actually edited out of the show, but were identified by McKim in his blog and can be seen in a few group shots.)
Sunday, July 4, 2010
A Normal Pare Activity
I watched the film Paranormal Activity on DVD this weekend. It was about a day trader, Micah, and his girlfriend Katie who lived with him in a San Diego house. There had been some thumping sounds, and objects were being moved around in the house, so Micah bought a fancy camera to find out what was going on.
The movie was very suspenseful. Most of the time I was on the edge of my seat, wondering one thing: Will Micah persuade Katie to strip-tease for the camera?
I may have missed the point of the movie. Did I miss the point?
Sorry for the title.
My very brief review of Paranormal Activity:
The movie was very suspenseful. Most of the time I was on the edge of my seat, wondering one thing: Will Micah persuade Katie to strip-tease for the camera?
I may have missed the point of the movie. Did I miss the point?
Sorry for the title.
My very brief review of Paranormal Activity:
Saturday, July 3, 2010
End of the Road
I finished reading On the Road the other day. I had put the book off for many years because I thought it would be a difficult read, and an outdated one as well. I was expecting a rambling stream-of-consciousness narrative, eccentric and dense. (After all, Kerouac did put his manuscript on a 120-foot-long scroll.) I guess "rambling" does apply—it's a story about rambling, after all—but otherwise I found it very readable. In fact, I ended up loving the book and would rank it as one of the great American novels, along with The Scarlet Letter, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and The Adventures of Augie March. Here's a passage that gives the flavor of Kerouac's writing:
I suspect "dig" will be part of my everyday vocabulary for a while.
I kept picturing Nick Nolte as Dean Moriarty, apparently because I saw him play Neal Cassady in the 1980 film Heart Beat. By the way, a film version of On the Road is in pre-production; it's to be made by the director of The Motorcycle Diaries. I'm not familiar with the male leads, but the female leads are set to be Kristen Stewart and Kirsten Dunst.
Next up: Elmer Gantry, by Sinclair Lewis. This is not going to be a masterpiece but I'm hoping for a good read at least. I dig the first sentence:
Meanwhile Dean and I went out to dig the streets of Mexican San Antonio. It was fragrant and soft—the softest air I'd ever known—and dark, and mysterious, and buzzing. Sudden dark. Dean crept along and said not a word. "Oh, this is too wonderful to do anything!" he whispered. "Let's just creep along and see everything. Look! Look! A crazy San Antonio pool shack." We went in. A dozen boys were shooting pool at three tables, all Mexicans. Dean and I bought Cokes and shoved nickels in the jukebox and played Wynonie Blues Harris and Lionel Hampton and Lucky Millinder and jumped. Meanwhile Dean warned me to watch.
"Dig, now, out of the corner of your eye and as we listen to Wynonie blow about his baby's pudding and as we also smell the soft air as you say—dig the kid, the crippled kid shooting pool at table one, the butt of the joint's jokes, y'see, he's been the butt all his life. The other fellows are merciless but they love him."
The crippled kid was some kind of malformed midget with a great big beautiful face, much too large, in which enormous brown eyes moistly gleamed. "Don't you see, Sal, a San Antonio Mex Tom Snark, the same story the world over. See, they hit him on the ass with a cue? Ha-ha-ha! hear them laugh. You see, he wants to win the game, he's bet four bits. Watch! Watch!" We watched as the angelic young midget aimed for a bank shot. He missed. The other fellows roared. "Ah, man," said Dean, "and now watch." They had the little boy by the scruff of the neck and were mauling him around, playful. He squealed. He stalked out in the night but not without a backward bashful, sweet glance. "Ah, man, I'd love to know that gone little cat and what he thinks and what kind of girls he has—oh, man, I'm high on this air!" ...
I suspect "dig" will be part of my everyday vocabulary for a while.
I kept picturing Nick Nolte as Dean Moriarty, apparently because I saw him play Neal Cassady in the 1980 film Heart Beat. By the way, a film version of On the Road is in pre-production; it's to be made by the director of The Motorcycle Diaries. I'm not familiar with the male leads, but the female leads are set to be Kristen Stewart and Kirsten Dunst.
Next up: Elmer Gantry, by Sinclair Lewis. This is not going to be a masterpiece but I'm hoping for a good read at least. I dig the first sentence:
Elmer Gantry was drunk.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)