Weekly Comedy: Not Half Bad

Not a whole lot of stuff out this week but what is there is generally of high quality, which hey, let’s call that a win!

DVD

Zombieland – This wasn’t really marketed as a straight comedy per se but it absolutely is, and it’s one of the funniest films of 2009 (not to mention it features one of the best cameo appearances in, uh, forever). Zombies are kinda played out these days, but this movie feels fresh and doesn’t pander too much to the nerd audience. Definitely worth a rent.

Insert joke about Jesse Eisenberg amusement park movies here.

TV

The Sarah Silverman Program Season 3 – After what feels like a multi-year hiatus, Sarah Silverman’s sitcom is back. According to the many, many, many podcast interviews I’ve heard with the show’s cast since they wrapped filming last year, this is the best season yet! Also, there is apparently more screen time for Brian Poshen and Steve Agee, which can only be a good thing. Check it out at 10:30pm Thursday on Comedy Central.

Important Things with Demitri Martin Season 2 – Have you ever wondered what it would be like if Mitch Hedburg hosted Chappelle’s Show? Now’s your chance!

Seriously though, Martin’s show is a little hit-and-miss but generally the first season was pretty funny and had plenty of good material in it, so here’s hoping season 2 at least maintains that level of quality. Premieres at 10pm Thursday on Comedy Central.

TOXIC WASTE OF THE WEEK

Larry the Cable Guy: Tailgate Party – If you actually know anyone who wants this, I pity you. My deepest sympathies.

Comedy Death Ray and I Love Movies This Week

Boy oh boy, did you miss a great night of comedy in Los Angeles! It may be cold and rainy, but the crowds certainly didn't seem to mind. First up, Doug Benson's I Love Movies podcast (which you will be able to hear on iTunes shortly) had special guests Sarah Silverman and Steve Agee, promoting the upcoming third season of The Sarah Silverman Program and doing their usual thing. You know, being funny. As always, the show was funny although significantly more... multi-directional than usual. Good times. It's still a crying shame this isn't videotaped and aired on TV.

Comedy Death Ray had a fantastic lineup where everybody seemed to have a really funny set. Hosted by Matt Ruby, the brisk show went through a lot of comics really fast. Gabe Liebman and Hannibal Buress should be both added to your "go see these guys" lists if you keep one. The latter is an SNL writer with some fantastic material that he's clearly not sharing with the show this season. (Good on him.) Matt Walsh came out as "Tony Stella," an anti-intellectual comic character with a bit on how one might be an egghead. Great stuff, although the audience didn't seem to be buying it.

Next up was Jeff Garlin (of Curb Your Enthusiasm fame) who riffed on important matters such as sparkly clean penises. There were other things as well, plus something to the effect of "you think I have an act? I just make this stuff up." Which, if true, means this person is far more gifted than any of us will ever hope to be. The reason we jumped at tickets this week was John Mulaney, whose album we looked at last year and who is also a writer on SNL. With tons of new (to us) material, as always, he was a lot of fun to watch. Headlining this week's show were the Sklar Brothers who, as far as we know, are the only funny folk working today with a bit about CJ from District 9. They just recorded a new Comedy Central special, and it's unknown to us if these bits will be in said show, but if they are you probably should make it a point to catch it whenever it airs. (Which, based on what we've seen as incubation times go, could be really late 2010.)

So there you have it! Another fantastic week to remind you of just how spoiled you are to be able to see this kind of comedy for $5 in Los Angeles.

Road Trip Album Picks: "NPR Funniest Driveway Moments"

WHAT: Collection of interviews with comedians and amusing interviews from NPR
LABEL: HighBridge Company, 2008
GOOD IF YOU LIKE: NPR, but don't listen to it much, and comedy new or old
WHERE TO FIND IT: Your library, book stores, online
LENGTH: 2 hours, 10 minutes

Depending on your entertainment affiliations, you may listen to either a massive amount of NPR or none at all. As I listen to a lot, much of NPR Funniest Driveway Moments had already graced my iPod through podcasts of shows like Wait Wait Don't Tell Me and others. If you permanently have your tuner set to your local NPR affiliate, odds are you've heard many of these, and the bulk of the collection is pretty timely. Some of these segments were older, some are newer, and there's a really good mix of the new generation of comedians with some of the older ones, plus a segment with Richard Pryor that sort of sticks out because he's not really involved as such. Also sticking out is a bit with Justice Stephen Breyer, who is not a comedian so much as a member of the judiciary. It's not so much a comedy thing, it certainly qualifies as amusing but it also doesn't fit here particularly well.

Since this is a collection of radio broadcasts with new segments introducing them, what you have here is essentially a perfect driving companion for fans of comedy. It isn't always funny so much as it is informative, but there's quite a bit to enjoy here if you're already a fan of the personalities on the discs, like Demetri Martin or Phyllis Diller or Sarah Silverman. Or Dame Edna. (Which we are not.) If you already have it in for these people, clearly, skip that segment-- but the whole collection is great. It's a delight to hear Steve Martin's early stories about making two cents at Disneyland, or how Mel Brooks used to play music with comedians before getting involved with Your Show of Shows.

Unlike most things I post here, this is one of very few family-friendly collections in the sense that if you're reading this, odds are you could pass it along to your parents and they probably wouldn't have a problem with it unless Lily Tomlin really pissed them off for some reason. Besides, they're going to need an introduction to Larry David, and this collection has all that and more. Heck, it's worth hearing just to hear another interview with LD, so be sure to track this one down for your next road trip. Just do it soon as it's starting to feel a little dated as some comedians go on to new things or, in some cases, retire from the business.

I Love Movies: A Podcast: A Taping: SSP Edition

This week: Doug Benson welcomed Sarah Silverman and Brian Posehn of The Sarah Silverman Program to his podcast taping. The three originated the famous Leonard Maltin Game, which was on deck as well as a spirited discussion of the summer movie season. The entire thing should be on iTunes shortly.

Oh, and it was awesome. We won't spoil it for you but will say that if you don't already subscribe to the podcast, consider doing so.

Also, Doug confirmed the show they taped in New York with Matt Besser, Matt Walsh, and Horation Sanz will be up on A Special Thing shortly-- but not on iTunes, as the sound quality reportedly blows. Heads-up, comedy fans!

Comedy Death Ray This Week: The Big Surprise Edition

While the show itself was a scheduled event, the UCB Theatre in Los Angeles was absolutely jam packed with surprises on Tuesday night. Some, like a bonus Comedy Death Ray headliner Louis C.K., were fantastic. Others, like a couple of particular notable quotables, held a certain sense of delight and irony that you would expect for a show at this venue. And then there were "The Jasmine Twins."

So how did we feel about this week's Russell Stover sampler box of the funny?

• Host for the evening Chelsea Peretti did a spectacular job moving things along. I do not know Ms. Peretti nor have I seen her perform before, but I suggest you all put her down on your short list of people to go see if/when they are in a venue near you. Not only did she have plenty of great jabs at some of the ins and outs of being a comedian, but she is an expert in the use of index cards in crowd work.
  
• First up was Jason Nash's performance, which was less about laughter and more about someone becoming more and more uncomfortable as the night went on. Lines clearly meant to elicit laughter were instead greeted with a few "awwww"s, pity generally not being the response comedians look for. The set could be best summed up in his own words, in a faux-conversation to his child, which I wrote down for you: "Daddy's crying because his act doesn't work in front of college kids." This line comes into play later.
  
• The antics of The Jasmine Twins can best be summed up thusly: have you seen the 1982 SNL sketch where Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, as Marie Osmond, made out with Gary Kroeger's Donny Osmond? Then you've seen this.
  
• After seeing Matt Braunger the other month, I was really happy to see him in fantastic form tonight. Lots of fantastic material, great delivery, the kind of stuff that's worth checking out. He also had a bit which while funny, was extra funny due to its placement in the evening's show. The joke's central premise? Never blame the audience. If a bit isn't funny, it's the comic's fault. I started trying not to giggle uncontrollably. My guess is that this wasn't an intentional jab at Nash, but if it was sign me up for Braunger's fan club.
  
• Ed Helms is the dude from The Daily Show, The Office, and The Hangover. Rather than read a story from a cereal box like B.J. Novak a few weeks ago, Helms had numerous bits on how wildlife done him wrong and the horrors of sushi. Which sounds really broad but trust me, it was a funny set from someone I have never seen do stand-up before. Quite the treat, it was!
  
• Billed as the headliner, but not, Sarah Silverman definitely used the night as a test bed for new material. Working from notes with what seemed to be minimal preparation, it was a very spontaneous evening, relying on the crowd to come up with questions to ask her so she could give funny answers. It was funny, it was awkward, it was the kind of thing you're really happy to see for five bucks. It's not every day you get to see one of today's top comics essentially goofing around on stage, and since you probably weren't at the show, well, you missed out.
  
• The final act of the night was the legendary Louis C.K., unannounced and fantastic. You know he's fantastic because he can tell jokes about his kids' classmates' parents, and they're the funniest things you're going to hear all week. His airplane bits will crush and destroy your airplane bits. There's a reason this guy's tickets cost a whole bunch of money, and that's because he's awesome. If for some reason you've never heard of Louis C.K., add him to your list of people to go look up after you finish reading this sentence.
  

It was the most mixed night of Comedy Death Ray I've seen so far, but if you're going to see a couple of acts you didn't much care for, Braunger, Silverman, C.K., and Peretti more than made up for it.