the comic's comic

The Birthday Roast of Pete Holmes

When I heard that Pete Holmes wanted to celebrate his 30th birthday by having his friends and fellow stand-up comedians roast him, my first thought was that he had lost his mind. And then I attended the roast last night at the UCB, and was quickly reminded that this is a rare opportunity for comedians to unleash not only their mocking jabs at one another, but also some heartfelt tender moments. But you didn't click here looking for heartfelt or tender, did you? As Holmes himself said during the show: "I want it to be meaner!"

Leo Allen, the regular host of Monday night's Whiplash, served as the roastmaster (pictured here by Mindy Tucker) -- and despite allegedly forgetting that the roast was happening, managed to find several zingers up his sleeves. The dais was a regular who's who of New York City's current crop of up-and-coming comedians, with John Mulaney, Anthony Jeselnik and Kumail Nanjiani represented. Also on board: TJ Miller, who flew in for the event, Jared Logan, David Angelo, Nate Fernald, Seth Herzog, a tardy Julian McCullough and Holmes' girlfriend, Jamie Lee. Here are a few of the many zingers I managed to jot down for posterity:

I wondered how many of the audience members knew what they were in for (there were a dozen or two other comics scattered in the seats, too), and I knew it'd be something when one young woman, when asked by Allen if she knew who Holmes was, shouted: "Security in the basement!" Yeah, that's a Greg Johnson bit. ROASTED!

Liz Lemon's phone sex ad

What's that, you say? You heard something about Tina Fey's fake phone sex ad from last week's 30 Rock being released upon the Internets in its full 90s-tribute splendor? I'll join the obligatory chorus by embedding it here for you to enjoy at your convenience (btw, NBC, I see what you're doing with the tracking codes hidden in the HTML):

Slovin & Allen reunite for Funny or Die/HBO

Chalk up another of the 10 original half-hours coming soon to HBO via Funny or Die, because Slovin and Allen filmed about a half hour's worth of material last week in Los Angeles, directed by Jason Woliner. Leo Allen told me that the FoD folks asked them to deliver two separate 15-minute collections of sketches and comedy bits, ostensibly so they can be matched up with segments from other comedians. Sure looks like it's shaping up to be a celebration of UCB comedians.

By the way, if you try looking for Slovin & Allen footage on YouTube, then you'll find several amateur tributes to their "Time Machine" sketch. Here is how Slovin & Allen did it for their Comedy Central Presents back in 2001:

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Slovin & Allen - Time Machine
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TBS announces inaugural Just For Laughs Chicago lineup

TBS and Just For Laughs unveiled the first look at the lineup for their inaugural "Very Funny" Festival in Chicago this June 17-21, and it looks like a hybrid of what Just For Laughs does in Montreal, TBS does in Las Vegas and what the Chicago comedy scene does.

Tickets will go on sale Monday.

Are you ready? Here's the quick overview. TBS will tape three specials: Ellen's Bigger Longer and Wider Show (aka the third Ellen DeGeneres variety show for the basic cable network), Comedy You Can Believe in with David Alan Grier (Grier hosts an all-star lineup TBA), and a third yet-to-be announced special. It'll also see upcoming late-night competitors George Lopez and Jimmy Fallon headlining their own shows, as well as performances by Bill Engvall, Lisa Lampanelli, Russell Peters, Louis CK, Jim Jefferies, Bob Odenkirk and Andy Dick. Shows will take place throughout the Windy City, from the Chicago Theatre to the Rosemont, Lakeshore, The Vic, iO, The Lincoln Lodge, The Playground and Annoyance, plus four nights of films at the Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

“While our festival in Montreal made its humble beginning as a three-night local comedy showcase 27 years ago, Chicago has a rich history in comedy that needs no introduction,” said Gilbert Rozon, president of Just For Laughs.  “We are confident that the elite roster of talent at our inaugural event this summer will secure our status as the premier comedy festival in the United States.  So it seems our plan for world domination is coming along rather nicely.”

The full lineup, straight from the press release, is after the jump!

Getting to know I Eat Pandas, and The Tudors, too

If March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, then when do I Eat Pandas? Cute. And demonic. Them's their words to explain themselves, in this newly online documentary about my favorite musical comedy improvisers, Glennis McMurray and Eliza Skinner, and their group, I Eat Pandas. Link, but no embed? McMurray and Skinner also have been enlisted by Showtime to blog about The Tudors -- the third season of the historical drama begins April 5, and I Eat Pandas gets you caught up on season two if you missed it. Of course you did. You weren't alive hundreds of years ago? Or were you? Enjoy:

Related: Catch I Eat Pandas at the UCB Theatre in NYC. They'll also perform April 7 in Hollywood at the Comedy Central Stage at the Hudson.

Delocated: Live and online

So, let's talk Delocated! The first-season finale aired overnight on Adult Swim, and cliffhanger alert! Am I right? Anyhow. If you missed, I shall not spoil it for you, and neither will the network, because the episode isn't online yet. Better for you, though, because you can still catch the penultimate episode for a limited time and look at country club golf in a "hole" new light.

Everything about this show should be awful but instead is awfully hilarious. The only thing wrong about these seven episodes, or 77 minutes of awesomeness, that I can see is that when you try to watch the clips online later, Adult Swim presents them in reverse order, so you watch it a la Memento. Even that's satisfying, though.

In related news, star "Jon" Glaser hosted a live Delocated show on March 19 at the 92YTribeca, and it was the oddest thing I'd seen since seeing Glaser get his fake band Detroit Octane to perform as the real musical guest on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Glaser's Delocated comedy show was perhaps the ultimate anti-comedy show. Scott Adsit (30 Rock) performed as a ventriloquist who wasn't providing the voice of his dummy. A.D. Miles presented a slide show without the slides. Andy Blitz twirled comedy circles as "Peanut Butter" repeating his punchlines twice in a set that seemingly went on forever. The Pontani Sisters performed burlesque in masks, and one of them did a "strip-tease" for "Jon's" son from the show. Yo La Tengo closed the night with a short set of music, in masks and with voice modulators. Eugene Mirman, who plays "Jon's" would-be assassin on the show, provided a video about vodka singalongs that "Jon" co-opted for the rest of the night. Can you really sing any song and change part of the lyrics to say "vodka"? Yes, yes you can. Oh, and Glaser also presented his own illustrated book response to Kim Cattrall's sex book. Two weeks later, I'm still not sure what I experienced. Photos? Yes.

Star Trek: TNG reunited for "Family Guy" episode

Wouldn't say I'm a regular viewer of Family Guy, but it's worth noting that creator Seth MacFarlane managed to get the entire cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation to reunite for tonight's episode, in which Stewie kidnaps the crew (in their real-life civilian roles as actors, not in Trek character) and takes them bowling. In this clip, you can see that the actors are more than up for the trekfoolery, as well as a mini-tribute to Caddyshack. Enjoy:

New York Post's random joke roundup for 2009

Newspapers around the country are dying. What will save them? The New York Post thinks a random joke roundup from their favorites might do the trick. Will you agree and buy a copy of the paper today? No? Will you click on this link, then? Or how about watching this video? Seriously. I know the reporters and comedians involved in this, and still, this is completely random. More like, here are jokes from people we like and/or could get access to last week. Congrats?

Bonnaroo's "Comedy Sweet" for 2009 fest

Bonnaroo announced its comedy lineup for the 2009 music festival in Tennessee, and this year, it's getting some corporate help from Butterfinger, which is sponsoring "The Comedy Sweet." Get it? Anyrockytops.

The lineup includes:

Jimmy Fallon
Triumph the Insult Comic Dog Presents Bonnapoo 2009
An Evening (or Afternoon) with The Daily Show featuring John Oliver & Rob Riggle
Michael Ian Black & Michael Showalter
Aziz Ansari
Kristen Schaal
Arj Barker
Todd Barry
Rory Albanese
Wayne Federman
Nick Thune
Nick Kroll
Kurt Braunohler
Amy Schumer
Kumail Nanjiani
Pete Holmes

Note: On the official Bonnaroo page linked above, this lineup said "Pete Homes" instead of "Pete Holmes." More fodder for Monday's upcoming Roast of Pete Holmes at the UCB! I have made my reservation. Have you? Also, the "Butterfinger Comedy Network" supposedly will upload some footage from 2008's Bonnaroo comedy performances starting in April. Also, more info on other comedy festivals and when they're happening, as always, listed on my festivals and contest page.

Review: Jim Gaffigan, "King Baby" (DVD/Comedy Central)

It's no secret that I am a fan of Jim Gaffigan, and over the past couple of years, hundreds of thousands of you have agreed with me. Many more probably will hop on board with the release of King Baby, Gaffigan's new 71-minute stand-up comedy special that debuts in a crammed-in hour on Comedy Central this Sunday, March 29, and then available to all on DVD with extras on Tuesday, March 31.

What's to like about Jim Gaffigan? More like what's not to like about him. Some may say it's the fact that Gaffigan rarely curses onstage that opens him up to a larger fan base, but right from the opening of King Baby (and the menu scene on the DVD), when you see the montage from Austin where he filmed the special and see his kids chomping on some delicious meaty ribs from Iron Works, you get a clue to his success as a stand-up. A night enjoying Gaffigan is akin to a night spent with yummy comfort foods, and as a bonus, you'll also get to hear Gaffigan make joke after joke about your favorite guilty pleasure comfort foods. It's comfort comedy, is what it is. He says it's about being lazy -- taking on topics such as bowling, escalators, moving sidewalks, camping, hammocks, the snooze button, futons, bean bags, pillows, bacon, meats, and fast food. But it's also about how we as human have strived to make our lives as comfortable as possible, and suddenly these mundane topics aren't quite as mundane and simplistic as they had seemed. On camping, he notes: "Some places you have to pay to sleep outside. That's got to be insulting to homeless people." Here he is on the power of television making us comfortable:

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There are plenty of bacon jokes, obviously, as Gaffigan proved earlier by dedicating his entire segment with David Letterman once on bacon. But he tops that in King Baby with more time spent on ketchup. Yep. Ketchup.

Funny Or Die's HBO offerings start production

Last summer, the Funny or Die team (Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Chris Henchy and Judd Apatow) received a big vote of confidence in the forms of capital investment and broadcasting agreements from HBO. They had just worked together on the production of Eastbound & Down -- and if you have not watched this surprisingly magnificent miniseries starring Danny McBride as washed-up pitcher Kenny Powers (the sixth and final episode aired this past Sunday), then you should find yourself a TV with HBO and watch it right this very moment and it will make your weekend that much more enjoyable. Anyhow. So, yes, of course, seeing how well that went, HBO agreed to invest in the FOD guys and commission 10 original half-hours of programming from them.

We're starting to see this come to fruition this week.

Paul Scheer (MTV's Human Giant) announced he'd begun production on "a MINI mini series" with Rob Riggle (Comedy Central's The Daily Show) called Designated Driver.

And fans of Brett Gelman will be heartily pleased to know that his catstravaganza, "1,000 Cats," will be filmed on Saturday afternoon for FOD/HBO. At The Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. (Fun fact: The same stage to be used in May for NBC's America's Got Talent) As Gelman says in his Facebook event invite for the event: "Pleases come. And if you can, please come dressed in some sort of formal wear. For we will be getting some shots of you, and plus how else would you come dressed for 1000 Cats." How else, indeed. Seriously, though: Read my review of Brett Gelman's 1,000 Cats if you need further proof. So that's at least another of the 10 half-hours.

Sounds like the FOD guys already are living up to the promises they made back in June 2008 when they first announced the deal with HBO. Here's what Ferrell told Variety then: "We do know we want it to be in the same family of the comedy that we're doing on the website -- just a wide range of anything from a funny offbeat talkshow to a maybe more-traditional-type sitcom to a show with puppets," he said. "We don't want to limit ourselves in any way, which is what we love about the stuff that we do for Funny or Die. The spitballing on these ideas is going to be the fun part of all this." And this is what McKay said: "Our idea in going into Funny or Die was that it would be a kind of clubhouse for us and friends of ours who could come and try stuff that they couldn't do as easily in movies or TV. And it was also about us getting to find new talent." If this is how they're starting, then I cannot wait to see what else makes the slate of HBO/FOD programming to come in 2009-2010.

Nick Thune quits comedy for "Nick's Big Show"

That's the premise of Nick Thune's five-episode online series for Comedy Central's Atom.com, which means you better be buckling up for a bumpy ride, because Nick's Big Show is an anti-comedy comedy show. Nick Thune plays himself as a comedian who gets his hands on $10,000 and pays a camera crew to follow him around as he makes the leap from comedian to performance artist, putting on a show to beat all shows. Kate Micucci plays Thune's biggest fan, hired to be his personal assistant. Nick Kroll, as Thune's manager, has no idea what to make of all of this. Will you be able to see the big picture? New episodes are released on Fridays.

Nick's Big Show, Episode 1: The Pitch

Atom.com: Funny Videos | Atom Originals | Nick's Big Show

In episode two, out today, we see Thune go to a costume shop for design tips from "Markie" (TJ Miller) and seek out a choreographer.

Nick's Big Show, Episode 2: Assembling the Crew

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The series runs through April 17.

Comic Strip Live brings back its Audition Lottery

After a two-year hiatus, the Comic Strip Live is bringing back the Lottery hat that allows just about anyone to have his or her shot at making the rite of passage and become a regular stand-up comedian at the club on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

Here are the details: Anyone 18 and older can audition, so long as they arrive at the club by 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 1. (Note: This is not an April Fool's prank) Everyone will pick a number out of a hat that will determine the date they will audition for the club. Auditions are five minutes long and will always take place on consecutive Tuesdays starting April 7. Participants will be seen by the Comic Strip Live booker and owners. Those who make the cut will receive a number of paid spots per week and will appear on the same stage where Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler, and Chris Rock honed their craft.

Premium Blend on Hulu: When they were younger

This is pretty much for my American readers (and those of you outside the States who have figured out how to watch clips on Hulu.com). My Hulu visits tend to be more targeted -- I know what's on there and what I want to catch up on -- rather than exploratory missions of curious wonder. That said, one of my friends tipped me off to this new addition to Hulu's online archives: Full seasons of Comedy Central's Premium Blend. Premium Blend was the bigger, louder, hyperactive precursor to Live At Gotham. Look at how the audience and claps as if they're in a Benny Hill sketch. So far, just seasons five, seven and nine are up, for 36 episodes spotlighting 144 up-and-coming stand-up comedians, some of whom have since made leaps and strides, while others have yet to become household names. It's fun to see some of the pairings here, find glimpses of people I know now but didn't back then, as well as comics I was friends with years ago.

Season 5 also is intriguing because it filmed pre-Sept. 11 but began airing Oct. 5, 2001. Remember that weird time for comedy, when society and the mainstream media asked if it was OK to be ironic and sarcastic? It's also a time that gave us early looks at Judah Friedlander, Laurie Kilmartin, Eugene Mirman and Patrice Oneal, all in one half-hour!

From Season 9, here is another lineup that's notable for putting Aziz Ansari (NBC's new Parks and Recreation) together with Boston stand-up vet Frank Santorelli, Austin's Brendon Walsh (who now sports wilder hair and stand-up), and Jo Koy. This aired in February 2006.

Tom Arnold hosting free Thursday night comedy at The Laugh Factory for unemployed masses

The Laugh Factory sure knows how to generate publicity. This report appeared last night on Access Hollywood, about Tom Arnold hosting free Thursday night comedy shows for the unemployed masses as a pick-me-up during the recession. Although, as Arnold notes: Two drink minimum!

Here's the small print from the club's online calendar: Every Thursday at 8pm the Laugh Factory is offering free admission to its All Star Comedy Show, to anybody who can show proof of their unemployment. Tom Arnold has volunteered to host the show and bring along some of his celebrity friends in an effort to bring laughs and smiles to people during these uncertain and stressful times. Comedians TBA! General admission: $20 + 2-drink minimum. VIP admission: $30 +2-drink minumum. Call reservations (323) 656-1336x1 before 6pm or buy tickets on ticketweb.com.

What's odder: Suggested casting for "Three Stooges" movie, or Demetri Martin's Woodstock movie?

Trying to wrap my head around some comedy-related news to emerge last night (and no, not talking about the final minutes of Lost, though, wow). So I'm wondering how you feel about these two things that happened.

First, we learned that the Farrelly Brothers and MGM finally look like they have a deal and a cast in place for the movie the brothers long have wanted to make about The Three Stooges. OK. So far, so good. Farrelly Brothers celebrating their outrageous comedy forefathers. So who will play Moe, Larry and Curly? Jim Carrey allegedly already is looking to pack on the pounds to play Curly. A stretch, so to speak, but we can imagine it. Go on. Sean Penn as Larry. There's a resemblance, but Penn seems more the Moe personality. Hmmm. Benicio Del Toro as Moe. Wait. What now?

So, secondly, Demetri Martin debuted the first trailer for Taking Woodstock, an Ang Lee movie starring Martin as a guy looking to make a motel with his folks work out in upstate New York, when along comes this hippie concert and real-life hijinx ensue. Woodstock's 40th anniversary is coming up, so, alrighty, why not. But then again, why again? Hippy dippy. You can watch:

So...which one of these things is odder than the other...which one of these things just doesn't belong? Or maybe they both belong, but just rather oddly so.

Anthony Jeselnik on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

Anthony Jeselnik was a last-minute addition to last night's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and in doing so, became the first stand-up to perform on the show. Comedy trivia! Of course, Fallon's people knew Jeselnik was available, since he's a writer on the show, and he already has performed in front of the camera in a couple of sketches in the first month. If you've seen Jeselnik's half-hour Comedy Central Presents or his appearance on HBO's Down and Dirty with Jim Norton, you know what you're in for. Jeselnik said that three of his jokes got cut for time. What impressed me the most, however, was his opening line. Such a bold thing to say and yet it fits right in with his stand-up persona.

Related: Other Late Night sketches with Fallon and Jeselnik, after the jump!

"Naked Dawn" movie trailer

Someday you'll find yourself Googling the phrase "I wonder what Rob Schneider has done lately," but instead you Google "I wonder what Rob Schneider looks like naked" -- OK, that never happens, until it just did. Internet explosion. This will be the most NSFW thing you do today. Sometimes a movie trailer functions just fine as a movie trailer, and you do not need to see the full-length feature, so to speak. Yes, full-frontal shots aplenty in this spoof that takes the plotline from 1980s cult classic Red Dawn and reimagines the Russkies invading America via a nudist colony. Also starring Mena Suvari and Vinnie Jones. Enjoy?

"Naked Dawn" Trailer (w/ Rob Schneider, Mena Suvari and Vinnie Jones) - watch more funny videos

My Damn Channel to revive "Pilot Season"

Say the word "Trio" and you'll think of many things (but probably not about the short-lived cable network), which is why when I tell you about "Pilot Season," you'll maybe think of a real thing that happens in Hollywood each winter/spring, but you're not likely to think of the documentary that Trio did about that real-life thing, and definitely not going to say, hey, wasn't there an improvised comedy about that real thing? (Unless you are a comedy nerd to the nerd power, or knew these people personally) Before NBC Universal acquired and terminated the Trio network, the channel was perhaps best known for celebrating TV pilots and programs that didn't get their due in Brilliant But Cancelled. In 2004, Sam Seder (who now co-hosts a daily online show with Marc Maron) wrote, directed and starred in Pilot Season, a six-episode mockumentary about actors and actresses going through the TV pilot process. The cast included -- are you ready for this -- Sarah Silverman, David Cross, Jon Benjamin, Isla Fisher, Andy Dick, Matt Besser, Ross Brockley, Laura Krafft, Marc Maron, Matt Price, Laura Silverman, Brendon Small and David Waterman. And now, "8 years later," My Damn Channel is giving us another look at Pilot Season. More coming in April. Here's a teaser voiced by Janeane Garofalo, who famously does not have an email or use computers, and yet voices an Internet comedy spectacle. UPDATE: Sam Seder wisely reminded me that Pilot Season was, as explained in this clip, the sequel to a 1997 project Seder and company did called Who's The Caboose? If only that was available on Netflix! Enjoy:

Pilot Season - 8 Years
Uploaded by MyDamnChannel

Related: See more Pilot Season clips at My Damn Channel.

George Lopez talks up his TBS talk show

Hours after TBS announced it'd give George Lopez the "Very Funny" network's 11 p.m. hour on Monday-Thursday nights come November 2009, Lopez himself took to the phones for his first conference call as a would-be talk show host. What have we learned already? For one thing, Lopez certainly isn't intimidated, nervous or daunted by the challenge of helming his own late-night chat show.

What else?

Lopez said over multiple appearances on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, executive producer Jim Paratore had asked if he'd ever consider doing his own show once his ABC sitcom ended. That's done now. "I'm out of the sitcom business," Lopez said today. "I love the fact that I never thought I'd get a sitcom, nor did I think I'd make it in syndication...It's all been unexpected...I've exceeded my own expectations."

As for late night's Lopez? "I'm not sure you can reinvent the late night talk show, but you can paint with different colors, and obviously we're going to paint with more brown and taupe and mauve." Mauve? "I believe there's an audience out there that's not being serviced," Lopez said. And much like President Barack Obama's campaign -- which Lopez supported, and which he noted, the president even offered some help in his TBS pilot presentation -- the stand-up comedian says the people who supported Obama could also turn out in droves to see a different kind of late-night program. "Seeing that inspires you to know all of those people have TVs," he said.