The A.V. Club - Comedy

Comedy: AVQ&A: Profoundest piece of comedy

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Welcome back to AVQ&A, where we throw out a question for discussion among the staff and readers. Consider this a prompt to compare notes on your interface with pop culture, to reveal your embarrassing tastes and experiences, and to ponder how our diverse lives all led us to convene here together. Got a question you’d like us and the readers to answer? E-mail us at avcqa@theonion.com. Stand-up comedy often attempts to come at real-world issues from odd angles, making fun of the absurdity of life while trying to get past people’s assumptions and defenses, and ...

Comedy: Newswire: The A.V. Club graciously accepts Dane Cook's offer to take us on a spa weekend

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 09:47:00 -0600

Dear Dane Cook, Dude, awesome! That’s super dude-awesome of you to invite The A.V. Club and comedian T.J. Miller out for an Ojai spa weekend—and all on your dime. I can’t speak for T.J., but we’re in. Personally, I could really use it. I get dry skin in the winter, so that “hydrating facial” sounds like just the thing. (Unless you mean you’re going to jizz on me! Because then no way, bro!) One question: When you say “The A.V. Club,” do you mean the whole A.V. Club? Because there ...

Comedy: Newswire: So, apparently Dane Cook's stand-up set was unusually awful last night

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:31:00 -0600

Last night, audiences at Los Angeles’ The Laugh Factory were treated to a surprise set from comedian Dane Cook—and by “treated to,” we mean “bombarded with,” and by “set,” we mean “the egotistical ramblings of a narcissist who has lost all touch with humility and quite possibly humanity.” At least, that’s the basic gist of several eyewitness accounts from some of the comedians who were there—some of whom, like Daniel Kinno, found themselves bumped so that Cook could take the stage for as long as he wanted while he worked out new material, a raw process of ...

Comedy: Newswire: IFC greenlights Comedy Bang Bang series, game show hosted by Kurt Braunohler

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:25:00 -0600

Like an infinite number of phoenixes bursting forth from the stomachs of an infinite number of Huell Howsers, Scott Aukerman’s popular podcast, Comedy Death-Ray Radio was rechristened Comedy Bang Bang in the spring of 2011. The reasoning, as Aukerman explained in the ’cast’s 103rd episode, was to establish the show’s unique identity from the stand-up showcase that spawned it—an entity that was concurrently being translated into television form for an IFC pilot. And that the name change was not in vain, as the IFC announced today the imminent debut of the Comedy Bang Bang TV series ...

Comedy: Newswire: You can buy The Onion's new Magic Answer Ball app and solve all your problems

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 15:19:00 -0600

Our brothers and sisters over at The Onion just released a shiny new iPhone app that they would like you to purchase for the low, low price of 99 cents. (That's one cent less than a dollar!) It's called Magic Answer Ball, and it's nothing like a Magic 8-Ball, because it's inside your iPhone and the answers are funny instead of boring. Think about it, would you rather have your fortune-telling advice-giver say "ask again later" or "Unless Jesus returns right now, the answer is yes"? You can go check it out right here. No pressure ...

Comedy: Newswire: Louis C.K. made some pretty good money selling his own comedy special

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:08:00 -0600

Louis C.K.’s business model for selling his recent Live At The Beacon Theater, much like his comedy, was bluntly honest and to the point—and now, also really, really successful. As you probably know by now, C.K. circumvented the usual strategies by offering the special through his website for $5 for downloading and streaming, essentially pissing in the face of all the networks while also pissing comedy-piss in the face of his fans, to borrow a recent analogy. And, as testimony to C.K.’s fans and the inherent attractiveness of simplicity, it worked: The comic wrote ...

Comedy: Newswire: Go buy Louis C.K.'s new comedy special so he can make another movie

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 16:27:00 -0600

Louis C.K. just spent a couple hours this afternoon participating in an open question-and-answer session on Reddit, and although we unfortunately found out about it too late to alert you to it so you could participate, so distracted were we by this photo of bats in blankets, he answered plenty of other questions that you can now dig through at your leisure. Not all of them were particularly informative—yes, he really has that much creative control over Louie; he doesn’t generally like to have sex with his female fans; he owns “oh my God so many black ...

Comedy: Newswire: R.I.P. Patrice O'Neal

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 12:20:00 -0600

Comedian Patrice O’Neal has died at the age of 41, after suffering a stroke in late October that left his chance for recovery uncertain. His death was confirmed by Gregg “Opie” Hughes of the Opie And Anthony Show, where O’Neal was a frequent guest and co-host, who answered the numerous online rumors that had quickly spread among O’Neal’s fellow comedians by saying, “Yes it's true that our pal Patrice O'Neal has passed away. The funniest and best thinker i've ever known PERIOD.” Active in the stand-up comedy scene since the early ’90s, O ...

Comedy: Newswire: Comedian Patrice O'Neal suffers stroke, recovery uncertain

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 12:05:00 -0500

Comedian Patrice O’Neal suffered a stroke last week, E! Online has reported, picking up an announcement made by fellow comic Jim Norton on the Opie And Anthony Show, where O’Neal was a regular guest and occasional co-host. Unfortunately, Norton says it’s uncertain whether O’Neal—who has long talked (and joked) about living with diabetes—will ever fully recover. “We don't know how he is. We don't know how he's going to be," Norton said. "I didn't want to do this by myself. I wish we had more news for you." O’Neal ...

Comedy: Great Job, Internet!: Halloween Or Williamsburg asks a rhetorical question about ridiculous costumes

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 16:00:00 -0500

Just in time for Halloween, the new Tumblr Halloween Or Williamsburg wonders whether the photos of these dumb-looking people wearing borderline Civil War general/marching band attire are getting ready for the holiday, or just living another day in the hipster-est of 'hoods. But really, we all know the answer, right? (The answer is hipsters.) Thus Halloween Or Williamsburg starts to resemble Look At This Fucking Hipster more and more, only without the hilarious commentary of comedian Joe Mande. But if there's a world where people aren't allowed to hobble across the street dressed like the Burger King-meets-Quasimodo ...

Comedy: Great Job, Internet!: WhySiriWhy.com captures voice-recognition errors, Siri programmers' boredom

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 10:00:00 -0500

It's been less than a week since the new iPhone came out and everyone was pissed it wasn't an iPhone 5 and Apple was forcing us all to buy yet another device with a minor upgrade that only barely justifies the cost. (BUT ANYWAYS.) Yet one of the new phone's features—the voice-recognition software Siri—has already been exploited to much delight. Much like SmarterChild way back in the day, it's fun to test Siri with the most random, profane-ridden thing you can say, just to see how the software will handle it. As it turns ...

Comedy: Great Job, Internet!: Jack McBrayer visits 7 Minutes In Heaven, a web series with famous faces, uncomfortable almost-make-outs

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 15:40:00 -0500

Mike O'Brien, a writer for Saturday Night Live, has a relatively new web series that has really hit the ground running. It's kind of like Between Two Ferns, in that he interviews celebrities in a way that sometimes makes them uncomfortable on purpose—and the celebs gamely play along. (His roster has included Elijah Wood, Amy Poehler, Tracy Morgan, Ellen DeGeneres, and Hoda Kotb.) But O'Brien, a veteran of Second City and iO Chicago, is game for extreme silliness, and asks his closet partners to improvise with him; the best guests are ones like the today's ...

Comedy: Great Job, Internet!: New York City's guide to pop culture landmarks

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 15:30:00 -0500

Buzzfeed has a neat little map of New York City (four out of five boroughs) that shows where landmark events in TV, comics, and video games took place. And it's revelatory. For example: Did you know The Daily Planet offices is just around the corner from The Baxter Building? That Mario's Plumbing is based in Flatbush, Brooklyn? That only one culturally significant thing happened in the Bronx? That Night At The Museum is important enough to be included? So much info, so little time! [Click for a larger version]

Comedy: Great Job, Internet!: Jesus Ween: When Halloween just isn't Jesus-y enough

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 14:25:00 -0500

Remember that guy who gave out toothbrushes and apples on Halloween? You hated that guy and probably egged his house, right? (If you're like me, you just silently seethed because you were a wuss.) Well, if you didn't think Halloween giveaways could get any crappier, think again! Because there's this new thing called Jesus Ween—get it?—and they're encouraging good Christians to give out Bibles and "Christian gifts" in "a friendly way" this Halloween. They also encouraged whoever made their website to populate the general info, "Our Mission," "Why Join," and "Participate" sections with the ...

Comedy: Newswire: Hear a clip from Patton Oswalt's new comedy album

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 13:30:00 -0500

Patton Oswalt's latest comedy special Finest Hour aired last night on Showtime (which we covered at length at TV Club) and will run on Comedy Central next year. Finest Hour is also coming out in the form of an album that will be released Sept. 20. Just in case you missed the special last night and can't wait until next week to pick up the audio version, check out this clip from the show called "The Burroughs Of Carbs" here, about the lack of cool, iconic, bad-ass over-eaters.

Comedy: Newswire: Dave Chappelle stopped Miami set to avoid a "reverse Kramer"

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 15:16:00 -0500

Dave Chappelle symbolically acted out his recent career when he stopped a Miami set after a single joke to spend the next 45 minutes complaining, checking his text messages, and generally refusing to do anything for an audience just happy to see him. Part of that post-Chappelle’s Show retreat from the public eye has included staying away from the press, a streak he finally broke earlier today when he turned up on San Francisco’s WiLD 94.9 for his first interview in five years. Sadly, it was not the penetrating glimpse inside Chappelle’s mind you might ...

Comedy: Newswire: Dave Chappelle tells single joke then stands on stage and sighs for 45 minutes

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 11:14:00 -0500

Dave Chappelle’s recent career moves have all been based around being withholding, a passive-aggressive, somewhat-unhealthy relationship with his fans that includes ditching his beloved Comedy Central show, denying any and all rumors of a TV comeback, and refusing to let anyone know when and where he’ll be doing stand-up comedy again. This strange demand for privacy even in his most public moments extends to his stringent policy against people taping those appearances to share with others—something Chappelle apparently hates so much, if he catches you doing it he’ll even purposefully bomb a set like the one ...

Comedy: Great Job, Internet!: Peter Serafinowicz's weird, weird KFC commercial

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 14:21:00 -0500

Earlier today, the brilliant Peter Serafinowicz—one of the minds behind Look Around You and the best part of Running Wilde—humbly submitted his take on what the new KFC commercial should look like. Not surprisingly, given Serafinowicz's track record of boxing robots, it's pretty strange, and will certainly never make you think of chicken in the same way again. (Though the fact that you're thinking about chicken at all is certainly a boon to KFC and its mysterious "C.") On a related note, isn't it about time The Peter Serafinowicz Show got a proper American ...

Comedy: Newswire: Insane Clown Posse puts a stop to Upright Citizens Brigade show mocking Juggalos

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 12:44:00 -0500

According to members of the Upright Citizens Brigade, the Insane Clown Posse forced the cancellation of a UCB show, after issuing a cease and desist and threatening legal action over Saturday’s scheduled “The Gathering Of The Juggalos For A Mother Fucking Baby Funeral” at the group’s New York theater. Presumably based on this, the performance was structured as a fake send-off for an 8-month-old Juggalette, complete with “music, clowns, bereavement, stand up comedy, bar-b-que, scripture readings, hatchets, mother fuckin' eulogizing, midgets wrestling retarded monkeys, and huge-ass titties,” and hosted by Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope themselves. Or ...

Comedy: Newswire: Neil Hamburger's "AXE body spray and sexual offenders" art contest didn't go over so well with AXE

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 15:21:00 -0500

As any of Neil Hamburger’s Twitter followers know, the anti-comic’s comic has spent many a moon taunting the makers of AXE body spray, the nation’s leading purveyor of citrus musk for bros. Recently, Hamburger used his Vice Magazine column to expound on his distaste for the “preferred deodorant for date-rapists,” in which he characterized it as both “a fetid, sugared-and-fermented-manure stench, which acts as a virtual mating call to the TV-addled, party-fried pig girls whom these dopes are trying to fill with their tainted seed,” as well as the result of “dumping varying amounts of Hawaiian Punch ...