It’s been six years since the comedy world has had access to a new, proper Tom Papa album. And even then, although it was excellent, his album Calm, Cool & Collected was only 35 minutes! Boo! Also, hiss. Luckily, it’s not like Papa has been gone from our sights; far from...
Maybe it was the wine (thanks, Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, for your always wonderful food service!), but as I watched The Muppets, I could not stop smiling. I admit it: I was nervous before the film began. The Muppets hold so much cultural cachet: would the characters hold up...
This week, Saturday Night Live followed up last week's success with an equally strong episode that found Jason Segel as host-- with a little help from his Muppet friends, of course. The movie comes out on Wednesday, after all. I feel like we saw more Vanessa Bayer and Jay...
Though I try to avoid making claims as to what is the most "this" or "that" in terms of comedy albums -- especially before the year is through -- Pete Holmes' just-released Impregnated With Wonder has me re-examining my unofficial policy. This album may very well be one of the...
Louis C.K. doesn’t need an opener. “Fuck it,” he said, soon after he stepped onstage at the St. George Theatre on Staten Island on Nov. 11, as part of the New York Comedy Festival. “What’s the point?” The same sentiment can applied to the entirety of Louis’s...
With last week's Charlie Day-hosted episode, Saturday Night Live was coming off a relatively strong showing. The question then, this week was-- would the sketch series be able to at least keep the laughs at last week's level? And the answer is, yes. So if you're keeping track of...
I never did Model U.N. I was too busy working through a smooth jazz alto sax solo in Jazz band. I was really cool and popular in high school, see (cough). And Leslie Knope (like Amy Poehler herself) was that goodie-goodie heading up the Model U.N. security council. Though I know...
As the catalog of comedy albums expands every Tuesday, the traditional format of the one-hour live stand-up show as an album fades away-- to the delight of comedy fans and nerds everywhere (or at least this reviewer). Though there's been a handful of non-traditional comedy...
Most people in the entertainment industry acknowledge that it's harder to do comedy than drama. But when you're used to being funny, sometimes it's hard to be serious-- or to be taken seriously. Richard Belzer crossed over successfully in his work on television as Det. John...
