Filmed in Madison Square Garden, Ricky Gervais' stand up comedy special, Out of England, begins with Elvis like fanfare: his name in giant lights, pyrotechnics, a crown, and a velvet cape. It quickly turns less extravagant as his sips on a Fosters (a large can he points out, in case people watching think he's a dwarf) and begins borderline offensive jokes about cancer and obesity. He manages to never quite cross the line and I found myself laughing at things that are usually off limits.
That's part of the undeniable charm of Ricky Gervais, on one side he is witty and almost philosophical - a man intrigued by the world around him and dismayed by the idiocy within it. On the other hand, he can just seem like a complete asshole, and not just to play a part. Both personas are on display here as he jokes equally about alternatives for anal sex and the logistics of Humpty Dumpty.
Actually, his surprisingly less off color jokes, mostly to do with nursery rhymes (in a very non Andrew Dice Clay way) and animal facts were some of the best part of the show.
As a wildly successful television star (if at this point you still haven't seen the original version of The Office, I won't tell anyone if you promise to just quietly rent them immediately) he manages to make the leap to stand up pretty well. I thought it usually went the other way. If you're a fan, this special is a must see. If you're not a fan, I hope you don't offend too easily. It airs again tonight on HBO 2 at 10:00 and, if I know HBO quite a few more times after that.
Like a Kangol capped Rupert Pupkin, seemingly alone in his basement (or are there people in the corners of the room, at whom his eyes keep fearfully darting?) Darrell Bluett had plans to take the world by storm with his camcorder, or at least “The World of Pictures” the completely inexplicable title to this infamously horrible stand up routine.
By the looks of it, Bluett has failed to grasp the concept of comedy and his jokes about fat people, fat people losing weight, people out to kill fat people trying to lose weight and Tammy Bakker are not really jokes at all but something incomprehensible.
And I love it! And even funnier is this response, where a You Tuber named chesspieceface reenacts the routine word for word, awkward pause for awkward pause, mispronunciation for mispronunciation (“eatin their branola”, “people say some weird aggestions”). Re-contextualized, the work of Bluett reaches spectacular new heights that make you appreciate the original video even more.
I know I have mentioned the fabulous song Hairdresser that has been shown during the Found Footage Festival and to great effect in the TV Carnage Casual Fridays
compilation DVD. At nearly five minutes long ( but feeling like
fifteen) it’s got to be the most infectious amateur lounge song ever
recorded.
Jim and I will just start singing it randomly and
then... we just can’t stop. I feel bad for our friends that get caught
in its wake, especially those that have yet to see it. Well, you don’t
have to wait to see it anymore, friends. Here is the link.
It comes to the world of youtube originally from the Long Island infamous 1980’s cable access show “Starway to Stardom”,
a talent show with the requisite cable access wicker, room dividers,
and potted fake plants and lots of debatably talented kids and weird
adults with accents.
It’s a cult phenom
among those that grew up with it or have discovered clips, and with
clips like Hairdresser and it’s lyric “tease a Louise – tease a Louise,
she must have been a tease a Louise!” you too are about to become a fan.
Straight out of the tongue in cheek, Elvira inspired age of monsters mixing with humor, the scream queen, sports confusing spiky pony tails, artfully ripped tees tied at the belly, and studded bras and panties. The attempts at laughs are cheesy and I can't imagine anyone benefiting from the languid, off rhythm exercise routines. But personal health was probably not the main objective of this project, as you can clearly see from this clip in which she writhes around on a brown carpet in front of a fireplace, bending in butt raising positions, doing stomach crunches as if she were in the throws of passion and worships her crotch by air petting it.
In another scene she has a bizarre sleep over with grown women that devolves into a long impromptu exercise party headed by a seemingly stoned or very sleepy Linnea. It's got enough crotch and butt shots to send a pre pubescent lover of Fangoria into a state of ecstatic shock and an (almost) synchronized pelvic thrusting bit that could simply destroy that same kid. and not to be crass, but it also features the biggest camel toe I have ever laid eyes on.
The entire video with a probably fairly unbearable sixty minute running time is hard to find, but thanks to fans who've posted bits on youtube you can get a taste of the bad taste, if you like what you see and you probably will if you're a horror movie nerd in the mood for a little masturbation, The Manchester Morgue has a link to download the entire video. It might really be worth checking out as the Bloody Good Horror blog describes the opening credits: "They're all super imposed over her boobs as she soaps them up in the shower"
I always used to introduce my friend Fred, as “funny” a moniker he
didn’t quite care for (comedians can be very sensitive). So now you can
judge for yourself. He directed this faux commercial recently. Enjoy!
I’m not sure if I’ve ever told you this story, but the chances are high. Back in the day of long ago, my sister and I took break dancing lessons. Yes, that’s right. And like most activities that require a combination of physical prowess and coordination, I was absolutely terrible, even by little kid standards.
I remember on the last day we all got in a circle to demonstrate our new skills. I opted for the only thing I thought I could do rather well (ask me to demonstrate and I think you’ll see that I thought wrong) – that move we professionals call The Arm Wave. Everyone was really polite, though I don’t recall any sense of accomplishment.
All I can say is that in some way I am glad this baby wasn’t around that day to show me up, but in some ways I wish he was because it would be awesome to see a break dancing baby in person.
