The Definitive Guide to Comedy
If we didn’t know any better, we’d think Fluffy was trying to say goodbye. Because his second Netflix special, One Show Fits All, serves as a bookend to his 20-year career in stand-up comedy. It starts off with one hell of a bang – audience chanting along to a countdown clock, …
After a brief period billing himself as just Sebastian, Maniscalco has leaned into his Italian surname and heritage. As the bit above illustrates, the guy next to him on the treadmill still smarts the comedian in such a way that proves why his production company in the end credits is …
It might not be The Office reunion you were looking for, but Steve Carell will return to starring in a TV series quite soon, with the guy who co-created his past hit sitcom. But Greg Daniels and Carell are taking their next office into space! Space Force, based on Donald …
Of all of the comedy comeback specials in 2018, Ellen DeGeneres delivers the most fascinating and funniest take. In case you’re keeping track, the other stand-up comedians who returned to the stage after a long break (10 years or more) with new hours for Netflix this year included Chris Rock, …
I’ve long held a love/ambivalence about the comedian and actor Russell Brand. On the one hand, Brand holds a world of ideas within his head and a dazzling gift for sharing his ideas and prompting bigger conversations about life and love and everything else. On the other, Brand’s ego and …
Dave Attell has long been one of the top joke-writers and joke-tellers in the comedy game. Turns out he’s even funnier when he has someone else onstage to work off of. Who knew? Attell figured that out a few years ago, inviting comedians onstage to join him in his late-late-night …
I’ve been a fan of Trevor Noah since I first saw him Off-Broadway performing his first one-man show, Born a Crime, in the States. That was before he got The Daily Show and became a more of a TV personality here. When I met and saw him, Noah was still …
All biopics start from a grain of truth, the essential building blocks of the subject, and then weave an imaginative backstory complete with a heartwarming or inspirational narrative arc. A Futile and Stupid Gesture is not that kind of biopic. Certainly, the period piece directed by David Wain does cover …
As I wrote in my review for Decider: The word “degenerates” implies immorality. Oakerson, Brad Williams, Yamaneika Saunders, Liza Treyger, Joey Diaz and Christina P. definitely live by morals. The Netflix focus group working committee on series naming must have struggled (or didn’t struggle enough) in this case. Calling them …
After several one-man shows in which John Leguizamo demonstrated his flexibility in portraying multiple members of his own family and neighborhood growing up in Jackson Heights, the comedian and actor has expanded his horizons with his first Netflix special, Latin History for Morons. Because it’s 2018, and two years into …
