comedy – News Stories About comedy - Page 11

Nov 22, 2008 10:36 AM CST

Irony Is Dead Again? Gee Thanks, Obama

Joan Didion disses hopeful trend, but ironists keep the flame

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s America is an “irony-free zone” where “naïveté translated into ‘hope,’” writer Joan Didion groused after the election. But not all ironists agree: P.J. O’Rourke, for one, wrote that he hopes it's not too early to talk about Obama's "...

With Election Gone, SNL Enters 'Rebuilding' Phase

Nov 21, 2008 3:14 PM CST

With Election Gone, SNL Enters 'Rebuilding' Phase

Three new members join comedy show's cast

(Newser) - The election may be over, but SNL still has 14 episodes to fill. Lorne Michaels says the show will be in one of its periodic "rebuilding" periods, but he has much praise for three new faces. Here's the lowdown, from USA Today:

Abby Elliott: The daughter of former cast

...

South Park Duo to Skewer Mormons—on Broadway

Nov 18, 2008 4:15 PM CST

South Park Duo to Skewer Mormons—on Broadway

Trey Parker and Matt Stone set their comedic sights on Utah religion

(Newser) - Canadians can rest easy. The creators of South Park are ready to offend an entirely new population—Mormons, reports the New York Post. This time, though, they will do so not on the big screen or the small screen but on Broadway. Trey Parker and Matt Stone are bringing the...

Monk Will Go Out on Top

Nov 17, 2008 1:23 PM CST

Monk Will Go Out on Top

USA says quirky detective show will end after upcoming season

(Newser) - The news that the upcoming eighth season of Monk will be its last has fans in mourning, but the USA Network staple leaves a rich legacy, Media Life reports. Monk ushered in the era of original cable programming and has consistently scored top ratings in key demographics. Tony Shalhoub is...

Satirical Paper Thrives
in Tough US Market

Nov 16, 2008 8:10 PM CST

Satirical Paper Thrives in Tough US Market

The Onion feeds the public's need for satiric news coverage

(Newser) - As newspapers lay off workers and struggle to survive, the Onion is adding staff and circulating in new markets, the Washington Post reports. Riding the crest of America's love for Jon Stewart-style satirical news, the 20-year-old paper pays writers well and holds down a New York City office. "It's...

Fox Cancels Mad TV

Nov 12, 2008 5:50 PM CST

Fox Cancels Mad TV

Fox cancels comedy show after 14 years

(Newser) - Mad TV will bid adieu after 14 seasons of Saturday night sketches, the final nail in its coffin coming from a failure to boost ratings during the presidential campaign, reports Defamer. Fox's Saturday Night Live competitor, which has been on the chopping block for years, will finish up the season...

SNL Addresses
Estrogen Deficit

Nov 12, 2008 5:34 PM CST

SNL Addresses Estrogen Deficit

Eccentric additions to bring youthful energy

(Newser) - The election cycle is over, along with Tina Fey's impersonations of Sarah Palin and Amy Poehler's run on Saturday Night Live. Lorne Michaels has plucked two young female comediennes to help fill the gap, the Comic's Comic reports. Abby Elliott, the daughter of eccentric funnyman Chris Elliott, and Michaela Watkins...

White Comics Lack Nuance Needed to Mine Obama

OPINION

Nov 7, 2008 3:37 PM CST

White Comics Lack Nuance Needed to Mine Obama

President-elect not lacking in comic fodder; it's mainstream comedians who are lacking

(Newser) - Bill Maher recently said Barack Obama “needs to give comedians something to work with.” The President-elect is “too perfect,” he groused, and worse, liberals are afraid to laugh at black people. If only Dave Chappelle were working, laments Salamishah Tillet for the Root. He’d quickly...

Role Models Sets Bad Example

movie review

Nov 7, 2008 12:11 PM CST

Role Models Sets Bad Example

Critics mixed on man-child laffer

(Newser) - The "shamelessly stoopid, proudly profane R-rated comedy” Role Models, the story of two immature men forced to take care of kids, is “killer funny,” writes Peter Travers in Rolling Stone. But other critics aren’t so sure. “A lot of Role Models is plain old tin,...

10 Best Viral Election Videos

OPINION

Nov 3, 2008 5:18 PM CST

10 Best Viral Election Videos

Web offers chance to poke fun, change a few minds

(Newser) - Viral election videos offer campy calls for change, seamless special effects, and more than a few celebrity cameos. Laughs aside, “over the past decade they’ve also impacted politics—sometimes changing the course of elections and frequently providing a few laughs in an otherwise wonky world,” Jeffrey Ressner...

Onion Preps Timely Election Coverage—No, Really

Nov 3, 2008 2:39 PM CST

Onion Preps Timely Election Coverage—No, Really

(Newser) - The Onion, bucking a 20-year trend, plans to cover tomorrow's election results in something resembling real time, the AP reports. The "satirical newspaper of record" and its website have prepared articles and videos in advance, requiring long hours unfamiliar to its writers. “It has become sort of necessary...

Porno Naughty But Nice

MOVIE REVIEW

Oct 31, 2008 11:49 AM CDT

Porno Naughty But Nice

Raunchy 'R' rated comedy is a PG romance at heart

(Newser) - Indie director and slacker king Kevin Smith has made a surprisingly tender film with Zack and Miri Make a Porno, critics say. Elizabeth Banks and Seth Rogan star as a pair of "genuinely likable social misfits" whose platonic friendship is put to the test when they decide to...

Estelle Reiner Dead at 94

OBITUARY

Oct 30, 2008 1:22 PM CDT

Estelle Reiner Dead at 94

'I’ll have what she’s having,' clan matriarch said after famous When Harry Met Sally scene

(Newser) - Estelle Reiner, wife of actor Carl Reiner and mother to actor/director Rob Reiner, died Saturday at her home in Beverly Hills at 94, the New York Times reports. Estelle is perhaps best known for her cameo in Rob’s 1989 film When Harry Met Sally, where, following Meg Ryan’s...

BBC Yanks
Comics for
Prank Call

Oct 29, 2008 1:08 PM CDT

BBC Yanks Comics for Prank Call

Brand famous for racy, offensive jokes

(Newser) - The BBC suspended two leading comedians for a prank call that infuriated 18,000 viewers and that even the prime minister called “inappropriate and unacceptable,” the news service reports. Foul-mouthed Russell Brand—who, stateside, offended abstinent teens at MTV's Music Video Awards—and Jonathan Ross told a 78-year-old...

Campaign Heightens
Humor's Liberal Bent

ANALYSIS

Oct 20, 2008 12:27 PM CDT

Campaign Heightens Humor's Liberal Bent

Buttoned-up righties may be easier to mock, but some say it's gone a little too car

(Newser) - Comedy is taking a prominent place in the US election, and may be leaning even more leftward than usual, the Boston Globe reports. Tina Fey and David Letterman have brought the highest ratings in years with mockery of Sarah Palin and John McCain. And Jon Stewart, a savage critic of...

Palin Draws Record
SNL Audience

Oct 20, 2008 4:23 AM CDT

Palin Draws Record SNL Audience

Some 14 million eyeball 'Caribou Barbie'

(Newser) - The largest audience in 14 years tuned in to Saturday Night Live to watch Sarah Palin come face-to-face with doppleganger Tina Fey, reports AP. Actually, it wasn't quite face-to-face as Fey skirted past the candidate after skewering her yet again at a faux press conference on the comedy show. The...

Live From
New York, It's Sarah Palin!

Oct 17, 2008 3:38 AM CDT

Live From New York, It's Sarah Palin!

Candidate set for Saturday Night Live debut tomorrow night

(Newser) - Viewers awaiting the next impersonation of Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live may be stunned to see the real thing. Palin plans to make a cameo appearance on tomorrow's show, sources tell CNN. No word yet on whether champion Palin-impersonator Tina Fey will be joining the vice-presidential candidate for her...

Chocolate News Could
Fill Chappelle Void

TV REVIEW

Oct 15, 2008 3:42 PM CDT

Chocolate News Could Fill Chappelle Void

Grier counters Comedy Central's 'vanilla' news satires

(Newser) - Comedy Central may have found a Dave Chappelle-worthy replacement in David Alan Grier, Paul Farhi writes in the Washington Post. His Chocolate News is a “wholly inappropriate—and riotiously funny” 60 Minutes-style program in which Grier offers the news in “Lou Dobbsean rant” and mocks such figures as...

Denis Leary:
Autistic Kids
Are 'Just Stupid'

Oct 15, 2008 11:15 AM CDT

Denis Leary: Autistic Kids Are 'Just Stupid'

Comedian's caustic book says disorder is all in parents' heads

(Newser) - Denis Leary is not a sensitive man. His new book, Why We Suck, seems bound to offend people, the New York Post reports, particularly autistic people. Leary asserts that autism is booming because parents “want an explanation for why their dumb-ass kids can’t compete academically,” so they...

Fey's Everywhere; 30 Rock MIA

Oct 13, 2008 3:09 PM CDT

Fey's Everywhere; 30 Rock MIA

NBC's moves to promote show's popularity miss the mark

(Newser) - Tina Fey’s popularity is at an all-time high, but NBC hasn’t tried to capitalize by moving up the season debut of her critically acclaimed sitcom 30 Rock. NBC has struggled to boost the show’s ratings, the New York Times reports, and hopes three Saturday Night Live specials...