comedy – News Stories About comedy - Page 12

TV REVIEW

Oct 9, 2008 12:16 PM CDT

Kath & Kim Is Floppy Seconds

Aussie remake misses satirical mark

(Newser) - As if Knight Rider wasn't bad enough, NBC continues to look like a college kid "furnishing an apartment out of mom's hand-me-downs" in debuting the "witlessly Americanized" sitcom Kath & Kim, writes Robert Bianco in USA Today. The Australian remake wastes Molly Shannon's talents while "exposing the...

Election
Results In:
Comedy Wins

Oct 9, 2008 1:55 AM CDT

Election Results In: Comedy Wins

Race for the White House proving a comedy goldmine

(Newser) - No matter which candidate ultimately surges ahead, political comedy is emerging as the clear winner in the presidential race, reports the New York Times. Tina Fey's dead-on parody of Sarah Palin has triggered a huge boost in viewership for Saturday Night Live. The Colbert Report and the Daily Show have...

Ab Fab Gets US Remake

Oct 7, 2008 3:55 PM CDT

Ab Fab Gets US Remake

Saunders, creator of original British hit, will be executive producer on Fox effort

(Newser) - A Fox remake of British sitcom Absolutely Fabulous will swill its way into Los Angeles, reports Variety. Creator Jennifer Saunders, who played one half of the delightfully boozy and dysfunctional 40-something duo, is on board as executive producer; Saturday Night Live writer Christine Zander will pen the initial set of...

'Borat' Crashes Fashion Show

Sep 26, 2008 2:32 PM CDT

'Borat' Crashes Fashion Show

Shooting latest film, actor/comedian has designers on edge at Milan event

(Newser) - Sacha Baron Cohen caused a scene at a Milan fashion show today when he got up on the catwalk and danced violently before being hauled off, ANSA reports. Cohen—stalking the Italian city’s fashion week as he works on a film in which he plays gay fashion reporter Bruno—...

Franken
Hatched
Mac-Mocking
SNL Skit

Sep 21, 2008 6:48 AM CDT

Franken Hatched Mac-Mocking SNL Skit

Candidate-comedian's role triggers ethics, political controversy

(Newser) - Former Saturday Night Live scribe and current Minnesota Democratic Senate hopeful Al Franken hatched the idea for last night’s sketch mocking John McCain—raising tough political questions for the program and NBC, Politico reports. Critics raised concerns about the propriety of a politician playing a role in an attack...

Gervais Gives Ghost Town Life

MOVIE REVIEW

Sep 19, 2008 9:19 AM CDT

Gervais Gives Ghost Town Life

(Newser) - A spirited performance from Ricky Gervais banishes the spectre of mediocrity from supernatural romantic comedy Ghost Town, critics say. The story of a dentist who starts seeing dead people is a touch generic, Bill Goodykoontz writes in the Arizona Republic, but Gervais—the UK creator of the original Office—shines...

Physics and Improv Collide

Sep 4, 2008 2:43 PM CDT

Physics and Improv Collide

Scientists on particle accelerator project learn communication from comedy

(Newser) - Physicists trying to explain the nature of the universe using the largest particle accelerator ever built are also trying to learn something else: communication skills to help them explain what they’ve learned to the rest of world. And they’re going about it in a unique way, the Wall ...

Phelps
to Kick Off
SNL Opener

Aug 28, 2008 6:41 AM CDT

Phelps to Kick Off SNL Opener

Gold medal star makes comedy debut as host next month

(Newser) - Super swimmer Michael Phelps will be trying his hand at making comedy gold as host of the season premier of Saturday Night Live, E! Online reports. The 23-year-old Olympic champ will be making his acting debut when the program's 34th season kicks off September 13. The swimmer will be joined...

Demented Hamlet 2's the Thing

MOVIE REVIEW

Aug 27, 2008 11:38 AM CDT

Demented Hamlet 2's the Thing

The play's the thing in deranged spoof of high school musicals

(Newser) - Hamlet 2 may not put the Bard out of business but it's not lacking for invention, critics say. The "genuinely bizarre and frequently hilarious comedy" follows the outrageous fortunes of a failed actor turned high-school drama teacher who tries to pen a Hamlet sequel, Rafer Guzman writes in Newsday....

Faris Makes Bunny Hop

MOVIE REVIEW

Aug 22, 2008 12:40 PM CDT

Faris Makes Bunny Hop

(Newser) - Critics seem to split on the overall worth of sorority comedy House Bunny, but most agree that star Anna Faris is worth the price of admission. The stalwart of the Scary Movie franchise has a "sunny disposition and solid comic timing" that greatly improve what is "essentially a...

Cho Gung-Ho on New Show

Aug 21, 2008 12:26 PM CDT

Cho Gung-Ho on New Show

Comedienne has a new show and plenty to talk about

(Newser) - If you've missed Margaret Cho's raunchy brand of comedy, her new "scripted reality sitcom," The Cho Show, debuts this month on VH1 and follows the comedienne and hangers-on through outrageous adventures in Hollywood. Cho sat down with Radar to talk about anal bleaching, defending Britney Spears, and winning...

Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Dazzles, Disappoints

movie review

Aug 15, 2008 11:19 AM CDT

Vicky Cristina Barcelona Dazzles, Disappoints

Allen's latest tragicomedy splits critics

(Newser) - Critics are sharply divided over Woody Allen’s latest flick, Vicky Cristina Barcelona. The story of two women’s romantic adventures in Spain—“as much a tragedy as a comedy,” Mahnola Dargis writes for the New York Times—carries “a sun-drenched splendor that never falters,” David...

I'M IN UR LOLYMPICS,
BEIN UR PREZIDENT

Aug 13, 2008 2:06 PM CDT

I'M IN UR LOLYMPICS, BEIN UR PREZIDENT

British paper turns Bush into laughing-out-loud stock

(Newser) - By now you’ve probably encountered “LOLcats,” the photos of cats with superimposed text designed to make people “laugh out loud,” as the kids say. Now, the fine folks at the Guardian have turned some highlights from President Bush’s visit to Beijing into “LOLBushes”...

Tropic Thunder
Declares Comedy War

MOVIE REVIEW

Aug 13, 2008 11:00 AM CDT

Tropic Thunder Declares Comedy War

No targets are safe in Ben Stiller's gross-out war comedy

(Newser) - The action comedy Tropic Thunder, a send-up of Vietnam War movies, crosses some lines—intentionally. In fact, Peter Hartlaub writes in the San Francisco Chronicle, "if you're not offended by at least one aspect of this film, then you're probably not getting out enough." But it has a...

'The World
Just Got a
Little Less
Funny'

Appreciation

Aug 9, 2008 1:30 PM CDT

'The World Just Got a Little Less Funny'

Friends lament comedian's loss

(Newser) - Hollywood has woken up to a world without Bernie Mac, who died early today from complications of pneumonia. Here’s what the stars who knew him are saying, reports E!:

George Clooney: “The world just got a little less funny. He will be missed dearly.”
Chris Rock: “

...

Comedian Bernie
Mac Dies at 50

Aug 9, 2008 9:27 AM CDT

Comedian Bernie Mac Dies at 50

Standup comic moved on to film, TV

(Newser) - Comedian and actor Bernie Mac has died at 50 of pneumonia after a week’s hospitalization in Chicago, the Chicago Tribune reports. Mac suffered from sarcoidosis, an unusual autoimmune disease that causes inflammation in the lungs. Born Bernard Jeffrey McCullough, the comedian was a late bloomer, achieving fame in his...

Studios Bet Big on R-Rated Comedies

Aug 5, 2008 8:45 PM CDT

Studios Bet Big on R-Rated Comedies

Risqué humor draws smaller crowds, but stars can cut loose

(Newser) - Movie studios are gambling on R-rated comedies more than ever as audiences open up to raunchier humor and stars push to showcase their talent in a less restricted setting, the AP reports. PG-13 flicks almost always draw bigger crowds, but R-rated features like Sex and the City, Wedding Crashers, and...

Scruffy Rogen
Rising Star of
'Comedy Mafia'

glossies

Aug 5, 2008 11:05 AM CDT

Scruffy Rogen Rising Star of 'Comedy Mafia'

Pineapple Express may rocket scruffy actor to big bucks

(Newser) - Seth Rogen's comedy career stumbled for years, but Pineapple Express may catapult him into full-fledged movie stardom, Alex Pappademas writes in GQ. Films like Knocked Up established Rogen as a hilarious "bromantic" lead, and the action-comedy Pineapple, which he co-wrote, proves the scruffy stoner can hold his own with...

Cheech & Chong Light Up Again

Jul 30, 2008 5:23 PM CDT

Cheech & Chong Light Up Again

Legendary stoners plan comeback tour after 25 years

(Newser) - Legendary comedy duo and pot enthusiasts Cheech and Chong are teaming up for their first tour in more than 25 years, E! reports. Since making nearly 20 pot-infused albums and films in the 1970s and early '80s, Cheech has worked as a character actor and Chong appeared on That '70s ...

Comedy Legend Skewers Left in Slapstick Carol

Jul 23, 2008 2:15 PM CDT

Comedy Legend Skewers Left in Slapstick Carol

Naked Gun director lampoons Michael Moore in new flick

(Newser) - They're calling it “a spoof of A Christmas Carol and contemporary American culture,” from the director that brought you Naked Gun and Airplane! But what the press release doesn't say is that the director is David Zucker, a self-proclaimed “9/11 Republican,” and that American Carol is...