The Code - Indie Plug

Check out this super-funny short horror comedy!

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Filmmaker Taylor Brandt made this little number for Houston's Splatterfest Festival and he pulled in all kinds of awards for it.  You can even spot him in the film as head zombie!  It's only a few minutes long, so there's no reason not to take a peek.

Jesus People - Insultingly Funny

Movie: Jesus People

My Rating: My Rating

So, this movie is the latest attempt to capitalize on the comedic value of those wacky Born Again Christians.  This one is an independent project that I watched on Prescreen.  Oh, don’t get me wrong.  Those guys are so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed that they provide endless opportunities for people to make fun.  Plus, they’re pretty easy marks.  But, when it’s just too easy, all the fun is lost.  Once you have one or two successful films covering a particular topic, you know the copycats will be quick to follow.  My favorite film in this genre has got to be Saved.  The tone of the humor is just right.  The movie pokes fun at some of the hypocrisy you find in some churches (or communities in general), without getting too mean-spirited.  When criticism gets too ugly and personal, I find that it tends to take away from the humor.

My problem with this film is that the message seems to get a little too personal.  Director, Jason Naumann, clearly has some beef with the church, and some of that hatred is really showing through in the script.  That’s kind of a turn off.  The movie is presented in the form of a mockumentary that is tracking the progress of a new Christian rock band.  This musical group is the pet project of a small-town pastor who has just learned that he has a terminal disease.  This is his one last attempt to give back to the community, and to bring more people into the loving arms of the church.  Of course this guy is a ridiculous, blundering buffoon, so he botches these efforts quite thoroughly.  Add that to the rag tag group of semi-talented amateurs that he wrangles up to be in the group, and you have some pretty crazy hijinks.  Hilarity ensues.  There’s the innocent, devout boy, the pretty, but talentless, beauty queen, the black youth pastor who was added for his “urban” flavor, and the washed up, middle-aged, disgraced pop star. 

All this is a recipe for disaster.  But these shenanigans look to me like the director just wanted to make a point about how delusional those kooky Christians are.  The criticism just feels a bit disrespectful, without any of the cleverness that would redeem it.  Personal beliefs aside, when you see this kind of venom being spat out in public, it’s a little off-putting.  It’s more an issue of being polite and tactful toward those with whom you disagree.  Plus, there’s something to be said for subtlety.

All of this is to say that this movie doesn’t have its good points.  Even though I didn’t end up liking the finished product, it does have a good amount of pretty funny jokes.  Naumann does make pretty good use of Wendi McLendon-Covey.  And, she can always be counted on for some rowdy, irreverent fun.  And, all the actors are really good at comedic body language.  That sort of thing is hard to pull off.  I wasn’t too amazed by this film, but it’s an indie project, so I’m willing to cut it a little slack.  If you’re still interested in seeing it, you can find it here.

Portlandia - Nostalgia for Generation Y

Show: Portlandia

My Rating: 4 stars

I was really excited for this humorous sketch show based on the advance version of the opening musical number I saw on Youtube.  While I thought that the rest of the sketches didn’t really hold up to the strength of that first one, I still think the show is really funny and worthwhile.  This show comes to us from the great comedic minds of Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, and the theme is the strange quirks and affectations that are unique to the lovely residents of Portland, Oregon.  In the show, the residents are still holding onto the whole grunge movement from the 90s, and have only adapted it very slightly since then.  This is a super fun walk down memory lane for anyone that came of age in the 90s like I did.  They have all kinds of characters up there.  There are the dirty hippies, the snobby, indie music aficionados, the uber-political-activists—and all of them are very self-righteous about their own, little, chosen battlefields.  For the most part, these two writers really capture the intensity of the Portland residents’ particular vanities, although sometimes the sketches do feel l little too self-conscious.  But, that’s normal, I guess.  In any sketch show there are always going to be a handful that aren’t quite as successful as the others.  But, the weaker ones are still anchored by some really strong material, so the overall product is really enjoyable.

It’s also possible that some of my less-than-warm feelings toward a few of the sketches stem from my tendency to watch this sort of show a little faster that is ideal.  The show is available for streaming now, but I watched it on DVD.  This means that I felt a sort of artificial pressure to get through all the episodes in a few sittings, so that I could return the rented disks.  In retrospect, that was a mistake, and it definitely affected my enjoyment of the program.  You can’t really enjoy comedy when you’re feeling kinda tired and cranky (especially when the show is about difficult people).  So, I recommend slowing down and enjoying this show only a couple episodes at a time.  And, now that you can stream them individually, it’s much easier to do that.  This is a must-see for anyone from Generation Y.  Some of the references are so targeted toward people that were in high school during the whole grunge movement that I’m not sure that the Gen X-ers will really appreciate some of the specific jokes.  But, I think other parts of the show are still funny enough for a general audience

Stephen Fry in America - Delightful!

Show: Stephen Fry in America

My Rating: 4 stars

Stephen Fry is such a delight!  I’ve loved watching all his crazy comedy shows in the past—a little Jeeves and Wooster, A Bit of Fry and Laurie, and the more recent Kingdom.  Those shows are pretty old now, but the humor still holds up.  So, I’ll watch just about anything he’s involved in.  When I learned about this fun, little show, there was no question about whether or not I was going to watch it.  The idea seems pretty straightforward, but I can’t actually remember anyone doing it as adorably as Fry.  Stephen Fry, a British man through and through, decides to make a tour of all fifty of the United States, one by one, in one of those lovely, black, English taxicabs.  But, he doesn’t hit up all the most obvious tourist destinations in each state.  Fry tries to set his show apart a little bit from all the other travel shows by trying to visit some of the quirkier, more unique sites.  He is essentially attempting to discover the essence of America.  I have to say that even I learned a few new things about the United States, right along with him.

The material is presented in a series of TV-length episodes.  It’s pretty easy to get your hands on them these days because they’re now available for streaming through Netflix (although, when I watched the show, I still had to rent the individual disks).  And, the show runs at a pretty steady clip.  There are only six episodes, so obviously Stephen is getting through a number of different states in each fifty-nine minute episode.  This pace is ok for some of his least memorable stops along the way.  For example, the visit to the Mason-Dixon Line was a bit of a snoozer.  But, when Fry visits some of the more interesting locations, I did wish he’d spend a little more time with them.  Oh well.  I guess he realized that most viewers don’t have much patience for long, rambling pieces after a long, hard day at work.  So, I guess the decision to move through the states at a pretty quick pace was for the best.  There are a lot of them.  But Stephen does spend enough time in each state to be sufficiently baffled by the variety of, and enthusiasm dedicated to American culture.  He gets to pick at banjoes, work a commercial lobster boat, attend an insanely wild Alabama football game, align his chakras with crystals in Arizona . . . .  The list goes on, and Stephen Fry’s delicate British sensibilities are ruffled at every turn.  Of course, he’s delighted by it all as well.  It’s pretty charming.

You should definitely check out this show.  And, this one has a much broader appeal than the stuff I usually recommend.  I admit, I sometimes try to push some pretty questionable material on my dear readers.  But, this show really is appropriate for just about all audiences.  And, when Mr. Fry does decide to show viewers something a little shocking (North Carolina, I’m looking at you), he makes a point of warning viewers well in advance.

Horror!

Movie: Someone's Knocking at the Door

My Rating: 3 stars

Whoa!  This movie is pretty graphic.  I can’t honestly say that I wasn’t expecting this.  I found this movie while browsing Netflix’s more obscure horror titles.  The synopsis they gave didn’t really give me enough information, though, so I went ahead and read some member reviews too.  That means that I was pretty well prepared for all the drugged-out hillbilly rape that this little title had in store.  Although, the reviews did throw me off a little bit.  The member write-ups had me thinking that this was going to be somewhat of a tongue-in-cheek, horror/comedy.  But, I think what they meant to say was that this film is comedically bad.  Because, it looks to me like the filmmaker who created this little number (Chad Ferrin) was pretty serious about it.  I bet he thought he had made a really super-scary movie.  Well, at least it isn’t the most delusional piece of independent filmmaking I’ve ever seen.  No, that distinction still goes too Birdemic in my mind.  This one is way higher quality.  But, it’s still pretty ridiculous.

The story in this little movie is about a handful of edgy medical students.  These are the “bad” kids on campus—the ones that like to party a lot and do drugs.  They especially like to experiment with some of the new controlled substances they’re learning about in their classes.  So, one evening, these kids decide to sneak down to a boarded up, old storage vault, where they can try out their newest injectables while listening to recordings of some old, scary medical-hypnosis sessions.  The particular session they listen to is of a pair of serial killer lovers, who liked to rape their victims to death.  It’s super creepy.  And, before too long, these students start imagining really scary things.  They start hearing noises, seeing strange movements at the end of long, dark hallways, and even seeing hallucinations of this hillbilly couple (apparently come to kill them all).  Are these visions leftover side effects of the crazy new drug they tried?  Or, are their worst nightmares actually coming true?  Well, the bodies do start piling up, so something’s definitely going on.

This is definitely one of those films that’s only for serious horror fans.  It’s a little too grisly, a little too bare bones, and a little too earnest for the casual viewer.  Sure, the final product is a little laughable, but I think it’d only be funny to someone who has seen a few too many of these things already.  And even then, I’d only recommend this one if you find yourself with a couple of hours to kill some random Sunday morning like I had.  In retrospect, I’m not sure why this seemed like the best choice at the time.  All I can say is that when you’re browsing the streaming options on Netflix, trying to decide what you’re in the mood for, you know it when you see it.

I Am Comic

Movie: I am Comic

My Rating: 4 stars

I’m really into standup comedy.  It’s not just that I like to sit back and laugh while some poor performer jumps through hoops on stage, trying to entertain me (although really, who wouldn’t like that?).  I even like the idea of standup comedy, and I’m willing to watch just about any serious comedian work out his or her ideas, even if they aren’t totally polished yet.  Of course, there will always be those hacks who just get up on stage and tell crappy knock-knock, or street jokes, and I’m not really into that sort of thing at all.  But, if a performer is really interested in ideas, and is trying to work toward the abstract idea of “funny,” them I’m always interested in sitting and listening to that. 

Nick Kroll

I suppose it’s a little snotty to claim that I have a good sense of humor, so I’ll just say that I really enjoy comedy.  I like hanging out around funny people and joking around with them.  And, I really appreciate a good bit—one of those ones that floors you with laughter because it’s simultaneously so true and so absurd.  I especially like the ones that seem so obvious when you hear them, but that you know you’d never have come up with if left to your own devices.

Kathy Griffin

This is why I was really interested in checking out this documentary about the art of standup comedy by director Jordan Brady.  Brady talks to tons of the best contemporary performers, so we really get a good feel for how they work, what it really means to commit one’s life to the craft, and to some degree, the meaning of comedy.  It’s really fascinating.  These kids’ experiences working are so wildly different from mine.  They’re out working on the road, and they sometimes don’t even head off to work until 10pm.  It’s the total opposite of the normal office worker’s day.  These performers have to be tough as nails—if not for the grueling schedule, then for the drunk, hillbilly hecklers they have to face so often.  I really admire this sort of fortitude because I certainly could never do it, being the delicate soul that I am.  The most interesting part of this documentary is how many comedians Brady got to weigh in on the subject of their careers.  Although, I guess I shouldn’t be at all surprised.  If there’s one thing that standups love, it’s talking bout themselves.

Jim Gaffigan

This documentary is a must see for anyone who is interested in comedy (as an idea).  I think it’s a very accurate portrayal of what it means to be a standup these days.  There has been a sort of renaissance in the comedy industry lately.  After the huge comedy boom in the 80s, it really seemed to drop off for a while in the 90s.  But, I think the internet has brought the art back in a big way, and I’m glad I’m around to enjoy it.  I’m even tempted to watch this movie again.  The documentary is so rich in content that it probably requires a few viewings to catch everything.