Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with comedy

Who does the "It's for Space?" comedy bit?

AgentRocket — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 08:44:18 -0800

Who is the comedian, and what is his bit, about how expensive the space program is? When I had XM, I really liked the comedy channel. I remember hearing a bit from a male comedian sometime between January and June of 2008 that I thought was clever.

As I remember it, the comedian brought up a Mars rover or something that launched and then got lost by NASA, and how it cost [$a ridiculous amount]. He was saying how he couldn't believe nobody was fired up about this, but then he realized that we all think space is cool so we'll just give over enormous piles of money to gather rocks from Mars even though people are generally anti-taxes and otherwise get really worked up about how our government spends its money. He did a fake conversation between a guy and [the government, maybe] where he is saying "you want HOW much? Are you crazy? No wa....oh, it's for SPACE? okay, sure thing. 'Honey, get the checkbook.....no, no, it's fine. It's for SPACE.'"

It wasn't uproariously funny or anything, but the point stuck with me. I am reasonably good with comedians, so I am confident it is not any of the more famous ones (Mitch Hedberg, Zach Galifianakis, Jim Gaffigan, Brian Regan, Nick Swardson, Louis C.K., etc.)

Region Free At Last, Thank the Beeb I'm Free At Last!

robocop is bleeding — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 07:04:49 -0800

Now that we have a region free DVD player, what British shows should we look in to ordering? My wife and I are huge fans of British comedies like Black Books, The IT Crowd, and Peep Show. We've been frustrated that many series are not available in the US (anything beyond the first series of Peep Show or That Mitchell and Webb Look, for example) and so broke down and bought a DVD player (a Philips DVP3980) that I unlocked to be region free.

So after we gorge ourselves on Mitchell and Webb, what else should we look for that's not available in the states?

We're not limited to comedies, either. My wife likes shows like Skins and I'm a huge murder mystery nut (Midsomer Murders, Inspector Morse, A Touch of Frost, etc).

While we're mainly interested in stuff we can't get over here, we'd like to take advantage of the seemingly cheaper DVD prices. For example, a 10 episode set of Midsomer Murders comes to something like 60 dollars, shipped, from amazon.uk while a 4 episode set costs 40 bucks here in the states. The less said about the amount I paid for my complete Morse vs the amount being charged on amazon.uk, the better. So any suggestions as to where we can get more for our money are welcome too.

What's some quality surrealistic humor from Japan?

jtron — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 19:32:30 -0800

Recommendations for surreal Japanese humor? Although I've been hep to the anime since Battle of the Planets in '78, there're no anime/manga fans in my peer group to get recommendations from. I dig the brooding minimalism of Gatchaman, and the beauty of Miyazaki, but what's really been floating my boat is the surreal humor of Azumanga Daioh and Cromartie High School (and Junko Mizuno's manga, but not much has made it over here). Is there anything else out there I should check out that's sorta the same flavor*?

Note: this doesn't mean I'm looking for yonkoma, or high school stories, necessarily - the weird laughs are what I'm looking for. Anime or manga OK, and I'm OK with recommendations of stuff that's not commercially available in the US so long as there's a fansub out there somewhere.

*I also like Kure Kure Takora, movies like Funky Forest, Karaoke Terror, and Wild Zero, and DDT Pro Wrestling, if that gives you more of an idea of my wavelength

Help me find a comedy bit about gay marriage?

macfly — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 20:21:28 -0800

Help me find a comedy bit about gay marriage? I remember hearing or (less likely) reading a comedian talk about gay marriage and how when the U.S. finally accepts it we'll be all self-congratulatory about it in a 'USA is #1' kind of way. Then it went on to talk about all the times other counties had 'beaten' the US to civil rights - I specifically remember a mention of how England eliminated slavery via a vote of parliament years before the US fought the civil war. I've been going through a Patton Oswalt phase - I can't find it in any of the stuff of his that I have but I haven't been exhaustive so he's still a possible. More likely it's someone I found on YouTube, probably via a link from an Oswalt bit. Dan Savage is another possible source but I haven't been able to find it via google.

Help? It's like one of those ear worm songs that you can't quite remember but can't get out of your head.

Let's Put on a Show!

hellbient — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:00:59 -0800

What are some movies, shows, sketches, etc. where amateurs put on a show? Especially comedies, but any genre will help. I'm doing some research for a show I'm writing that involves amateurs putting on a show, and want to see what else is out there. "Waiting for Guffman" and The Muppets come to mind, but I'm sure there's more.

Stop me if you think that you've heard this one before.

bunnytricks — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 08:59:02 -0800

"I'm not a vegetarian, I eat meat. It's not because I love the taste of meat, it's because I hate cows." Where have I heard this joke before? Dan Cummins was on Conan last night and the above is a paraphrase of one of "his" jokes. I'm absolutely certain that I've heard this joke in someone elses routine.. Who was Dan "influenced" by when he "wrote" this joke?

Do you remember this series?

moorooka — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 06:23:14 -0800

What was the name of the British stop-motion/claymation series that was on Comedy Central about ten years ago, featuring vulgar, working-class type characters?

"He said I had a furry face. That can't be a good thing, can it?"

Ziggy500 — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 05:57:59 -0800

Please help me find more comedies to fill the spectacular void that Green Wing has left in my TV viewing. There are some great Ask Mefi posts about TV comedy, and I've read through lots of them. So I don't think I'm repeating a previous question.

Essentially, I am looking for comedies like Green Wing - absurd, surreal comedy which has strong characters, and is heavily improvised and occasionally (gasp!) moving. While the comedy was often dark (incest and murder come to mind) it wasn't really disturbing. Here's a clip. The audio is NSFW.

I'm not an expert on comedy, and I haven't seen too many other shows like Green Wing. I enjoy the usual British comedy standards - Peep Show, Father Ted, Blackadders 3 and 4, The Office, Extras, The Inbetweeners and The IT Crowd off the top of my head. American comedies I like are 30 Rock and Arrested Development. What am I missing?

Cheers all

'Gorecom' recommendations

abitha! — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 20:37:37 -0800

Movie recommendations! So, I watched Zombieland and loved it, I also loved The Host, beyond these recommend some other horror/gore-comedies for me to see, I have no idea if this is an actual genre but there has to be more out there.

Ancient servant carrying a tray of drinks in a movie

markcmyers — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 09:35:21 -0800

Can you think of a movie in which a doddering old servant makes his way, at painful and ridiculous low speed, across a room carrying a tray of drinks?

This Duck Walks Into a Bar...

netbros — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 07:28:59 -0800

What are your recommended stand-up comedy albums or DVDs? I'm not concerned about explicit language or topic... just funny. Back in the 70s and 80s I used to watch a lot of comedy, particularly on HBO specials, but I've kinda fallen out of touch recently, especially regarding contemporary comedians. But yucks are yucks, whether 60 or 6 years ago. What are your favorite recorded stand-up routines, and who is doing the best comedy these days? Thanks for the laughs.

ISO: Cake Pan in shape of Comedy/Drama Masks

He Is Only The Imposter — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 06:49:29 -0800

I'm looking for a cake pan/mold in the shape of the traditional theater comedy/drama masks. This is for a gift, so I need an actual pan, not a workaround for making the cakes. Googling got me cookie cutters but no cake molds. Thanks!

Comedy sketch about "turning scottish?"

brownbat — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 19:23:04 -0800

Source of comedy sketch about a patient turning Scottish? Who made a sketch where a psych patient was "turning scottish"? The patient spoke about his life, then the psychologist said, "I'm going to play that back to you," and it was all high pitched and whiny...

I don't think it was SNL, maybe a british show like Little Britain?

Identify this movie: stupid cops are stupid

splice — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 09:41:24 -0800

NameThatMovieFilter: a recent, stupid comedy which includes or is about two dumb cops. I can't recall the title at all! It must be recent, something within the last 5 years. I somehow identify this squarely as a teen comedy. I thought Seth Rogen starred in it but after checking his credits roll I don't believe so anymore. I dimly remember previews of it being run on TV; one scene may be taking place in a fast food restaurant and one of the cops is not happy about his burger. He may pull his weapon on the kid behind the counter.

The cops may not be the main topic of the movie although I am pretty sure they are.

What movie am I thinking of? I thought the title was "Supercops" but imdb insists there is no such movie.

It's not "Observe and Report" or "Mall Cop".

Bitten by the New York comedy bug, but out West

Anonymous — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:14:00 -0800

Bitten by the New York comedy bug, but I'm out West. After hanging out with brilliant, neurotic comedians back East who wrote and put on their own local productions that were smart as hell, I was seized by the crazy urge to try to get involved in comedy, or comedy writing, back in my non-L.A. California metropolis.

So I signed up for a well-regarded improv class here. It was fun, and I have a lot of respect for the form, but I didn't feel at home the same way, or that it was the same genre or kind of folks. There were Silicon Valley executives who wanted to learn improv as a skill for team-building...and yes, the theater games were useful for loosing up...

But I'm more into National Lampoon than Whose Line Is It Anyway? I would love to write and maybe perform some pre-written, non-improv material and hang out with other writers. I wonder if there is another path. Not talking about breaking into TV here, just having as much fun as the people in Brooklyn seem to be when they get together for all these weird little shows exhibiting their humor writing. Totally envious.

How does someone dip casually into this stuff? Open mics? I've thought about overcoming my introverted inhibitions and trying a local stand-up class, but concerned (maybe without basis) that would put me in more of a Dane Cook type setting than I am comfortable with.

I'm basically really ignorant about this, even after reading prior Ask Metafilter threads...thanks for your patience.

Show me some talented female impressionists

ashputtel — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 09:45:55 -0800

Are there any really good female impressionists out there? I don't mean drag performers or french painters. I mean women who can imitate a range of famous female voices. There's an abundance of male comedians who display their Pacinos, Cosbys, and Travoltas at the drop of a hat, but I don't know of many women who do the same.

I'd prefer to see more modern and unpredictable public figures, rather than, say, a dozen Barbra Streisands and Katherine Hepburns.

Waddaya think I am? Some kind of Jerk or something?

Bageena — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 13:48:55 -0800

This is easy - I just want the 'TV' version of Steve Martin's 'The Jerk'. So... how do I get it? IMDB admits that it exists, so I know I'm not crazy. An alternative version to both the original and the 26th anniversary release, known amongst some as the 'TV' version. Besides changing the dog's name from 'Shithead' to 'Stupid', there was a scene where Navin is so heartbroken over the lost of Marie that he 'just had to spin'. The bathroom scene was completely re-cut, and there were two additional scenes where Navin is solicited by people seeking charity, one of whom a wealthy Texan millionaire who he weeps with over the cracks in the leather seats of his airplane.

So all I want to know is... how the heck do I get my hands on a copy of this? It doesn't seem to exist in any format I can buy, there's no torrent that I can download, there's not even clips of the alternative footage on Youtube. In digging around, I learned about a cameo with Bill Murray that had been cut from the film. So now we're up to like, fifteen minutes AT LEAST that is missing from my life. Is there anything I can do? Any place I can go? Help me Askmefites! Pretty please?

I Love Lucy playing golf...

dawson — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:24:32 -0800

Lucille Ball plays golf after aborted attempts at other sports.... she and Ethel are jealous of the time lost to Desi and Fred...they take up golf to be with the boys and the boys 'teach' them a silly way of 'playing'...haliarity doth ensue. I am, of course, looking for the episode, which most could find in 30 seconds, but I am having no luck..and, almost more importantly...is it on line anywhere?
I swan I just saw it on hulu..but alas, no dice...

Know a comedy group called "Heavy Guns"?

Kalthare — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 01:26:52 -0800

Do you know anything about a (somewhat) Firesign Theatre-style comedy group called (possibly) Heavy Guns, who made a recording called (possibly) The Dope on Dope and Dope Dupes? Something like ten to fifteen years ago, I found a box of audio cassettes. Among them, unlabeled, was a fascinating spoken-word satire (I assume) of anti-drug enforcement and propaganda, with a bit of organized religion thrown in, and probably a lot of other things I'm just too young to recognize. I lost the tape a few years after I found it, so this is all to the best of my recollection. Unfortunately, any amount of this might be stuff I'm misremembering that's actually from something else entirely.

It was presented primarily as a series of faux-informative radio spots on the dangers of recreational drugs. I remember three direct anti-drug ads from the government (always, even in conversation, referred to as "Your Government"), which presented transparently faulty reasoning. In order (as I recall), you shouldn't do drugs because: 1) we told you not to, 2) it's an intense, amazing, life-changing experience, and life is Serious Business, and 3) overzealous drug law enforcement destroys families. The radio station also sends a reporter to find out what he can about drug user culture.

Two governmental organizations are presented: The Bureau of Investigational Investigations ("where they have a dossier on everybody"), and the Department of Psychadelic Euphoria (who conducts official research on the effects of mind-altering drugs — apparently by taking them and seeing what happens).

There's a religion called Xtianism (pronounced "ecks tea anism", really I've no way to know how they would have spelled it). It's referred to frequently, implied to be culturally ubiquitous, and I don't recall anything else about it.

There's also a radio show about a private investigator (or something) who gets sent to investigate drug users. He's firmly established as a fictional character, but nonetheless winds up gatecrashing the same party as the reporter mentioned above, and the two of them interview each other. Their attempts to fit in to the crowd, according to their own expectations, serves only to reinforce the other's misconceptions.

I also vaguely remember a horrifying abortion scene.

The rest of the audio cassettes were just popular music of the 60s and early 70s, so no strong hints there. I haven't managed to find out anything about the group or this recording online. If Google knows about them, I'm using it wrong.

What I'd like to know: Who were these guys? Was this a commercial release, an underground samizdat kind of deal, or did I somehow manage to find and lose the only copy of this thing? Was it even a finished product? Did they make anything else?

(Also: yeah, it's about drugs and religion, and involves some blatant value judgments. Please avoid the obvious derails...)

Looking for a comedy about the fall of East Germany

zhang.chuck — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 01:27:55 -0800

Looking for a specific movie about the fall of East Germany-- a comedy (?) where the main character's mother falls into a coma, and during the interim, the Berlin wall falls... I was in London last spring and I jumped into this movie halfway through (watching on a hotel telly)...and then fell asleep before the end. I ended up watching half of an hour of it, and I thought maybe somebody else has seen this movie.

Other clues: there may have been subtitles; it looked like it was filmed in the last decade (or two?).

Help identify this recent European comedy film...

The bat in the hat — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 03:28:37 -0800

Help identify this recent European comedy film... Okay, so I'm wanting to find the name of a film and its sequel. It was quite culty, so I'm sure someone will know it.

I saw the first one at the Incredibly Strange Film Festival in Wellington about 9 years ago, and the sequel a couple of years later.

The film was a European (Dutch? Swedish?) crime comedy. I can remember three things from it - in one (both?) a minor character (a chef?) kept hurting himself (like being electrocuted) as a running slapstick gag. Secondly, in one of them (the second?) some of the characters broke the other characters out of jail (by some weird contraption like a catapult or a crane or a helicopter, I can't recall). Finally, at the end of the ?second one, ?everyone gets shot and dies and the main character has some form of out of body / afterlife experience (I think this gunfight makes use of John Woo pigeons, too).

I know this isn't much to go on, but like I say, I imagine that it might trigger bells for someone! Worst comes to worst, I'll email the guy who ran the Festival, but I'd rather try you lot on for size!

Cheers.

I need more buttons to push, Frank

TheSecretDecoderRing — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 00:12:35 -0800

"Help me." As an avid fan of MST3K since the early days (Joel all the way), what other shows/shorts out there have a similarly unique blend of comedy, imagination, and fun? Basically, what kind of MST-like stuff is out there that would appeal to MSTies? I'm mostly thinking of small-time made-for-internet shows, although if there's anything from actual TV past or present, that'd work too. Self-links or MeFi Projects would be welcome also.

Anything involving quaint retro designs or source material, puppets, skits, good-natured ribbing, wacky inventions. Stuff that opens up a rainbow of enchantment and whimsy and wonder and wisdom.

It seems to me like early Nickelodeon/Disney Channel was full of kids shows that sort of fit this criteria, before it devolved into tween sitcom production lines.

I'm somewhat familiar with "The Radio Adventures of Dr Floyd," which some of the MST cast has participated in, but if anyone has any good starting points with that, that would be good.

I know of RiffTrax/Cinematic Titanic, but that's basically just the same snarky riffing sans host segments.

I'm not really looking for Avenue Q/Team America/Robot Chicken adults-only type humor. (And it sorta seems like that's all that puppetry is used for now, at least until the much ballyhooed-but-squeaky clean Kobe/LeBron ad campaign). And I'm not really fond of random pop culture referential humor in the Family Guy vein.

Whaddaya think, sirs?

Tell me the name of this British TV comedy

lometogo — Sat, 09 May 2009 06:44:18 -0800

Please tell me the name of this recent British TV comedy series featuring two guys and usually started with their walking down a long white hall and then opening a door and entering into a scene

Suggestions for comedy songs to sing at the piano

chrismear — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 02:20:33 -0800

I'd like to learn some more comedy songs to sing at the piano along the lines of Hugh Laurie's Mystery. Suggestions? I have a book of Tom Lehrer songs, but that's where my knowledge ends. Can you suggest any classics, gems, or just personal favourites that I should seek out?

Looking for a comedy webisode series

mtphoto — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 16:06:25 -0800

I'm looking for well-produced comedy webisode series. "Dorm Life" is a prime example of a series I like. Mockumentary suggestions are appreciated. YouTube channel suggestions are also good, but I'd prefer a series with some polish.