Michael Cera seems to enjoy doing these staged interviews and set ups (another example below) and the documentary, Paper Heart, he starred in was pretty much one great big staged piece. Still Youth in Revolt looks like it could be good and actually shows a different side to Cera’s acting ability with his characters alter ego, Francois Dillinger.

YOUTH IN REVOLT is an outrageous and heartwarming tale of Nick Twisp (Michael Cera) and his quest to win the heart of Sheeni (newcomer Portia Doubleday) and hopefully lose his virginity along the way. Based on C.D. Payne’s cult-hit novel of the same name, YOUTH IN REVOLT is directed by Miguel Arteta (“The Good Girl”) and features an all-star ensemble cast including: Steve Buscemi, Ray Liotta, Justin Long, Jean Smart, Ari Graynor, Fred Willard, Zach Galifianakis, Mary Kay Place and more.

Laughter doesn’t have to stop during the commercial break–and that’s just what Kevin Nealon and guest star Fred Willard will be showing us when they host Funniest Commercials of the Year: 2009, which airs tonight at 10 pm EST on TBS.

I haven’t actually seen which commercials make the list, but I bet there are some surprises in there–and they all are going to be entertaining, I’m sure.

Now, these are two very funny men, so of course, they fit on this very funny network. I actually was able to be part of a conference call with these guys, and it was quite entertaining. Take a look at some of my favorite question and answers below–and a few more details about the upcoming special.

(Please note that I’ve edited out some of the crosstalk, just to make it an easier read.)

Great admirer of both your work. Looking forward to this special, what can you tell us about it? – TV MegaSite

Kevin Nealon: Well this is–I can’t–I don’t even know what number of Funniest Commercials of the Year this is for me. But I think it’s about the sixth one. And they always surprise me the way they find these funny commercials that I’ve never seen before. I guess a lot of it’s because they’re from all different parts of the world.

And I think there’s some that you’ll find very shocking and some that are really creative and some that you may have seen before…

Fred?

Fred Willard: To me the fun part–I’ve watched them every year and I really enjoy them. And the fun part for me was being on it and coming here and working with Kevin. I didn’t get to see the commercials so I’m looking forward to watching the show myself.

All right it’s a great show…

Kevin Nealon: Yeah, it’s kind of different this year. We’re working with Fred Willard and Roy Jenkins so it’s got a different feel to it this year. I think you’ll like it. A lot of it’s inside so we’re not freezing our butts off outside.

Awesome. I know we always enjoy watching it every year, my husband and I. I was like oh funny stuff, you know, but I’m unusual anyway.

Fred Willard: Yeah, yeah. I love funny commercials. That’s why I watch the Super Bowl.

That’s the only kind worth watching really.

Fred Willard: Yeah.

Kevin Nealon: Well commercials are as, you know, as big today as films and TV shows, they really put so much into them. You know, you watch a commercial and it’s like a piece of art.

Fred Willard: Yeah they’re really–they’re like little stories, they’re little films.

Kevin Nealon: Yeah.

That’s right. And if you watch a bad movie it’s like well you know, the commercials were more interesting than the movie so.

Kevin Nealon: Yeah, yeah.

This question is for both of you. Funny ideas are turning into real products that we see in commercial everyday. What’s a crazy product idea that you would like to see be turned into a reality? – Small Screen Scoop

Kevin Nealon: A crazy product?

[Read more after the jump!]

Yeah something that maybe you would like to be invented so you can use it everyday.

Kevin Nealon: I always look at things, you know, that I think will be antiquated in a couple of, you know, like in 10 or 20 years. And for me because I do standup comedy I look at the microphone and I think boy there’s got to be a better – a better way to do it than this. You know, there should be some new product that can amplify your voice because, you know, I know we’re going to look back at pictures and see comics holding microphones and think wow that’s – that is old, it’s kind of holding a megaphone, you know.

Fred Willard: It is true, you see it–it hasn’t–the technology hasn’t increased that much from the 20s. There’s still the microphone. They’re a little more streamlined. Yeah.

Kevin Nealon: Fred, I’ll tell you what I’d like to see right now is a phone longer battery life.

Oh yeah definitely.

Fred Willard: And a device–a device in your car that tells you when your tire is going flat or…

Kevin Nealon: Yeah.

Fred Willard: …when your battery is about to go down. Because that’s surprising when you try to start the car and the battery is dead or you come out and find out that the tire is slowly being deflated.

I understand they have a device now that tells you where the closest restroom is. I don’t know how they do that, who does that research? Yeah…

Kevin Nealon: Fred, what I have is I have a Port-o-John I think it’s called. I keep it in my glove compartment. I found it at a pharmacy so if you’re stuck in traffic or something…

Fred Willard: Yeah.

Kevin Nealon: …you could take that out and so your closest restroom would be in your glove compartment.

Fred Willard: Do you have to pay to use it or is just now that you own it that you use it as your own…

Kevin Nealon: You buy it at the pharmacy. It’s a one-time pay thing. But you can only use it once.

Fred Willard: …You see they got have one that you can use for, like, a good year. Or another thing I’d like to know when you’re stuck in traffic have some device that not only shows you where the traffic but answers the question where the hell are all these people coming from.

Kevin Nealon: I think finally the last product I’d like to see is something that you can blow into that’ll tell you if you have bad breath or not because I’ve got a friend that has bad breath and I don’t know how to tell him.

Oh. Well these would be good holiday presents if they ever got made. Thank you so much.

Kevin Nealon: You’re welcome.

Fred Willard: That’s a good – now there’s a good idea. And Kevin, a subtle hint could be were you talking to me or is my port-a-potty door open?

***

Do you guys have a favorite commercial this year? – Raked Reviews

Kevin Nealon: There’s so many good ones in this package. I don’t think Fred has seen all the commercials in this thing but maybe…

Fred Willard: No, I haven’t.

Kevin Nealon: But I like–there’s a couple. I like–there’s a guy hiding in the closet or he’s actually–the husband finds him hiding in the closet naked. And the wife is in bed. And it starts off with him spinning this long story about how he was running through the woods and you don’t see him in the closet yet.

He’s running through the woods and he’s, you know, he climbs a tree and they cut the tree down to get him and then the tree is sent to a mill and, you know, he just misses the chainsaw and then he’s thrown down the water and it goes over the waterfall and then that’s how he got into the closet and the guy believes him. And I thought that was pretty clever…

And you know, I can’t remember what product that was.

Fred Willard: …There’s a joke like that where the husband comes home and the wife is lying in bed undressed and the says what are you doing? She says I think I’m having a heart attack. And he hears a noise in the closet, the opens the closet door and there’s a man in the closet. And he says you idiot, my wife’s having a heart attack and here you are hiding in the closet.

But you know what’s one of my most fascinating commercials–I don’t know if you’ve seen it–Steve Wynn in Las Vegas is perched on top of his hotel the Encore.

Yeah.

Kevin Nealon: Yeah.

Fred Willard: And he’s promoting the new hotel. And I–we have a TiVo and I keep telling my wife I said run that back I’ve got to see how they do that if he’s actually sitting on top of that hotel with no net or anything or unless there’s CGI puts him up. It’s fascinating. And he’s got lines, he’s got to deliver very crisp lines and timing. Now that’s tough.

***

Are you guys – did you guys write the show or are you going to be doing any writing on the commercial show or improv-ing or is just somebody else wrote it and you’re just reading it? – TV MegaSite

Fred Willard: Well, I don’t know, Kevin, did you do some…

Kevin Nealon: Well, we’ve already shot the show…

Fred Willard: We’ve done it. We did it and I think we improvised a little but it was fully scripted. And I don’t know I’m sure Kevin had a lot of input into it. I didn’t have much but I–we added a little while we were doing it.

Oh good.

Kevin Nealon: Yeah, I work with the writers, the writer beforehand and we kind of hone it down. And, you know, we’re making changes all the way up until the time we shoot it…And so when we get to the set Fred and I kind of improvise a little bit and then we kind of include that in the script.

Okay so it’s pretty funny then?

Fred Willard: Yeah…The script was quite funny right from the start so I didn’t–I never felt like I had to say oh geez can we change this it was–I thought it was great.

***

Now Fred Kevin can be a little sneaky. Did he put you through any kind of initiation process to join him as the co-host for this special? – Small Screen Scoop

Fred Willard: They nailed my shoes down to the floor, they stole my trousers and…

Oh no.

Fred Willard: I had to go home and…

Kevin Nealon: We nailed his shoes down to the floor but…

Fred Willard: What?

Kevin Nealon: We nailed your shoes to the floor but your feet were in them at the time so that created a problem.

Fred Willard: And I couldn’t complain because it was the first time I’d done the show. No, of course they–no, they–I was welcome. I don’t think in a show like this they have time to say let’s pull a prank on Fred. It’s kind of the time thing. And it was a very fun day just going from scene to scene in between the commercials and, yeah, it was great fun.

And there were a few adlibs and—no, they treated me quite well.

Well that’s good to hear.

Kevin Nealon: Fred was game–Fred was game for anything in this. He was a real trooper.

Fred Willard: Yeah.

Well, and we love your chemistry together and so now you’re going to have a little chance to maybe pull a prank on each other because my question here is if you could start a rumor with a little bit of truth about each other what would you say? What would you put out there?

Fred Willard: A rumor with a little bit of truth?

Yeah, but exaggerate something.

Fred Willard: Well I think–I think Kevin wanted to play all the parts on this. He wants to be known as the master of disguise. And at the end of the show he wanted to be unveiled as, you know, pull off the moustache, the beard, the spectacles and be treated as more of a serious actor, kind of an Orson Welles approach to the show.

Kevin Nealon: Yeah. That’s right, they want to keep making it funny.

Fred Willard: Yeah. He wanted to make it a dramatic piece but they–I think the powers to be said no, Kevin, let’s keep it light but he wanted to make, you know, like Invaders from Outer Space or Martians, you know, Orson Welles–what Orson Welles did.

Yeah. And Kevin?

Kevin Nealon: The rumor for Fred is basically that the same woman that are coming out of the woodwork for Tiger will be coming out of the woodwork for Fred, too.

Oh no.

Kevin Nealon: Same ones.

Fred Willard: But in my case literally coming out of the woodwork which is a little scary.

Uh-oh.

Kevin Nealon: Yeah, they’re basically termites.

Fred Willard: Yeah.

***

Now do you have any input at all into the commercials that get chosen or have you lobbied for any? – Tan Mark

Kevin Nealon: We don’t…You know, they have somebody at TBS that collects all the commercials and they narrow it down and they have people vote on it. And there’s just so many commercials out there. And there’s a lot of good commercials that we can’t get clearance on too. So, you know, we have to kind of take what we can get in the end…

Fred Willard: That’s interesting you couldn’t get clearance, you’d think they’d love to be on the show.

Kevin Nealon: Yeah, you would think so but for one reason or another they don’t give us the go ahead on it.

***

Don’t forget to watch this year’s funniest commercial’s tonight on TBS!

Chicago, Illinois may not be first place that you would choose to be this weekend, as temperatures hover near freezing and the city recovers from a midweek blizzard, but no amount of wintry weather will detract from its status as the funniest spot on the planet for the next three days.

This weekend brings the return of many alumni from the vaunted Second City comedy theater to celebrate an anniversary they are calling 50 Years of Funny.  Many of those alumni arrived this evening on a chartered flight from their current working home of Los Angeles.

A few of Second City's countless alumni

NPR has two features on The Second City – the first, by correspondent David Schaper provides some of the history that spawned Second City out of the intellectual world of the University of Chicago in 1959.

The second, an interview with alumnus Fred Willard, taps into the mind of a Second City star who credits the experience with molding him into the performer that has just killed in so many classic improv moments during his hilarious career.

Theater director and creative director of The Second City’s training center, Matt Hovde, says it all right here:

“If you want to get good, come to Chicago and Second City.  If you want to get rich and famous, you might have to leave, but if you want to get good, if you really care about improvising well and becoming an artist who has a point of view and can do the variety of things that Second City actors have gone on to do, then you need to come here.”

They have been coming to Second City for the last 50 years and the next best set of improv comedians are bound to pass through Second City’s doors for at least that many more.

YOUTH IN REVOLT is an outrageous and heartwarming tale of Nick Twisp (Michael Cera) and his quest to win the heart of Sheeni (newcomer Portia Doubleday) and hopefully lose his virginity along the way. Based on C.D. Payne’s cult-hit novel of the same name, YOUTH IN REVOLT is directed by Miguel Arteta (“The Good Girl”) and features an all-star ensemble cast including: Steve Buscemi, Ray Liotta, Justin Long, Jean Smart, Ari Graynor, Fred Willard, Zach Galifianakis, Mary Kay Place and more.

No time to dawdle today. The Super Elitist Investors Society is holding a benefit for themselves in about an hour, and guess who the MC is? Yup, it’s Fred Willard. I love that guy. And guess who’s one of the 100, vitally important, seat-holders? That’s right. Yours truly. And these pores won’t exfoliate themselves.

Q: How could you not give a Honcho Award to Favre?

- Donovan Merronious, Diamondhead, Mississippi

A: I’m going to use a technique we writing types like to call “answering a question with a question.” It’s just a little sleight of word that works wonderfully when we want to shift the onus of answering back onto you, the original, uh, question-asker person. More often than not, you don’t even realize that we’ve manipulated the conversation such that you’re technically doing all the work. When skillfully applied, as you’ll see in a moment, you’ll come out thinking that we’ve answered your question expertly, and generally feel better about yourself.

So, when you ask “how could you not give a Honcho Award to Favre”, I’ll “answer” with “what’s wrong with you?!” Then “who do you think you are, questioning my choices?” See how I did that? Yeah… crafty.

Q: I find it highly unlikely that you have a friend named Secretariat Jones. As a matter of fact, If I had to wager, I’d say you made him up. Care to defend yourself?

- Caleb Eckles, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania

A: Says the guy from “King of Prussia” Pennsylvania. If you’re going to accuse me, falsely, I might add, of making things up, the least you can be is not from some fictitious town that quite obviously doesn’t exist. And… what’s that? Hold on a minute… my editors are telling me that there is, in fact, a King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Well that’s a stupid name. Who’d they name it after?

But… oh, wait a minute. I’ve come up with the spin. Just like “King of Prussia” is a hardly believable name that actually exists, so is Secretariat Jones. Besides, in a society that produces Kokain Mothershed, God Shammgod and Adolph Blaine Charles David Earl Frederick Gerald Hubert Irvin John Kenneth Lloyd Martin Nero Oliver Paul Quincy Randolph Sherman Thomas Uncas Victor William Xerxes Yancy Zeus Wolfe schlegelstein hausenberger dorffvoraltern waren gewissenhaft­schaferswessen schafewaren wohlgepflege und sorgfaltigkeit beschutzen von angreifen durch ihrraubgierigfeinde welche voraltern zwolftausend­jahres vorandieerscheinen wander ersteer dem enschderraumschiff gebrauchlicht als sein ursprung von kraftgestart sein lange fahrt hinzwischen­sternartigraum auf der suchenach diestern welche gehabt bewohnbar planeten kreise drehen sich und wohin der neurasse von verstandigmen­schlichkeit konnte fortplanzen und sicher freuen anlebens langlich freude und ruhe mit nicht ein furcht vor angreifen von anderer intelligent geschopfs­von hinzwischen sternartigraum, Senior (yes, it’s real), is Secretariat Jones really that odd a name? I say no. Oh, and so does he. He’s also asked for your address so that you two may discuss it in more detail.

Q: So now that we know your take on the BCS, who would your 8 playoff teams be?

- Libby Listo, Jamul, California

A: I’ll go you one better, Libby. I’ll seed them. And keep in mind… these are my seeds, not where I think they would be seeded (i.e., I’m paying no attention to their BCS or poll rankings, only what I see… though I will be keeping the conference champs in, as I see no way this gets done without the champs):

1. Alabama
2. TCU
3. Florida
4. Texas
5. Georgia Tech
6. Cincinnati
7. Oregon
8. Ohio St.

Now, much to the chagrin of my mother, I’m no idiot. I know it wouldn’t go down like this. Texas would be #2, Cincinnati would probably be #4 and TCU would be relegated to 5 or 6. A travesty. I know this… teams that play the kind of defense they do win championships. I’m just saying.

Q: It’s clear from your tone that you’ll have an opinion on this; what’s the deal with those full body suits swimmers are allowed to wear? For? Against? What’s up?

- Grier Moses, Elton, Maryland

A: I’m not really sure how to take this, so I’ll just pretend it doesn’t bother me. I’m in two minds about it. On the one hand, if everyone’s wearing them, who cares? The playing field is level, and isn’t that what we’re after, what with the testing and the sampling and the rules upon rules upon rules? On the other hand… uh… on the other hand… that is… uh…

I can’t take it! What do you mean by “my tone”? Are you trying to say something about my manhood? Are you!?… I… you know what. It’s OK. I can handle this. I can handle this. Deep breaths, Eddie…. deep breaths…

OK, sorry about that. Anyway, on the other hand, these suits clearly make swimmers faster. The history of the sport is being shredded to bits… and what’s a sport without its’ history? And to think that it’s not just a legal form of cheating is ridiculous. Why not just allow them all to get gills and have their toes sewn together? How is changing their skin any different? In a perfect world, everyone would be nude. That would once and for all decide the best. Alas, our antiquated modesty gets in the way, just like it always does. And another… uh… and another thing… um, is that… if….

OK that’s it! What does my tone have to do with competitive swimwear?? I can’t… It just doesn’t… there’s no sense… oh, forget it, let’s just move on…

Q: Benoit Pouliot for Guillaume Latendresse? Or not sophisticated enough to have an opinion?

- Yves Roussimoff, Rigaud, Quebec

A: Nice little psychological ploy there, Yves. You toy with what you assume must be insecurities by playing on my clearly superior levels of sophistication… even applying it to something as questionably-sophisticated as hockey. Well… yes, damnet! I have an opinion!

Big picture… meh. Average underachiever for average underachiever. But Pouliot’s got skills, no doubt. You don’t get drafted 4th overall without ‘em. It seems to me the Canadiens went with the hit or miss approach… you hit, and you’ve got yourself a star. You miss, and you didn’t give up that much. Latendresse on the other hand will probably be no more than a complementary big man. His ceiling’s nowhere near as high, though the likelihood he washes out is lower as well.

Sophistication… dropped.

Q: So what are you, some sort of underdeveloped kid with a thesaurus or something?

- Irving Loamscroft, Prairie Creek, Arkansas

A: A thesaurus… I’m chuckling, you can’t hear me chuckling, but rest assured, it’s happening. About to morph into a full belly laugh. Please. My words are my own, and I don’t never use a thisaurus. Never have, never will. No dictunary, spell-check, gramar-check neither. Nope, this way I talk and this way it be when you talk to me. I know you know it true by words in qustions. Ed Honcho the man! And devloped fine, thnks. No really like way thngs going. Qustions dun, yeaux.

The Movie Overdose attempts to contain the apocalypse with a review of Roland Emmerich’s 2012. We chat about how we would change Eddie Murphy for the better, what kind of sequel we want for Star Trek and whether we are glad to see Sean Connery coming back, if only in voice form. Tom slightly dampens the praise given to An Education and Sam revels in the madness of Running Scared and the flawed ambition of Dogma. The conclusion involves a discussion of actors that, no matter what, we always look forward to seeing on screen.

Download The Movie Overdose Episode 42

Email us, follow us on Twitter and subscribe through iTunes on the links on the left side of the page.

I’ll Believe You (2007; DVD 2009) is a lively out of this world comedy adventure revolving around an overnight radio show host and his circle of friends along with some charismatic fans. For two years Dale Sweeney (David Alan Basche) has been living his dream hosting a radio show about the unexplained, UFOs, Bigfoot, Nessie, and the like. His life begins to unravel when his freebie loving manager (Fred Willard) says he is going to cancel the show. There isn’t much in… http://www.dainsmoviereviews.com/2009/10/ill-believe-you-movie-review.html

I really wish I would have saved this picture:

Can't wait for the Meow Re-Mix

Perviously used in this post, it goes along purrfectly with this edition of Musical Musings.  If you dove into this post willy-nilly without reading the above title, or if you have an aversion to reading large letters in bold typeface, allow me to introduce you to two of the most fascinating felines ever to grace the music scene (not counting Keyboard Cat or Josie and the Pussycats*, ‘natch). 

The Classical Approach:

The Modern Take (wait for the breakdown at the end):

The Interpretive (Canine) Dance:

*It’s a shame, but I forgot how cute Tara Reid actually was, and I really do miss Rachael Leigh Cook.  Wha’ happen to her? And look how young Rosario Dawson, um,  looks.  Eight years really makes a difference, I guess.  And that’s my deep thought for the day.

Lataa Ohjelma (MP3)

Musiikkielokuvan pariin sukellamme taas genren ehdottomien ykköskulttisuosikkien parissa. Luvassa nimittäin The Blues Brothers vuodelta 1980 ja This Is Spinal Tap vuodelta 1982. Musiikkijaksojen jo tuttuun tyyliin paneelia täydentää MusiikkiViikon Erkki Mervaala.

Linkit:
The Blues Brothers (Wikipedia)
The Blues Brothers (IMDb)
This Is Spinal Tap (Wikipedia)
This Is Spinal Tap (IMDb)

I woof you.

PG-13

Catherine O’Hara, Eugene Levy, Fred Willard, Parker Posey, Christopher Guest

Buck: Well, the judge is Eddie Franklin…
Trevor: That’s EDIE Franklin.
Buck: Edie?
Trevor: Yes, a retired school teacher from New Jersey.
Buck: You’re right, that’s a lady…

Various dog owners are followed around as they prepare for the Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show.

I feel like I’m about the last person in the world to finally see this movie after hearing so much about it, and honestly, for most of its running time, it was a bit of a let down.  I laughed some in the first half, but I also sat patiently for much of it as well.  The improvised dialogue can be funny, but it can also be tedious when it goes down an unfunny path.

Fortunately, Fred Willard showed up for the final third of the movie and just about saved the day.  He delivers one great line after another as the color commentator at the dog show.  I think he makes this movie seem funnier than it is overall.  The nutty character traits of the various owners are developed early on and then just shown over and over until they’re run into the ground.  A few of the running gags work, like Cookie’s (O’Hara) various ex-boyfriends that she’s constantly running into, while others don’t.  Parker Posey and Michael Hitchcock grated on my nerves early and often with their constant bickering.  Though, Posey does have a good scene in a pet store later when she’s trying to find a specific squeeze toy for her dog.

I know this is referred to as a “mockumentary”, but it seemed to jump back and forth between a documentary and a regular movie about as often as District 9 does.  Some scenes, the actors are completely aware of the cameras.  Other scenes, they’re not meant to be aware of them.  That’s a small point…I just thought it was weird.

For the most part, it’s a pleasant movie with a mildly funny first 2/3 and a very funny final 1/3.  I didn’t think it was the all time great that I’ve heard it is, but it’s certainly worth a watch.

I think I learned that Blood Hounds might be telepathic…

10 – 2.2 for a first two thirds that was very hit and miss to me personally – .9 for a few annoying characters + .2 for Fred Willard = 7.1

Word

querolous [kwer-uh-luhs, kwer-yuh-] adj. 1. full of complaints; complaining 2. characterized by or uttered in complaint; peevish: a querulous tone; constant querulous reminders of things to be done

Birthday

Trajan (53), Samuel Johnson (1709), George Read (1733), Greta Garbo (1905), Jack Warden (1920), Robert Blake (1933), Frankie Avalon (1939), Fred Willard (1939), Dee Dee Ramone (1952), James Gandolfini (1961), Holly Robinson Peete (1964), Lance Armstrong (1971), Jada Pinkett Smith (1971), James Marsden (1973), Xzibit (1974), Jason Sudeikis (1975)

Standpoint

If you’re an avid reader of this blog, and it’s shame if you’re not, you’ve come to the conclusion that I’m an above-average humorous individual. To put it mildly.

And, after reaching  that conclusion, I’m betting you’ve wondered, “Hey. How’d that guy get so goddamn funny? What his secret?” Well, it stems from all kinds of places. I will say that, coming from a family with five other siblings competing for attention at the dinner table, it didn’t take a genius to figure out the the proper execution of well-timed humor earned you a little more time at the podium during the nightly palaver.

But that wasn’t all there was to it. I had my influences. At a young age, I decided every single person in the entertainment business was essentially just borrowing material from somewhere or another, and presenting it as their own original ponderings. But, once in a while, I’d see something that either (a) was borrowing shit from so many different places it did actually became original content, or (b) was original content. Watching anything that fell into one of those categories represented a possibility of, for me at least, a tiny shred of hope the world wasn’t doomed to watch garbage like “Charles In Charge” or “Who’s The Boss?” for the rest of eternity.  

Here are a few things you can watch if you want to see exactly what I’m talking about. (Note: It’s a coincidence that Dave Foley is in two of the three clips here. Or maybe not. He’s a funny motherfucker.) (Another note: I was going to embed the videos but I couldn’t with some so just hit the link.)

Clip One – NewsRadio – “The Cane”

Phil Hartman has my vote as the funniest person ever to put two feet on Earth’s soil. This scene from “NewsRadio” with Dave Foley represents most of the range Hartman possessed. Foley is great, too.

 Clip(s) Two – Kids In The Hall – “King of Empty Promises” and The State – “Porcupine Racetrack”

“Kids In The Hall” is debatably the funniest sketch comedy show of all-time. Other might say it was “The State.” I lean towards the latter, but, really it all depends on my mood. Both were unendingly funny. Both went places similar shows (“SNL” “MADtv”) either weren’t allowed to go or were incapable of. These two sketches helped convinced me there were other like-minded lunatics out there in the world.

Clip Three – Black Books – “Bernard Black Drunk”

This clip from “Black Books” – the British sitcom that aired on the UK’s Channel 4 for three seasons and the US’ Comedy Central for about one hour late some random Sunday night – is representative of the completely hilarious work Dylan Moran and Bill Bailey did on this unfortunately still-unknown classic.

 Sadly, if you don’t find any/all of this funny, there’s only one thing wrong with you. You would fail to recognize humor if it walked up and kneecapped you.

Quotation

A drunk driver’s very dangerous. Everybody knows that. But so is a drunken backseat driver – if he’s persuasive. ← Demetri Martin

Tune

Yesterday, I revealed that I’m a sucker for a song with well-written lyrics. Well, there’s something that can make a song with well-written lyrics even better. And that’s a multi-part harmony. When done the right way, multiple harmonies can turn an ordinary song into an anthem. The multiple harmony song usually starts off kind of slow, but that’s not a requirement. There is one steadfast rule, though, each harmony, and its corresponding lyrics, has to be introduced separately. A byproduct of that is the song can travel all over the rythmic spectrum, producing the effect of several songs contained in one. The result of the crescendo is an overlapping vocal harmony where all the separate vocal sections are woven into each other and the best parts of each accompanying melody are grooved into one. The final minute of such a song should make you want to turn up the volume, roll down the windows and hit the gas pedal. That’s how you know it’s a good one. I have five favorite songs falling into that category. But, I think I’ve decided that “See These Bones” by Nada Surf is the greatest. The best part is when Matthew Caws comes in with “The lights in the city are more or less blinking/Which side of the story decides what you’re thinking.” It’s the beginning of the end. But in a really good way. Listen to it. I’m not wrong. Right?

Gallimaufry

→ Man, am I glad I never got around to removing the PEOPLE SUCK sticker from the interior of my car. Because, I’m really sorry, it’s one of the indisputable truths of this world. Need more proof than the cool sticker in my car? Check out WhyTheFuckDoYouHaveAKid.com. As Jonathan Schmock, the actor who played the Chez Quiz Maitre D’ in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (click that link to watch the original movie trailer.), stated so very snootily, “I weep for the future.”

→ You know what’s a really great thing? When the mayor of one of the largest cities in the country plays chicken with the state legislature using innocent peoples’ jobs as a bargaining chip. That’s what Philadelphia’s mayor, Michael Nutter, did with the jobs of 3,000 municipal workers in an attempt to pry money out of Pennsylvania. It worked. But still. Kind of shitty.

→ All right. Need to make a teensy tiny request of the fashion world here. Please make the fucking Snuggie go away. I’ll help in whatever way I can. Just let me know where to be and when to ber there. For centuries, individuals have made an easy time of having a blanket on top of them as they relax. It’s kind of like Basic Human Knowledge 101.  We don’t need one that slips over our heads. We are not Old West Mexican gunfighters.

I am a big fan of Fred Willard’s work in Best in Show, Waiting for Guffman, and behind the counter at FedEx Office.

Good job, Kinkos.

I don’t know how many more times Michael Cera can play this character, but it’s still working for me.  This is yet another twist on that characters.  Michael Cera’s character seems to consciously develop Dissociative Identity Disorder.  It should be fun.

Oh that mustache.

Click the extremely Apatow-ish poster to watch the trailer.

MILD SPOILERS AHEAD

I know it’s a bit late to talk about Wall-E since it’s already been released in 2008. But I saw it the last weekend again. Don’t ask me how often I’ve seen it. All I can say is countless times (like the original Star Wars episodes).

Wall-E is such an endearing, lovable and funny movie. The lead character Wall-E behaves like one of those old silent film characters: kind of naive, clumsy, funny, not saying much (if all) and hoping to find love.

Wall-E pays some homages to Apple, other movies and the scientific world. Some of the ones I noticed are: After Wall-E powers himself with a solar cell you can hear the Apple Macintosh start-up sound. Inside Wall-Es abode is an iPod. When Wall-E flies into space and through the debris belt around Earth you can spot the very first artificial satellite ‘Sputnik’ as it gets stuck on his head. While Wall-E and the spaceship pass the Moon you can see the descent stage of the Apollo lunar module and the Lunar Rover.

The absolutely grand sound effects were created by Academy Award winner Ben Burtt, whom you might know from Star Wars. Fred Willard performed the role of the Buy ‘n Large CEO Shelby Forthright. I always liked Fred, though I can’t remember the movies in which I saw him.

I laughed tears, when the Captain of the Axiom, probably for the first time of his life, tried to stand on his own two feed and attacked the autopilot. At the same time Richard Strauss’ ‘Also sprach Zarathustra’ played. This time it was a salute to Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.

I don’t have much to say about the visual art Pixar designed for this movie. Just gorgeous, splendid, superb, wonderful, grand, impressive, awe-inspiring, awesome, amazing, stunning, breathtaking (that’s all my Thesaurus spits out).

Pixar, what a great animation studio! I love their movies.

The trailer for Michael Cera’s new movie, Youth in Revolt, is finally up online. It looks good. Based on a novel by C.D. Payne, that kind of reads like Confederacy of Dunces meets Gordon Korman’s I Want to Go Home, Youth in Revolt is the story of an awkward precocious pre-teen who meets a girl and tries to keep her. The film also stars hilarious dudes Zach Galifianakis, Fred Willard, Steve Buscemi, Ray Liotta, Jean Smart and Justin Long.

Terminal Laughter recently interviewed the actor about the film for one of our other, more paying projects. That shit will be up here in a couple of weeks, once portions of it have already been published elsewhere.

Trailer after the bump:

This weekend, I watched Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy for the first time in a while. Until now, I hadn’t realized how many Frat Pack comedians were members of the Channel 4 news room.
Comedians such as Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller and Jack Black have always been Frat Pack members, but some supporting actors in Anchorman five years ago are now topping the box office. Paul Rudd’s bromance films with Jason Siegel are popular, David Koechner has had several roles alongside Ferrell and Seth Rogen is arguably the biggest draw with films including Superbad and Knocked Up tied to his name.
Here’s a run-down of the comedians who made fictional ’70s news hilarious.

Channel 4 News

Will Ferrell as Ron Bugundy – anchorman
Christina Applegate (not considered a Frat Pack member) as Veronica Corningstone – co-anchor
David Koechner as Champ Kind – sportscaster
Steve Carell as Brick Tamland – weatherman
Paul Rudd as Brian Fantana – field reporter

Fred Willard as Ed Harken – news director
Seth Rogen as Scotty – cameraman

Cameos

Vince Vaughn as Wes Mantooth – lead anchor (Channel 9 Evening News)
Luke Wilson as Frank Vitchard – lead anchor (Channel 2 News)
Ben Stiller as Arturo Mendes – lead anchor (Spanish Language News)
Jack Black as Motorcyclist

Youth in Revolt is the irreverent story about the wild adventures of a teenage boy named Nick Twisp who meets the girl of his dreams while on a family vacation and has to turn his life and the lives of all those around him upside down in order to be with her.