comedy

Stories 181 - 200 | << Prev   Next >>

Comic Fritzl Play Sparks Death Threats

Director insists he's mocking media, not rape and incest

(Newser) - A comic play about accused rapist Josef Fritzl is set to open in Vienna, drawing the ire—and death threats—of Austrians who are not amused, the BBC reports. Director Hubsi Kramar stressed that the largely improvised piece, co-starring victims of abuse, is a commentary on media coverage of Fritzl’...

On Last Late Night, Conan Looks Back

Show features old clips, special guests

(Newser) - Conan O’Brien took the stage for the final episode of Late Night yesterday, reminiscing about 16 years on the air with clips and big-time guests, E! Online reports. The 2,725th episode featured John Mayer singing to Conan, Will Ferrell appearing as George W. Bush, and the first White...

Fired Up Delivers Lukewarm Laughs
 Fired Up Delivers 
 Lukewarm Laughs 
MOVIE REVIEW
Feb 20, 2009 9:53 AM CST

Fired Up Delivers Lukewarm Laughs

Reheated teen sex comedy gives critics little to cheer about

(Newser) - The raunchy teen comedy Fired Up delivers a few chuckles but isn't anything to cheer about, say critics. Thirtyish actors Nicholas D'Agosto and Eric Christian Olsen play a pair of high school football jocks who go to cheerleading camp to meet babes, but the duo's comic energy is "weighed...

Shopaholic Not So Addictive
 Shopaholic Not So Addictive 
MOVIE REVIEW
Feb 13, 2009 8:19 AM CST

Shopaholic Not So Addictive

Subprime rom-com maxes out the clichés

(Newser) - Chick-lit flick Confessions of a Shopaholic is one victim the credit crisis should have claimed, say critics. Isla Fisher stars as a credit card addict who lands a job at a financial magazine, but her considerable comic gifts are wasted by a script that turns her into a "babbling...

Spinal Tap Admits Where They've Been
 Spinal Tap Admits 
 Where They've Been 
glossies
Feb 9, 2009 8:12 PM CST

Spinal Tap Admits Where They've Been

(Newser) - Having announced their reunion tour, Spinal Tap sits down with Vanity Fair to explain where they've been for the past 25 years. "Breeding miniature horses," says Nigel, who struggled "to find jockeys that are basically 26, 28 inches tall." David, inspired by female tribute bands like...

It's a Bomb, Cato!
 It's a Bomb, Cato! 
Movie Review
Feb 6, 2009 11:40 AM CST

It's a Bomb, Cato!

Inspector Clouseau can't win over critics

(Newser) - There is slapstick aplenty in Steve Martin’s second Pink Panther movie, but “none of it is particularly funny,” complains Steven Rea of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Critics are almost unanimous in panning Pink Panther 2. It’s “willfully stupid,” says Bill Goodykoontz of the Arizona Republic,...

Arrested Development Film Is a Go

Rising star Cera is on board for adaptation

(Newser) - After years of rumors and crossed fingers, the Arrested Development movie is finally on, the New York Daily News reports. "The movie is going to happen this year, and Michael Cera is on board. Trust me," said Jeffrey Tambor, patriarch of the dysfunctional TV family. Cera, whose career...

Blago's a Clown, and That's Not Funny
 Blago's a Clown, 
 and That's Not Funny 
OPINION
Jan 29, 2009 9:16 AM CST

Blago's a Clown, and That's Not Funny

Blagojevich is not some kind of clown here to amuse you

(Newser) - These days, everyone seems to find Rod Blagojevich hilarious. Everyone, that is, except the state of Illinois, writes David Broder of the Washington Post. When Blagojevich went on TV instead of testifying at his impeachment hearing, there wasn’t a hint of outrage. The media “treated Blagojevich as if...

Sleepwalker Stirs Yuks Off-Broadway

Sleepwalking With Me wins praise from neurologists

(Newser) - Fighting off an imaginary Brad Pitt and leaping from a second-story window confirmed it: Mike Birbiglia was ready to turn his sleepwalking stories into a one-man show, Newsweek reports. Launched off-Broadway in November, the comedic Sleepwalk With Me is drawing raves from reviewers and sleep researchers alike. "Mike...

Blago, Burris Kick Off SNL's '09
 Blago, Burris Kick Off SNL's '09 
Jan 11, 2009 11:14 AM CST

Blago, Burris Kick Off SNL's '09

Comedian Jason Sudeikis is the Illinois gov's hair apparent

(Newser) - Saturday Night Live doesn’t have Sarah Palin to ape anymore, so the cast started 2009 with new impressions of Rod Blagojevich, Roland Burris, and Rachel Maddow, the Huffington Post reports. Last night’s show began with Maddow (Amy Elliott) grilling wannabe-senator Burris (Keenan Thompson) and embattled Illinois governor Blagojevich...

Fey Is AP's Entertainer of the Year

30 Rock star and Palin impersonator beats out Downey, Ledger

(Newser) - Tina Fey is the entertainer of the year? You betcha. Fey was voted the AP's Entertainer of the Year, an annual honor chosen by newspaper editors and broadcast producers across the country. Fey was selected by AP members as the performer who had the greatest impact on culture and entertainment...

Yes Man ? No, Thanks
 Yes Man? No, Thanks 
movie review
Dec 19, 2008 12:55 PM CST

Yes Man? No, Thanks

Familiar Carrey antics seem tired in positivity flick

(Newser) - Yes Man, a Jim Carrey comedy about a guy who can’t say no, is “too sluggish and slapdash a vehicle for its star’s prodigious wackiness,” writes AO Scott in the New York Times. “Carrey looks too grown up, too tired to plunge into the reckless...

A Christmas Story at 25: Stealth Classic

Industry born on collectors items, museum, and conference

(Newser) - After 25 years, devotees of A Christmas Story and its wacky realism still tune in to regular holiday showings, including an annual 24-hour marathon on Christmas Day. Just as Star Trek has Trekkies, A Christmas Story has Ralphies, named after Ralphie Parker, a 9-year-old desperate for a BB gun. CNN ...

Paul Rudd Rules
 Paul Rudd Rules 
Dec 14, 2008 2:01 PM CST

Paul Rudd Rules

Meet the underappreciated king of comedy

(Newser) - Paul Rudd, “the MVP of comedy films,” doesn’t get nearly enough props, Paige Newman writes for MSNBC. Seeing Rudd’s latest film, Role Models—“one of the most surprisingly funny movies I’ve seen in a while”—reminded Newman of the actor’s versatility and...

How Nerds Can Save Network TV
How Nerds
Can Save Network TV
Dec 12, 2008 11:44 AM CST

How Nerds Can Save Network TV

Big Bang Theory succeeds where less brainy sitcoms fail

(Newser) - Why is a physics-quoting comedy one of network TV's only successful sitcoms? And with so many Americans turning to cable, the Internet, and reality programming, what does that mean for the future of prime time? The Wall Street Journal looks at The Big Bang Theory, an unlikely hit that actually...

Down-to-Earth Fey on Top of the World
 Down-to-Earth Fey 
 on Top of the World 
GLOSSIES
Dec 1, 2008 1:03 PM CST

Down-to-Earth Fey on Top of the World

Maureen Dowd chronicles the comedian's rise to fame

(Newser) - How did frumpy writer Tina Fey evolve into a glamorous TV star? Hard work and lots of rules, Maureen Dowd writes in Vanity Fair. “She is the Obedient Daughter, the German taskmistress, the kind but firm maker and keeper of rules," writes Dowd, who also solves the mystery...

How Comedy Turned Serious
 How Comedy Turned Serious 
ANALYSIS
Nov 29, 2008 7:53 AM CST

How Comedy Turned Serious

A funny thing happened on the way to the election—politics and comedy swapped roles

(Newser) - Politics and comedy are trading places, Lee Siegel writes in the Wall Street Journal, as the antics of politicians get more outlandish and comics are increasingly the people speaking truth to power. Fake newsmen like Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert, with their stern commentary, lean more towards the "dark,...

Four Christmases a Big Turkey
 Four Christmases a Big Turkey 
MOVIE REVIEW
Nov 26, 2008 9:46 AM CST

Four Christmases a Big Turkey

Holiday comedy saps critics of their Christmas cheer

(Newser) - Holiday comedy Four Christmases had some critics chuckling but left most moaning ho-ho-no. Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon star as a couple forced by circumstance to visit the dysfunctional families of their divorced parents, but the "predictable and dyspeptic story" lacks the bite of misanthropic holiday classics like Bad ...

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

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
...

Stories 181 - 200 | << Prev   Next >>