comedy – News Stories About comedy - Page 15

Late-Night Comedy Scribes Find New Outlet

Nov 26, 2007 1:44 PM CST

Late-Night Comedy Scribes Find New Outlet

Blogs allow 'fun of working, without stress or pay'; talks resume

(Newser) - Striking late-night comedy writers have some serious issues—no jobs and, worse, no creative outlet. When the jokes went from "60 to zero," in the words of a "Colbert Report" staffer, many aimed new blogs and videos squarely at the studios on the other side of the...

Critics Under Enchanted's Spell

NEW RELEASE

Nov 21, 2007 12:12 PM CST

Critics Under Enchanted's Spell

Adams wins reviewers over in Disney sendup

(Newser) - Enchanted starts out looking like classic Disney animation—right up until the wicked queen banishes Princess Giselle to a live-action Times Square. “OK, it’s a little corny,” admits Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers. But, like most critics, he succumbs to the spell of this gently revisionist fairy...

Last Rat Packer Joey Bishop Dies

Oct 18, 2007 5:27 PM CDT

Last Rat Packer Joey Bishop Dies

Comic and actor was the last living member of Sinatra's group

(Newser) - A comedian, actor, talk show host, and last living member of the Rat Pack, Joey Bishop died last night of multiple causes at age 89, CNN reports. Though many critics minimized Bishop's role, Sinatra termed him "the Hub of the Big Wheel." Bishop hosted Johnny Carson's "Tonight...

Filmgoers Ask,
Why Did I Get Married?

Oct 14, 2007 4:57 PM CDT

Filmgoers Ask, Why Did I Get Married?

Perry comedy debuts at number one with 90% black audience

(Newser) - Black America flocked to Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married? this weekend, lifting it to number one with $21.5 million. George Clooney and The Rock bowed to the actor/playwright's fourth effort, as The Game Plan fell to second at $11.5 million and Michael Clayton tied Mark...

Darjeeling a Thoughtful Ride

Oct 5, 2007 11:55 AM CDT

Darjeeling a Thoughtful Ride

(Newser) - The Darjeeling Limited is a melancholy road comedy that never quite derails despite occasional bumps, say critics. Effortless performances by Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, and Jason Schwartzman "evince with unforced ease the rewards and resentments of brotherhood," writes Ann Hornaday of the Washington Post.

Halloween Slashes the Competition

Sep 2, 2007 4:36 PM CDT

Halloween Slashes the Competition

Spooks Superbad out of top spot as moviegoers cap record summer

(Newser) - Moviegoers basked in the glow of Halloween a month early this year, shocking the movie biz by capping the fastest $4 billion in Hollywood summer history. Rob Zombie’s horror remake topped the weekend box office with a record $26.5 million, scaring two-time champ Superbad out of first place...

Critics Paddle Balls of Fury

Aug 31, 2007 4:47 AM CDT

Critics Paddle Balls of Fury

Lame ping-pong comedy lacks bounce, reviewers grumble

(Newser) - Balls of Fury is barely getting it over the net, according to most critics, who find the ping-pong-meets-martial-arts comedy lifeless and unfunny. “It's the kind of comedy that finds Asian people hi-lar-ious because they're...Asian. (Are you laughing yet?)," writes Entertainment Weekly’s Owen Gleiberman.

'Daily Show' Invades Iraq

Aug 21, 2007 1:12 AM CDT

'Daily Show' Invades Iraq

Fake news program sends comedy correspondent to real combat zone

(Newser) - The scene might not be quite so funny this week on spoof news program "The Daily Show" as comedy correspondent Rob Riggle returns with actual on-the-scene reports from an actual week in Iraq. Beginning last night the show aired footage shot by Riggle's crew with hand-held cameras while...

'Superbad' Scores
Super Big

Aug 20, 2007 12:34 AM CDT

'Superbad' Scores Super Big

Low-budget teen comedy rakes in $31.2M at box office despite R rating

(Newser) - Ribald teen romp "Superbad" triumphed at the box office this weekend, raking in $31.2 million despite an R rating and a modest budget under $20 million, reports Variety. It marks the seventh biggest opening for an R-rated comedy, edging out Judd Apatow's other summer hit, "Knocked Up,...

Joan Rivers
Gets Ready for Her Close-Up

Aug 19, 2007 5:07 PM CDT

Joan Rivers Gets Ready for Her Close-Up

Comic puts on her game face for new theatrical piece

(Newser) - Having been relieved of red-carpet duty, Joan Rivers is busy workshopping an autobiographical comedy in San Francisco. It's the 74-year-old Barnard grad's third play, and she's planning to take it off-Broadway once she figures out "what's funny and poignant and what isn't." The LA Times pays a call...

'Superbad' More Super Than Bad

Aug 17, 2007 9:40 AM CDT

'Superbad' More Super Than Bad

Dirty but adorable teen romp looks like a non-sleeper sleeper hit

(Newser) - Superbad, the tale of two high school seniors' attempts to get laid in a single day and night, is an honest teen comedy in the mold of recent movies that are foul-mouthed and raunchy but actually kind of sweet, critics say. Says Carina Chocano of the LA Times, "for...

Rush Hour 3 Runs Out of Gas

Aug 10, 2007 7:07 AM CDT

Rush Hour 3 Runs Out of Gas

Recycled gags fall flat in tired buddy comedy

(Newser) - Legendary martial artist Jackie Chan teams up with peppy funnyman Chris Tucker for the third time since 1998 in Rush Hour 3, but critics are panning the film, opening today, as a flat-tire addition to the buddy-comedy franchise. "It’s a generically crummy action flick. It’s ugly. It’...

Hollywood Prays for Laughs from the Faithful

Jun 20, 2007 4:54 AM CDT

Hollywood Prays for Laughs from the Faithful

With 'Evan Almighty,' Universal skews pious in comedy division

(Newser) - God is returning to the big screen this Friday in Universal's Evan Almighty, a big-budget comedy aimed at the churchgoing. The LA TImes recalls that Hollywood used to balk at religiously-inflected films, but saw the light when Mel Gibson's spiritual blockbuster The Passion of the Christ raked in $370M in...