Category Archives: Comedians

Eight Nights of Hanukkah, Eight Entertaining Jews: Night #5

Image via LA Times

The old insult goes, “Jews run show business.” To that I say “thanks.”

Jews make up about 0.2% of the world’s population yet they have always been a loud (emphasis on the loud) and prominent voice in film, television, music, and comedy.

The next eight days are Hanukkah, which is not the most important Jewish holiday, but we do get presents. For each night of Hanukkah, I will share one Jewish entertainer who has had a big impact on me. For the fifth night of Hanukkah, let’s talk about Sarah Silverman:

Of all of the best living comedians, Sarah Silverman might be taken for granted more than anybody else.

Silverman is basically a household name at this point, yet she has been plagued by some brilliant “failures” as well as a long history of being underrated. That’s okay, though, because she keeps doing what she just does best: providing laughs, as well as offense to those who feel the need to fall into that trap.

The phrase “Female Jewish Comedian” seems to go hand-in-hand with Sarah Silverman. This is true despite the fact that Silverman always says that she never grew up religious. Yet, as she says herself in her wonderful new special “We Are Miracles,” she just cannot separate herself from that image. Without her Jewish side, her sense of humor would never be the same.

Along with “Female Jewish Comedian,” the words “dirty” “vulgar” and “offensive” get tossed along with Silverman, too. However, she is the most misunderstood dirty comic out there. Those who claim that she is offensive for the sake of being offensive are unfortunately the overwhelming majority, and they seem to miss just how layered her act is. In her act, she’ll drop the c-bomb followed by a huge smile as if she’s a child who just figured out how to swear for the first time. Everything she says is delivered with the subtlest of winks.

On her brilliant but short-lived “Sarah Silverman Program,” Silverman took her stand-up act into scripted territory and constantly redefined what it meant to cross the line. In one episode, she bets a black man that being a Jewish woman is even more difficult, so the two switch lives for a day. When she puts on blackface, she thinks that people are booing her because she is black but in reality it’s because, well, she’s wearing blackface. Silverman has found a way to turn offensive jokes into self-deprecating humor. She is clearly playing a goof much different than who she really is. The joke is always on her. Silverman can make this work because when speaking candidly, she comes off as so kind and sincere. Just read her heartwarming memoir “The Bedwetter,” which I hope is one day turned into a movie.

In addition to her comedic sensibility, Sarah Silverman is also a model cultural Jew. She shows that being a Jew is about much more than believing in God or the Ten Commandments (downgraded from fifteen). If someone is born Jewish, they remain Jewish so long as they feel that way and choose to continue to identify with it. Silverman represents every friend you have ever had who cannot help but bring up Jewish things constantly in conversation because their sense of identity is so overwhelming.

The point is that you can Anglicize your name as much as you want (*cough* Winona Ryder *cough* where’s my inhaler?), but your Jewishness does not simply disappear. Sarah Silverman, like any good comedian who finds something funny, embraces it and then owns the hell out of it.

Haha, the 90s! It’s funny because they dress funny because it’s a different year!

Eight Nights of Hanukkah, Eight Entertaining Jews: Night #4

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This is one of my favorite pictures ever taken.

The old insult goes, “Jews run show business.” To that I say “thanks.”

Jews make up about 0.2% of the world’s population yet they have always been a loud (emphasis on the loud) and prominent voice in film, television, music, and comedy.

The next eight days are Hanukkah, which is not the most important Jewish holiday, but we do get presents. For each night of Hanukkah, I will share one Jewish entertainer who has had a big impact on me. For the fourth night of Hanukkah, let’s talk about Larry David:

The next face on Jewish Mount Rushmore would be the ever-present scowl of Larry David. He is the spirit animal of just about every Jew you could ever meet, old man or not, from Brooklyn or not.

I could have chosen Jerry Seinfeld for this slot, but Larry David resonates much further. Maybe its because his sense of humor goes beyond merely observational, or maybe because he at first did not get all of the public spotlight during the “Seinfeld” years. That is not even a problem now, as David is now the star of his own show. Every year seems like it is going to be the last year of “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” But then, it always comes back for another season.

Good. Let’s keep it that way. I feel like everyone needs “Curb” in their lives. Larry David is like a social cop, always making everyone aware of what social standards are complete B.S. Essentially, society as we know it would crumble without Larry David.

It still amazes me how popular Larry David is, because on television he portrays a cynical curmudgeon (who, let’s face it, is essentially what he is in reality). Larry doesn’t try and get anybody to like him, which is also why he is ultimately so likable. There is something dangerous in David’s sense of humor. He doesn’t try to play it safe. He revels in the art of calling people out. And it would be meaner if all of his observations weren’t so true. All of us would love to elevate small talk to medium talk and tell that woman in line in front of us at Ben & Jerry’s that she’s a sample abuser. Larry David simply says the kind of things that we are all thinking, but never blurt out because, you know, social standards and politeness. Larry David is a free and uninhibited man.

There is something about Larry’s sense of humor that is ultimately very Jewish. The Jewish state of mind can best be summed up by non-Jew John Mulaney, who once said that “Jews don’t daydream because folks are after them.” Larry David is overly present, enough so that he can spot everything going on around him, process it, and then call out whoever he wants. Whether he likes it or not, this is how Larry David became a modern Jewish icon.

Yet, Larry David is not just an idol to the Jews. “Seinfeld” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” are both touchstones of American comedy. I guess that close-talkers and chat-and-cutters are a universal problem after all.

Favorite “Seinfeld” Word: Shrinkage

Favorite “Curb” Moment: Larry leaves a Bar Mitzvah early because he wants to go home to take a shit. “This project demands I return to base!”

Eight Nights of Hanukkah, Eight Entertaining Jews: Night #2

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The old insult goes, “Jews run show business.” To that I say “thanks.”

Jews make up about 0.2% of the world’s population yet they have always been a loud (emphasis on the loud) and prominent voice in film, television, music, and comedy. The next eight days are Hanukkah, which is not the most important Jewish holiday, but we do get presents. For each night of Hanukkah, I will share one Jewish entertainer who has had a big impact on me. For the second night of Hanukkah, let’s talk about Woody Allen:

And the second face on the Mount Rushmore of Jewish comedians: Woody Allen.

At first glance, Woody Allen looks like the stereotype of the typical Jewish man: nebbish, scrawny, neurotic, and intellectual. On his own account, Allen is far from this in real life. He is an actor playing a part that he happens to be really good at playing.

Allen has a different kind of Jewish humor than Mel Brooks, who I profiled yesterday. Instead of telling funny stories from the Lower East Side, Allen is more the kind of Jew who tells jokes that began with the setup, “so three Rabbis walk into a bar…”

Like many other Jewish entertainers before him, Allen anglicized his name (he was born Allen Konigsberg). However, that did not stop Jewish ideas from influencing his writing. Just look at “Annie Hall,” where the funniest scene is about the differences between a Jewish and a non-Jewish family. “Crimes and Misdemeanors” is about a man dealing with faith-induced guilt after committing a crime. You can change your last name all you want, but that won’t stop you from being influenced by your upbringing.

Whether or not his presence fulfills stereotypes is moot, because Allen is one of the hardest working people in all of show business. Without a laptop or a cell phone, he has been putting out one movie a year for most of his career. Sure, some of those turn out to be flops (as might happen when your creative output is that high), but its always worth it to get classics like “The Purple Rose of Cairo,” “Hannah and Her Sisters,” and “Midnight in Paris.”

Just like Mel Brooks, Allen has not rendered himself irrelevant, despite duds like “To Rome with Love”. Two years ago, he won an Oscar. This year, he wrote and directed “Blue Jasmine,” which is by far one of his finest features. Allen has gone from standup to TV to film and dominated each medium. He has recently talked about a possible return to standup comedy. I don’t know if this was just talk, but if Mr. Allen decides to return to standup it would make the Jewish community, and the entire world, very happy.

Fun Fact: My first exposure to Woody Allen was through the movie “Antz” where he voiced the lead ant. Seriously, it’s an animation classic.

Come back to The Reel Deal tomorrow night for Jew #3.

Eight Nights of Hanukkah, Eight Entertaining Jews: Night #1

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The old insult goes, “Jews run show business.” To that I say “thanks.”

Jews make up about 0.2% of the world’s population yet they have always been a loud (emphasis on the loud) and prominent voice in film, television, music, and comedy. The next eight days are Hanukkah, which is not the most important Jewish holiday, but we do get presents. For each night of Hanukkah, I will share one Jewish entertainer who has had a big impact on me. Let’s start off the festivities with Mel Brooks:

If a Mount Rushmore of Jewish comedians were ever to be constructed, Mel Brooks would most definitely be the biggest, most prominent face on there. To this day, Mel Brooks’ presence remains indistinguishable from Jewish comedy.

At the ripe old age of 87, Brooks remains as hilarious and relevant as ever. That is partly because he is as funny as ever, but also because he simply refuses to fade from the spotlight. Unfortunately, Comedy is often susceptible to aging (Cracked did a great podcast on the subject). Even classics like “Dr. Strangelove” and “Bringing Up Baby” have shown their age. Not Mel Brooks, though.

Just listen to “The 2000 Year Old Man.” Or watch “Blazing Saddles.” Both have barely aged. In the case of “Blazing Saddles,” it is still a shock that something like that could have been made when it was. In fact, it probably would have had a lot of trouble with the PC crowd of the present as well. Brooks seems to find that mixing the past into the present, as well as speaking in a ridiculous Yiddish accent, is universally hilarious.

Which Mel Brooks movie is the best depends on who you are speaking to. Brooks is one of Hollywood’s best genre satirists, and everyone from Edgar Wright to Quentin Tarantino to Dan Harmon probably owe a great thanks to him. Brooks said that he was never a big science fiction fan, yet the merchandising scene from “Spaceballs” is one of the sharpest bits of commentary on the movie business that there is.

While Brooks might not be religious, he is openly Jewy, letting every bit of the culture inform his works. That odd and exaggerated accent is a staple of nearly all of his characters. Comedians exploiting the languages and cultures that they grew up with was common when Brooks was coming of age in the comedy world (see: Sid Caesar). Brooks is just one step closer to the Old Country traditions than most people, and clearly he has never lost sight of them.

There is a reason that most Jews can recite quotes from Mel Brooks. He embodies the idea of Jewish humor: every dark place can be conquered with a good joke. The Jewish experience has always been an uncertain one, and I believe this is where all of the great Jewish comedy truly stems from. In “Blazing Saddles,” Brooks laughs in the faces of racists. In “The Producers,” he makes the Nazis look like absolute fools. In “History of the World: Part I,” he turned the Inquisition into a giant musical number. Making fun of evil is a great way to make evil less frightening.

Mel Brooks is what I think of whenever I think of the idea of an old Jewish man. He seems like the kind of person who you would see at a deli and then he would pull you over to the side and chew your ear off for hours with hilarious stories from the past. Now, if I ever were to run into Mel Brooks at Katz’s or Canter’s and he were to be so generous, I would immediately cancel all of my plans for the day, and then shut up and listen.

Fun Fact: Mel Brooks has also produced many serious films in his career. Among them are David Cronenberg’s “The Fly” and David Lynch’s “The Elephant Man.”

Come back to The Reel Deal tomorrow night for Jew #2.

Movie Review: Sleepwalk with Me

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Even though “Sleepwalk with Me” focuses on bad relationships and near-death experiences, you may feel eerily comfortable. Mike Birbiglia reminds everyone in the first few seconds that we are watching a movie. He also tells us to turn our cell phones off. “Sleepwalk with Me” is like watching a very well directed standup special: the comedian will take you on this journey and no matter what is said, you will have to be on his side or get out.

Birbiglia’s life story is funny, interesting, and inspiring enough to have been turned into a one man show, podcast episode, book, and now a movie. The story has worked in every form. Birbiglia uses film to its fullest advantage to capture some of the best and worst parts of this time in his life, and he proves himself to be as skilled of a director as he is a writer and comedian.

“Sleepwalk with Me” is interspersed with monologues from Birbiglia as he drives around in his car. It has a similar effect to Woody Allen talking to the camera in “Annie Hall,” but here we get an even better sense of what part of his life he is in now. He’s well-rested, self-aware, and sure of himself. He basically tells us how we should feel about his own actions at crucial moments. This is a very nice cushion, as Birbiglia never tries to sugarcoat his own life story as others might be tempted to do.

“Sleepwalk with Me” is also an insightful look at a failed relationship, and would make a great double feature with “Celeste and Jesse Forever.” Playing himself under the alias of Matt Pandamiglio, Birbiglia manages to give himself a name that’s even harder to pronounce than his actual one. “Sleepwalk with Me” details the time in his life when he was struggling to make it as a comedian. After his younger sister gets engaged, he feels more pressure to tie the knot with his long time girlfriend Abby (Lauren Ambrose). All of the stresses and bad habits lead to sleepwalking. Sometimes, it is funny (“there’s a jackal in the room!”) and other times, it’s downright destructive.

Mike’s family, frequently the butt of many of his jokes, is a major part of the film. His mother (Carol Kane) is the kind of person who concludes her speeches with something totally insignificant. His father (James Rebhorn), meanwhile, is a little more emotionally distant. Yet, he can repeat every part of a conversation even when he’s all the way in the other room.

At one point, Birbiglia has to remind us that “we’re on his side.” Yes, he believes his actions were bad enough that he has to make sure that we won’t abandon him, and that is definitely one of the reasons we never do. “Sleepwalk with Me” isn’t about trying to justify one’s actions, it’s about growing as a person. It is a coming of age story for life as an adult. A lot of his revelations truly feel like trinkets of wisdom. It is hard to do that and not seem trite. We witness the moment that he finds his voice as a comedian, and learns a great lesson (taught by Marc Maron in form of Marc Mulheren): being funny is about speaking the truth, not trying to make people laugh. It’s a fact of life that is often easy to forget.

“Sleepwalk with Me” dabbles towards the surreal in its dream sequences. Two of them are obviously dreams off the bat. However, one of the sequences is so well done that it took me almost to the moment that Birbiglia wakes up to realize that it was a dream. The whole sequence is silly, but not implausible enough to not be reality. And some of those moments when he wakes up to find himself reenacting his dreams are funny because they all actually happened. Once again, truth is always funniest.

Independent comedies tend to take the road of dry humor before turning into a drama in the third act. Many of them seem to be afraid to make us laugh out loud. Not Mike Birbiglia. If you followed Birbiglia before this film, then chances are you knew many of these stories, and have heard many of these jokes. But most of his jokes never get old, and seeing events we’ve only heard described acted out make them all the more funny and memorable. The only way to understand the uncomfortable feeling of someone’s first time doing standup is to actually see it. Describing a lip-synching contest is one thing, but showing a girl awkwardly mouthing along to the Backstreet Boys just can’t be topped.

I would venture to say that Mike Birbiglia is a brave man. He reveals large chunks of his life that most people would usually keep private. Not to mention, he has to reenact one of the most physically painful moments in his entire life. True to his comedian form, he even “zings” the doctor in the hospital. And when I say this film is inspiring, I mean it in the best sense of the word, and not in the Hallmark way. “Sleepwalk with Me” is essentially about a man who used to solve his problems by avoiding them and now solves his problems by confronting them. Being a good artist and performer seems to fall in line with this: to work well on stage and behind the camera, you must know what your voice is. And to know what your voice is, you must confront everything good and bad in your life.

Voice and vision are traits that a lot of filmmakers lack. With his first feature, Birbiglia announced who he is with clarity. Comedy buffs will enjoy seeing this behind-the-scenes look at the standup world peppered with many great cameos. Those who are unfamiliar with Birbiglia will find this a great introduction to his style of comedy. If there was one qualm I had with “Sleepwalk with Me,” it’s that Birbiglia didn’t include much of his relationship with his father, which was detailed to a much greater extent in the book. The sense we got is that his father believed he needed a “goddamn reality check.” In the book, it went much deeper than that, and the final part of the story in which the two of them open up nearly moved me to tears. But I think that can be saved for another time, as Birbiglia has so many great stories that will make for many more great movies.

Movie Review: Big Fan

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Here’s a little gem that escaped audiences. “Big Fan” is a film that came and went without much buzz, but it’s a film deserving of praise.

“Big Fan” is a film that’s something of a genre bender. It can be defined as either a solemn drama, or an extremely dark comedy. That’s up to you to decide. Most importantly, it’s an amazingly deep character study of a character you’d usually never want to know. The character in question is Paul Aufiero (Patton Oswalt). Paul is like Rupert Pupkin of the sports world.

Paul has two sides to him: one side is a lonely, unmotivated man who still lives with his mother. The other side is the world’s most passionate fan of the New York Giants.

By day, Paul is nothing but a worker at a parking garage. By night, he’s “Paul from Staten Island,” a frequent caller to a local sports radio station. One day, he stumbles upon Quantrell Bishop (Jonathan Hamm), his favorite quarterback. Paul follows him to a strip club, which results in a fight which sends Paul to the hospital. After the attack gets Quantrell arrested, Paul must decide between loyalty, and reality.

“Big Fan” comes from the mind of Robert Siegel. This is Siegel’s directorial debut. However, he did write the brilliant “The Wrestler.” This once again proves Siegel’s talent at making works of art examining what happens in the sports world from the inside out. While “The Wrestler” could be seen as something of a mockumentary following one man’s life inside the ring, “Big Fan” is a mockumentary about the man who always stands at the sidelines.

Siegel explores the twisted life of Paul Aufiero the same way he explored the twisted life of Randy “The Ram”: through an objective, almost apathetic, observer’s eye. Siegel is the rare filmmaker who realizes it’s not his duty to tell the audience how to feel about the character. Instead, he shows you everything the character does and you decide how to feel about them. Whether Paul is a pathetic loser who needs to get a life or just a lonely man who will only reach out in certain ways is up to the beholder.

What helps bring Paul into a three dimensional perspective is none other than the performance by Oswalt. Oswalt is just one of many renowned who have proven they have dramatic acting chops. What launches Oswalt into the ranks of other great comedians in serious roles such as Robin Williams in “Good Will Hunting,” Adam Sandler in “Punch Drunk Love,” and Bill Murray in “Lost in Translation” is his ability to take comedic sensibilities and shape them into a fine, serious performance. Even though Paul is the kind of man most people would mock in disgust, Oswalt makes him seem more like a human being than a walking joke.

“Big Fan” feels like a story ripped right out of the headlines. It’s one of those films that feels like it shouldn’t work but in the end, it does. It’s one of those movies that never goes where you’re thinking it will. For example, there’s no montage set to hipster music where the character gets new clothes and finally gets a job. No, it’s much more brutally real than that.

“Big Fan” basically has only plot development and a lot of things don’t change in the end. However, in a film, two things matter most about a story: what is being told, and how it’s being told. The “what” here is interesting, but with the wrong direction, it would’ve been nothing. The “how” here is stronger than ever.

Perhaps what makes the “how” so strong is the fascination the viewer will have with the film’s main character. Paul is a man of incredible complexity. Sometimes, he comes off as a stereotypical fanboy idiot. Other times, he comes off as someone with much intelligence, and a man who lives the way he does simply because he wants to.

If there is one definite thing we could find out about Paul, it’s that he’s extremely lonely. Siegel’s film is one of the better studies I’ve seen of isolation. Paul always has chances to escape his little bubble and be a real member of society. However, he doesn’t want to. Perhaps he sees no other way, he is just another of “God’s lonely men,” as Travis Bickle would say. But the beauty of the film is in its ambiguity, and we’ll never know the answer. “Big Fan” might offer an extremely vivid portrait of Paul Aufiero, but to know Paul, you just have to be Paul.