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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: comedy

comedy stories: 166 news summaries

61 - 80 of 166 Stories | << Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Next >>

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OPINION

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

Blagojevich is not some kind of clown here to amuse you

Jan 29, 09 9:16 AM CST
(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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
impeachment • comedy • Gene Robinson • Illinois • governor • Rod Blagojevich • political scandal • Dana Milbank


 Sleepwalker 
 Stirs Yuks 
 Off-Broadway 

Sleepwalking With Me
wins praise from neurologists

Jan 25, 09 9:18 AM CST
(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... More »

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theater • Brad Pitt • Broadway • comedy • neurology • skiing • sleep disorder

 Blago, Burris Kick Off SNL's '09 

Comedian Jason Sudeikis is the Illinois gov's hair apparent

Jan 11, 09 11:14 AM CST
(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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Saturday Night Live • television • comedy • Rod Blagojevich • Keenan Thompson • Rachel Maddow • live television • Roland Burris • Jason Sudeikis • Amy Elliott

 Fey Is AP's 
 Entertainer 
 of the Year 

30 Rock star and Palin impersonator beats out Downey, Ledger

Dec 23, 08 12:42 PM CST
(AP) - 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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • television • comedy • Tina Fey • Robert Downey Jr. • Heath Ledger • Associated Press • comedian

movie review

 Yes Man? No, Thanks 

Familiar Carrey antics seem tired in positivity flick

Dec 19, 08 12:55 PM CST
(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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
film • comedy • movie review • Jim Carrey • Yes Man • Zooey Deschanel

 A Christmas Story at 25:
 Stealth Classic 

Industry born on collectors items, museum, and conference

Dec 14, 08 7:42 PM CST
(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 ... More »

MORE ABOUT:
comedy • holiday • fans • movies • Christmas Day • A Christmas Story

 Paul Rudd Rules 

Meet the underappreciated king of comedy

Dec 14, 08 2:01 PM CST
(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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
film • comedy • Judd Apatow • Clueless • Role Models • Paul Rudd

How Nerds
Can Save Network TV

Big Bang Theory succeeds where less brainy sitcoms fail

Dec 12, 08 11:44 AM CST
(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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
television • CBS • comedy • physics • TV ratings • sitcom • Chuck Lorre • The Big Bang Theory (sitcom) • Johnny Galecki • Roseanne (sitcom)

GLOSSIES

 Down-to-Earth Fey 
 on Top of the World 

Maureen Dowd chronicles the comedian's rise to fame

Dec 1, 08 1:03 PM CST
(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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Saturday Night Live • comedy • Tina Fey • 30 Rock

ANALYSIS

 How Comedy Turned Serious 

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

Nov 29, 08 7:53 AM CST
(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 "... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Saturday Night Live • comedy • humor • Jon Stewart • The Daily Show • fake news • Stephen Colbert • Late Night • The Colbert Report • comedian

MOVIE REVIEW

 Four Christmases a Big Turkey 

Holiday comedy saps critics of their Christmas cheer

Nov 26, 08 9:46 AM CST
(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 ... More »

MORE ABOUT:
comedy • movie review • Christmas • Reese Witherspoon • Vince Vaughn • Jon Voight • Robert Duvall • movies

Irony Is Dead Again? Gee Thanks, Obama

Joan Didion disses hopeful trend, but ironists keep the flame

Nov 22, 08 10:36 AM CST
(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 "... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • comedy • irony

With Election Gone, SNL Enters 'Rebuilding' Phase

Three new members join comedy show's cast

Nov 21, 08 3:14 PM CST
(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
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Saturday Night Live • NBC • comedy • Lorne Michaels • Michaela Watkins • Abby Elliott • bobby moynihan

South Park Duo to Skewer Mormons—on Broadway

Trey Parker and Matt Stone set their comedic sights on Utah religion

Nov 18, 08 4:15 PM CST
(Newser) - Canadians can rest easy. The creators of South Park are ready to offend an entirely new population—Mormons, reports the New York Post. This time, though, they will do so not on the big screen or the small screen but on Broadway. Trey Parker and Matt Stone are bringing the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
religion • Broadway • comedy • cartoon • Mormon • South Park • Trey Parker • Matt Stone • musical

 Monk Will Go Out on Top 

USA says quirky detective show will end after upcoming season

Nov 17, 08 1:23 PM CST
(Newser) - The news that the upcoming eighth season of Monk will be its last has fans in mourning, but the USA Network staple leaves a rich legacy, Media Life reports. Monk ushered in the era of original cable programming and has consistently scored top ratings in key demographics. Tony... More »

MORE ABOUT:
television • cable TV • comedy • Emmy Awards • USA • Tony Shalhoub • Monk • cancelled

Satirical Paper Thrives
in Tough US Market

The Onion feeds the public's need for
satiric news coverage

Nov 16, 08 8:10 PM CST
(Newser) - As newspapers lay off workers and struggle to survive, the Onion is adding staff and circulating in new markets, the Washington Post reports. Riding the crest of America's love for Jon Stewart-style satirical news, the 20-year-old paper pays writers well and holds down a New York City office. "It's... More »

MORE ABOUT:
newspaper • satire • comedy • The Daily Show • The Onion

  Fox Cancels Mad TV 

Fox cancels comedy show after 14 years

Nov 12, 08 5:50 PM CST
(Newser) - Mad TV will bid adieu after 14 seasons of Saturday night sketches, the final nail in its coffin coming from a failure to boost ratings during the presidential campaign, reports Defamer. Fox's Saturday Night Live competitor, which has been on the chopping block for years, will finish up the season... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Saturday Night Live • television • satire • comedy • Fox • Mad TV

SNL Addresses
Estrogen Deficit

Eccentric additions to bring youthful energy

Nov 12, 08 5:34 PM CST
(Newser) - The election cycle is over, along with Tina Fey's impersonations of Sarah Palin and Amy Poehler's run on Saturday Night Live. Lorne Michaels has plucked two young female comediennes to help fill the gap, the Comic's Comic reports. Abby Elliott, the daughter of eccentric funnyman Chris Elliott, and Michaela Watkins... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Saturday Night Live • comedy • comedian • Amy Poehler • Michaela Watkins • Abby Elliott

OPINION

White Comics Lack Nuance Needed to Mine Obama

President-elect not lacking in comic fodder; it's mainstream comedians who are lacking

Nov 7, 08 3:37 PM CST
(Newser) - Bill Maher recently said Barack Obama “needs to give comedians something to work with.” The President-elect is “too perfect,” he groused, and worse, liberals are afraid to laugh at black people. If only Dave Chappelle were working, laments Salamishah Tillet for the Root. He’d quickly... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Saturday Night Live • Barack Obama • race • comedy • Bill Maher • Fred Armisen • President Obama • Bill Maher Grid

movie review

  Role Models Sets Bad Example 

Critics mixed on man-child laffer

Nov 7, 08 12:11 PM CST
(Newser) - The "shamelessly stoopid, proudly profane R-rated comedy” Role Models, the story of two immature men forced to take care of kids, is “killer funny,” writes Peter Travers in Rolling Stone. But other critics aren’t so sure. “A lot of Role Models is plain old tin,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
film • comedy • movie review • Role Models • Paul Rudd • Seann William Scott • Jane Lynch

61 - 80 of 166 Stories | << Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Next >>


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