June 2024
Our free monthly newsletter, featuring some comedic highlights from Tribeca and other stuff making us laugh right now...
Hi everyone,
If anyone asks: this month’s newsletter came out perfectly, right on time, chock full of HILARIOUS recommendations for UNDENIABLE talent you should know.
(If anyone asks.)
Los Angeles
If we’re here to talk about things making us laugh recently (and we are), nothing has surpassed the deep belly laughs elicited by Mr. Chonkers at the Elysian. This Edinburgh Fringe-favorite solo show from John Norris (as brilliant as he is mustachioed) was an astoundingly funny hour spent with a wildly capable performer. He’ll be reprising the show on July 12th and my advice is to get your ticket now — less because you’ll “know what to do with it” and more because good lord, we all need the catharsis.
New York
John Trowbridge has been steadily employed as a writer for a major wrestling organization for several years now — and he’s risking it all by mounting “The Greatest Solo Show of All Time.” With enough shocking stories to fill an hour (and after a small, sold out run at the Under St. Marks theater earlier this year) he’ll be re-mounting the show at Littlefield on June 30th.
After sold out shows at Netflix is a Joke festival and Moontower in Austin, newsletter favorites Business Casual are beginning an Off Broadway run of their comedic play, “COWBOYS” at AsylumNYC on June 14th.
This month’s coverage from Tribeca Film Festival, currently running (until June 16th):
Griffin in Summer is a wonderful coming of age dramedy from director Nicholas Colia about a hyper-serious 14-year-old playwright attempting to put up his new divorce drama "Regrets of Autumn" in his basement. When he forms a surprise friendship with handsome 26-year-old handyman, his life is turned upside down. Despite some minor pacing issues, this was fresh and charming, with some bright comedic moments. Talent agents interested in working with younger folks should be running to star Everett Blunck, who is adorable, engaging, and has a real a knack for comedic timing.
Adult Best Friends is a feature comedy from director Delaney Buffett and writer Katie Corwin — who also lead the cast as fictionalized versions of themselves — about a woman who takes her codependent best friend on a weekend trip to break the news that she’s getting married. The premise of two best friends adusting to a new life phase together feels a bit familiar, but there's some great dialogue and joke writing, and charming comedic performances. Writers/performers to know.
Mars is a very funny animated comedy directed by Sevan Najarian and written by The Whitest Kids U' Know (Zach Cregger, Sam Brown, and the late Trevor Moore) about a "group of idiots" who travel to Mars, only to learn they have been duped by an Elon Musk-like billionaire. This one is very R-rated so may not be to everyone's taste - but there's some really excellent joke writing and the overall plot and execution feel fresh - no surprise from these established talents.
Bad Shabbos, from director Daniel Robbins, is a comedy of errors about an interfaith couple whose parents meet for the first time over a Shabbat dinner. After an accidental death in the bathroom, things spiral. This one felt a bit familiar between the "hide the body" premise and presence of oft-seen NY acting staples (David Paymer, Catherine Curtin) - however, it's populated with just as many fun surprises (like Method Man in a wonderful turn as an extremely committed doorman). It also features some great young talent and could be worth checking out for talent agents.
One of the latest from Adult Swim's Smalls program, this short from Tevin "Mandal" Williams and Clay Skinner perfectly matches a visual style with a subject. The animation is a cool mash-up of old school and retro with modern colors and character designs. The comedy is unexpected and captures the awkward humor that comes with middle school. Brought to us by an Atlanta-based creator, this team is one to track.
Season 2 of "Smiling Friends" is officially here, and we only had to wait two years to be reunited with the group of coworkers whose job centers on bringing happiness to their customers. The episodes released so far this season have the same biting humor, darkly funny tone, and unsettling animation style, with the hyperrealistic close-ups remaining a signature of the series. With the new season, the creators have the freedom to diversify the animation style, take creative risks, and experiment with even more comedy and visual gags, and we can't wait to see how the rest of the episodes play out.
We know him, we love him. It's time to give Vinny Thomas a proper shout out for being the gift that keeps on giving us hilarious characters and skits. He brought real heat this past month, with both timely and timeless bits. And in honor of pride month, we're sharing a fan favorite as well: A Pigeon at Pride.
Writer/director Matt Porter's latest short, SEE SAW, takes on a concept many have played with before: what if all of your personal data (emails, texts, photos, etc) were leaked for the world to see? The difference here is it develops into an incredibly grounded human story, with a wonderful center performance by David Brown. SEE SAW premiered at Aspen ShortsFest in April, and is now available to view online.
Late Show writer and New Yorker cartoonist Asher Perlman is releasing “Well, This is Me,” his debut cartoon collection (on June 18th). To celebrate, here are a few of our favorite panels:
That’s it for this month.
Thanks!
*This newsletter features contributions from a team of comedy tastemakers:
Carly Hoogendyk
Emily Kochman
Keelin Ryan
Casey Hodgkinson