These days, Saturday Night Live is a total grab bag.  Chances are, most of what you’ll see will be too long and not really funny, but every once in a while, they figure out how to make a sketch reminiscent of SNL in it’s early 90′s heyday.

Tonight, SNL is back with it’s first episode of the season, and all fingers are crossed that they’ll come back with a bang.  I mean, they’ve got Michael Phelps hosting (who’s sure to be stiff and awkward), Tina Fey might just make our dreams come true with a Sarah Palin impression, and sources are saying that Obama will indeed make an appearance (probably also acting stiff and awkward).

In case you don’t have a rager to go to tonight — or it’s so lame you come home early, check out SNL and report back to us.  Let us know if it was funny, or Jimmy Fallen stupid.

Men have always ruled the comedy scene. From dynamic duos such as Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello and Jay and Silent Bob to teams such as the Happy Madison boys (Adam Sandler, David Spade, Rob Schneider, Peter Dante, Allen Covert and Nick Swardson) and the Frat Pack (Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Owen and Luke Wilson and Steve Carrell).

There are virtually no female comedic ensembles who can sell movies like these guys can.

In the stand-up circuit, men generally receive the biggest reception. Recently, I went to a stand-up comedy review that featured twenty comics in one night. Of those twenty, only three women took the stage. Three. WTF?

Women are pretty damn funny, so why don’t we get the same appraisal as men get? Films like Old School put the Frat Pack on the map, while the hysterical chick flick The Sweetest Thing flopped at the box office. The Wedding Crashers cast has people rolling in the aisles, while far too many people have never seen Christina Applegate, Cameron Diaz, and Selma Blair sing The Penis Song.

I took this assignment to cover the 5 Funniest Women out there, but quickly realized there is just too much talent to narrow it down so far. That said, what follows is my personal list of five of the wittiest women in the world, along with some honorable mentions. I welcome feedback, comments, and nominations, because I’m sure I’ve missed some ladies that can more than keep up with the boys. Read More »

Perhaps I’m glad that I’ll maybe, just maybe, have the last say about 30 Rock, and politely disagree with Robert Bianco’s recent review of the show. OK, that’s ridiculous. I won’t have the last say, but at least I can respond to Bianco’s false USA Today-y opinion that 30 Rock is woefully on the decline. First, as a T.V. viewer and fan of 30 Rock, I think it’s a shame that the show is ending early, and I look forward to its return next season. So, with that said, I’ll begin my letter.

Dear Mr. Bianco:

What is wrong with you?

1) Demographics:

You are terribly presumptuous in thinking that the show only appeals to a younger audience (20s and 30s age range). The demographic is wider than you would think — haven’t you noticed the subtle ways they’ve advertised baby diapers, baby toys, etc.? Obviously appealing to the baby demographic, which you failed to consider when writing your critique.

My ol’ granny lives in a nasty retirement home. It smells like urine, but that’s not the point. My ol’ granny watches 30 Rock all the time. Perhaps that’s anecdotal, but I’ve been over there many times, and enjoyed an episode out in the main area with a bunch of other old peeps. They all laughed, just like my infant cousins laugh at the show. We all know (that means you), that when my granny and my infant cousins laugh at something, it’s universally funny. Read More »

I love Tina Fey and her poopy perspective

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Tina Fey is far funnier than Sarah Silverman. While I applaud both women, Ms. Fey’s comedy is more polished, snarkier, and smarter. I like Sarah Silverman and was disappointed when Comedy Central stopped playing her show. I think if they’d given it some more time, I might think differently about Ms. Silverman’s abilities.

Don’t get me wrong, I think she’s funny. Trust me, I’m all about crude. If you’re a lover of Cervantes, Rabelais, Boccaccio, etc., you gotta be crude to appreciate those dudes. And that’s just a short, short list of the classics that abound with ribaldry – I’ll spare you the list of contemporaries (and for me, an index of “contemporaries” begin in the nineteenth century).

To be sure, I like that both these comediennes are crude. Again, I think it’s clear that I appreciate and relish vulgar forms of humor, but Ms. Silverman’s whole shtick is simply too unrefined, and that bothers me. Again, I’m not blaming her for being “less” funny than Ms. Fey, as I blame the fact that her show wasn’t allowed to blossom. I hope she’ll find another niche, say HBO, and she’ll have a similar show, and her weirdness and crudity will be put to the test, and for more than just a few seasons. Read More »

Tina Fey is back with SNL!

Well, not really. But she was back last night as a guest host to celebrate the first NEW episode of Saturday Night Live since the writer’s strike. Because I have no life, I was home to watch it, and you know what? The damn thing was actually funny. I mean, really funny. Old school SNL funny.

No matter how you slice it, Tina Fey is pure comedy gold.

One of the funniest parts of the episode was a “commercial” for a “once a year” birth control pill. …I’m not gonna say anything more. Just watch and prepare to laugh.