COMEDYBANGBANG

     Comedy Bang! Bang! is a tv show on IFC featuring some of the most well known comedians of tv. The show is a parody of a talk show, the set obviously not completed and the host is consistently a poor interviewer. The show focuses on surreal and outlandish humor, often altering reality. In many episodes the furniture talks to the host openly. The characters are over the top, the celebrity guests are caricatures of themselves, and the whole show is a whacky 22 minute ride.

     Comedy Bang! Bang! is the brainchild of former Mr. Show writer Scott Aukerman. The road to the show was a long one, Aukerman started running the show live in 2002 as Comedy Death Ray. A Comedy Death Ray podcast was started in 2009 and in 2011 the name was changed to Comedy Bang! Bang! 

The television show on IFC was spun off from the podcast in 2012, Aukerman bringing on comedian and one man band Reggie Watts to cohost. The show features a similar brand of comedy as the podcast but with a television twist.

The podcast is a celebrity playing themselves and a comedian playing a character. The entire show is improvised on the spot and Aukerman releases everything recorded.

Comedy Bang! Bang! works so well because it's so original. There's nothing before like this, the most similar thing is Mr. Show which was purely a sketch show. The combination of improv and sketch creates something that comedy has never done before. The sketch's are weird, the guests are weird, but that's what they need to surprise the audience. It's also incredibly impressive, that we see these comedians develop these characters on the spot.

     It should be noted, for those looking at the television business, that many comedians featured on the show and podcast are getting series of their own. The Kroll Show, Review, No You Shut Up!, The Birthday Boys, and even Parks and Recreation feature Bang! Bang! regulars and continue to be reviewed highly by critics. 

     Each episode promises something new and original. If you're bored with comedy today you shouldn't be, the comedy revival started at improv and is moving up to tv. Networks have figured out how to package these weird and niche markets and thus create incredibly creative content.

    Scoot Fluxerman is gathering a bunch of his funny friends in a tv studio and making something truly unseen on tv before.

The Arrested Development Pilot: One of the best pilots EVER

Arrested Development aired it's pilot on FOX on November 2nd, 2003. Since then, throughout its four seasons, the show has received 6 Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and recognition for being one of the funniest shows aired on television.

In my personal opinion, the pilot of this show is one of the strongest pilots for a television series I have ever seen. Typically, pilots are ruled out to not be considered the best, but this show breaks that rule. In this episode, you are introduced to every important character in the series. The main character, Michael Bluth, played by Jason Bateman, narrates the episode and gives a detailed description of his highly dysfunctional family members. The fast paced editing and highly saturated coloring make the episode even more intriguing to watch. Lower thirds are used as well as many graphics to point to certain things and create different vectors.

Another aspect that I found interesting is that when they go from one setting to another, they don't just cut it, they create two different boxes on the screen and then bring the next scene into full. I have never seen that done on a TV sitcom before. The dialogue that is used is absolutely hysterical and the conflicts that arrive are so coincidental and unrealistic that they make you laugh out loud. The killer cast of Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, Portia de Rossi, Will Arnett, and many more add hilarious antics with each of their lines. Overall, this pilot was incredible and really set a high standard for situational comedies.

This Is The End

Finally after way too long, I got around to seeing This Is The End written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. There was so much hype about it that I had to see it. Unfortunately hype leads to unrealistic expectations. Even though it didn't quite reach my expectations, I was laughing the whole time. I thought it was a fantastic idea having all of these actors together because their personal lives are something people are interested in seeing. Then adding in the whole apocalypse theme into it was hilarious. The party scene at James Franco's house was so perfect. Michael Cera slapping Rhianna's butt, Emma Watson and Craig Robinson joking around, and James Franco showing off all of his art. The dynamic of that party was unheard of. Then when all hell let's loose (literally) it just keeps getting more and more absurd. Actors fighting actors to not fall into the fiery pit. Then when they all get back in the house all of the different actors and character dynamics just lets loose.

Although it was nonstop comedy and absurdity I thought it was pretty nice to have the whole "work your way to heaven" aspect. That gave it a nice goal and reason for the actors to stay alive and work towards something. Through that goal, the actors were able develop into better human beings or die from their selfishness. For example, James Franco sacrifices himself for the other two, getting him into heaven. But then while he's being beamed up, he's being a bad winner about it and shows that he hasn't really changed from the experience and gets dropped back down into the group of cannibals. I think that's an amazing scene because one, it's hilarious having James Franco being a dick, and two, it sticks to the moral of the story.

I thought the production was amazing. Robert Caban, Kevin Harris, Durk Tyndall, Craig Barnett, Eric Frazier, and Brad manis did an incredible job with special effects. Everything looked so cool and really brought that whole apocalyptic feel to life. I also thought William Ladd Skinner did such a good job as art direction. The cannibal van, destroyed LA, and Franco's house all looked fantastic.

There were so many scenes that I loved from EmmaWatson robbing them, Michael Cera being a dick, everything about Craig Robinson, and the awkward relationship between Jay and Jonah. I will most definitely be watching this again soon and recommending it to just about everyone who hasn't seen it yet.

Filming Style of Arrested Development

Like many people I am a huge fan of the TV show Arrested Development and when Season 4 came out, I decided to re-watch the first three seasons and noticed something interesting. There is a very distinct camera style that is used during the show. Almost the whole show is shot handheld by someone who is a little too shaky. Here is a clip to show you what I mean.

The dialogue scenes seem to be entirely shot by cameras on shoulder mounts using fast paced zooms and pans. Normally people discourage this kind of filming because it feels somehow sloppy but for me, it somehow works for the show. Here is my theory on why. For those of you who haven't seen the show first off... watch it... secondly it is about a man named Michael Bluth who is forced to take over his family affairs after his father is put in prison. However the rest of his dysfunctional family make his job unbearable. This is why I think the show is shot so frantically, it is supposed to represent how frantic each episode is. Every episode Michael needs to overcome some obstacle being put up by someone in his family. Since Michael is the protagonist I think that maybe the camera represents how frantic and unorganized his job is.

 

Well anyway that is my theory on the interesting camera style for Arrested Development please comment if you have any questions.

Can Arrested Development Hook Us Again?

Arrested Development originally aired on Fox to regrettably low ratings, but for those who did watch it, it was like getting struck my lightning. One of the most beloved of cult-hit TV shows, Arrested Development was revived recently by Netflix, bringing fifteen brand new episodes with the Bluth family to the small screen yet again. But after all these years, can creator Mitch Hurwitz capture our imaginations again?

The original conception of Arrested Development occurred at a time of corporate scandal, most notably: the Enron. The inciting action of the entire series is based off of this topicality, with the father of the Bluth family being arrested because of his illegal decisions as the head of his company. This sends the entire family spiraling out of control, and then COMEDY! Also entering the mix is the invasion of Iraq, the ties the U.S. government had with Saddam Hussein, and the fallout therein. This provided another large plotline and hilarious climax in the series.

Bringing this series to life again almost a decade later leaves creator and writer Mitch Hurwitz with the problem of making the show current, topical and relevant again. Considering we are now in a recession (of some sort), the job market is much lower, and we are now almost in a conflict with North Korea, one can think of many angles through which Hurwitz can still provide a social satire.

Another present change is the actual means of consumption as well as the story structure. Providing content through Netflix, one can sit down and watch the entire season in one (sleep-deprived) day. The story structure is also reimagined, with each episode following a different member of the Bluth family, ultimately leading up to an Arrested Development feature film. Will these separate stories culminate in at least a few traditional episodes? Is showing the family apart the best decision, considering the show is built on the total disfunction of the family when they are together?

Mitch Hurwitz capture lightning once, and I for one will be watching on May 26 to see if he can do it again.

Arrested Development Comeback!

This past week the first clip of the highly anticipated forth season of Arrested Development. The show went off the air in 2005 after poor ratings despite receiving high critical acclaim. The show follows around the Bluth family, a wealthy group of people who often engage in selfish behavior in order to fulfill their instant gratification. All the members of the original cast are returning which is an amazing thing when you consider how large it really is. Ron Howard is coming back as the show's narrator and it is being released exclusively on Netflix. I can't wait!

THUNDERCATS ARE GO!

The romance comedy Juno hit the theaters in 2007 and was a great film. This film was different because the writer Diablo Cody, who changed careers and became a writer after working as a stripper; came up with this new idea that put a spotlight on teen pregnancy. The film was written in the style I was able to relate to because I could connect with the slang she used to carry out her characters opinions.



The cast that was chosen for this film, Juno (played by Ellen Page) and Paulie Bleaker (played by Michael Cera), as well as Vanessa (played by Jennifer Garner) and Mark (played by Jason Bateman) brought the screenplay to life as they all gave realistic portrayals of their on screen characters. I do not think I could see any other actor play these parts like they did.

Some References: "Thunderbirds" (1965), Suspiria (1977),"PicturePages" (1984), The Goonies (1985), So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993), "My So-Called Life" (1994), The Blair Witch Project (1999), The Bone Collector (1999), Coyote Ugly (2000), Faust (2000), Battle Royale (2000), The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)


This movie also has a very nice soundtrack that Kimya Dawson wrote and performed. The music that was chosen was instrumental in moving the story along. I know that this is a movie I could definitely see over and over again because of the actors, the music, and the memorable quotes throughout the entire film.

Quotes:

Juno MacGuff: You should've gone to China, you know, 'cause I hear they give away babies like free iPods. You know, they pretty much just put them in those t-shirt guns and shoot them out at sporting events.

Juno MacGuff: I think I'm in love with you.
Paulie Bleeker: You mean as friends?
Juno MacGuff: No... I mean for real. 'Cause you're, like, the coolest person I've ever met, and you don't even have to try, you know...
Paulie Bleeker: I try really hard, actually.

Bren: When you move out I'm getting two Weimaraners!
Juno MacGuff: WHOA DREAM BIG!
Bren: Oh, go fly a kite!