Comedy Archives - Page 80 of 131

VOD Spotlight: A “Change-Up” for Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman

November 8, 2011 Jeff Pfeiffer

It’s a premise as old as film itself — call it the body switch. And though usually played for laughs, the switch often leads to some interesting revelations. In The Change-Up, two friends — married-with-children lawyer Dave (Jason Bateman) and free-spirited bachelor Mitch (Ryan Reynolds) —spend a night on the town and wake the next morning in each other’s bodies. Each has envied his friend’s life and, as happens in films with this premise, each is in for a rude awakening. The film, written by The Hangover creators Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, does not hold back on crude humor, […]

“The League” is every comedy snob’s dream come true

November 3, 2011 StayTuned Staff

FX is the new destination for badass shows. Shows that are edgy and willing to take chances, and, most importantly, free of the PG handcuffs that tie up broadcast series. Sons of Anarchy, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia… This is the network that thought a pot-smoking dude in a dog costume sounded just right. So, it makes total sense that FX’s wickedly crass comedy about fantasy football, The League (Thursdays at 10:30p), has found its feet – and a hugely devoted fanbase of hardcore comedy-philes. The series, which began its third season on Oct. 6, is enjoying its highest ratings […]

VOD Spotlight: Mike Mills on “Beginners”

November 1, 2011 Jeff Pfeiffer

Sex, life, feeling, nature, magic is how the trailer for Beginners describes the film, based on writer/director Mike Mills’ (Thumbsucker) own relationship with his widowed father. “Beginners started when my father came out of the closet. He was 75 years old and had been married to my mother for 45 years. His hunger to completely change his life was confusing, painful, very funny, and deeply inspiring,” Mills writes.

VOD Spotlight: “Crazy, Stupid, Love.”

November 1, 2011 Jeff Pfeiffer

Yes, the world does have its serial monogamists. But for most of us, divorce and breakups aren’t easy. And for those out of the dating world for a decade or more, there are the uncertain and often inept attempts to reenter the social scene. That’s the position in which fortysomething Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) finds himself in the comedy Crazy, Stupid, Love. But soon he has help starting over from expert lothario Jacob Palmer (Ryan Gosling). Carell and Gosling play well together and have admiration for each other’s work. The script was written with Carell in mind (Carell also coproduced […]

Burt Reynolds to play himself on new season of “Archer”

October 31, 2011 StayTuned Staff

When Archer returns for its third season in January, FX’s outrageous animated spy romp will count iconic actor Burt Reynolds among its guest stars. But in a twist, Reynolds will not be playing a fictional super spy, but himself in an episode titled “The Man From Jupiter.” (It’s a nod to Reynolds’ hometown of Jupiter, Fla., not the giant gas planet.) Archer creator Adam Reed says in a release that the person most thrilled with the announcement is his show’s main character, Sterling Archer. “Archer constantly tries to imitate Burt and always raves about Burt’s movies and all-around awesomeness. So […]

Jonah Hill gets in ‘toon with his inner child genius in “Allen Gregory”

October 29, 2011 StayTuned Staff

Hot off an acclaimed role in the box-office hit Moneyball, Jonah Hill is about to unleash his brand of verbose tomfoolery on the small screen with Allen Gregory, which joins FOX’s Animation Domination block tonight at 8:30. In the series, Hall gives voice to the titular 7-year-old, a spoiled snob who has lived the entirety of his short life in a privileged, home-schooled environment with his two gay dads (French Stewart, Nat Faxon). But the economy forces Allen to attend public school where he must suffer indignities visited upon him by the great unwashed. Hill spoke with reporters this week about […]

MTV’s “Good Vibes” has a lot to feel good about

October 26, 2011 Ryan Berenz

By Ryan Berenz Follow @ChannelGuideRAB Amid the fanfare of the triumphant return of Beavis and Butt-Head to the MTV schedule, there’s a new animated comedy that the network is pairing with B&B on Thursday nights, and it’s definitely worth checking out. Good Vibes premieres Oct. 27 at 10:30pm ET/PT, and features the voices of Josh Gad, Adam Brody, Debi Mazar, Alan Tudyk, Jake Busey and Danny McBride. Teenager Mondo Brando (Gad) and his hot mom move from New Jersey to a California beach community. Mondo is short, fat and a little awkward, which doesn’t make him a big hit with […]

Who Watches This Stuff?: “2 Broke Girls”

October 24, 2011 Tom Comi

By Tom Comi Follow @ChannelGuide CBS has done a great job over the past several years of becoming the go-to network for comedies, so it should never come as a surprise when one of its new ventures finds an audience. But it might be fair to say that nobody expected 2 Broke Girls to register like it has. With no household names to carry the load, the sitcom (tonight, 8:30pm ET) was fortunate to be sandwiched out of the gate between established hits How I Met Your Mother and Two and a Half Men. Debuting with 19 million viewers, the […]

VOD Spotlight: Cameron Diaz is a “Bad Teacher”

October 18, 2011 Jeff Pfeiffer

Cameron Diaz has a history of playing edgy roles — consider the leggy beauty as the drab wife of a puppeteer in Being John Malkovich, for example — but rarely is she as unlikeable as she is in Bad Teacher. It’s one of the reasons she took the role of Elizabeth, a woman teaching only long enough to find the money for the breast enhancement that she is convinced will be her ticket to a better life. When she sets her sights on a wealthy and idealistic substitute teacher attracted to someone else, rivalries lead to over-the-top comedy. “You just […]

Top 5 tips for creating a successful sitcom

October 13, 2011 Tom Comi

If any of you has the formula for what makes a successful sitcom, you have my permission to stop reading now so you can head directly to Hollywood to start your new job as a TV executive. If only it was that easy, right? The fact of the matter is there is no concrete formula, because every network would have already packed their respective schedules with hilarious shows that all of us would flock to every week. But there are some ingredients that are paramount if a situation comedy is going to thrive, the least of which is actually being […]