Tag Archives: comedienne

Looney tunes

Posted on April 16, 2012 | Leave a comment

We all know that B-list celebrities do reality shows to boast their sagging careers.  But to reveal their mental instabilities?

That’s just a viewer bonus.

I decided to watch this season of Celebrity Apprentice because Adam Corolla was in the cast.  I had seen him on Dancing with the Stars , and he was one of my favorites — self-effacing, witty, and yet really trying to win.

I like that.

Tragically, Adam was fired quite early on Apprentice. But Lisa Lampanelli, a comedienne I’ve never heard of until now, has provided more than ample entertainment.

It’s not that she’s that funny.  She’s mean.  Really mean.  And she has a tremendous ego.  (She is the smartest and most important person in the room and in every challenge, don’t you know.)

In the boardroom, where Donald Trump fires folks each week, she hurls verbal and mental abuse and F-bombs…and cries as a last resort.

She’s a fricking looney.

I don’t know if Lisa will win Celebrity Apprentice, but I doubt she is winning over any new fans in this endeavor.

Except perhaps a long line of psychiatrists, just chomping at the bit for her business.

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Posted in Celebrities, Comedy, Commentary, Entertainment, Humor, Life, Television, TV

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Cheeseball

Posted on December 28, 2010 | 3 Comments

You know how you meet someone and it feels like you’ve known them forever and everything they say makes you laugh and you can’t explain why but you laugh anyway?

That’s how I feel about Michael Ian Black.  And today, I figured out why.

I first saw Michael on the comedy series “Ed” years ago.  I thought he was quirky and funny back then, but I didn’t know how much of that was Michael and how much was the invention of the writers.

Now Michael is on Twitter, and of all the people I follow, he is the one who is most apt to make me laugh aloud.

Here are a few choice examples:

Devastated by Ryan and Scarlett news. Haven’t been this upset about a celebrity break-up since the Dexter guy yesterday.

If I could dunk a basketball that would be the only thing I would ever do.

Christmas needs to calm the fuck down.

The five most unappealing words in the English language: ˝Used hot tub for sale.˝

I need to get better at doing things that people want to pay money for.

Funny stuff….at least, to me.  So why is Michael Ian Black’s sense of humor particularly funny to me?

Cheez-Its.

Yep.  We both are fans of the cheesy snacks.  In fact, Michael and his friends formed an after-school club devoted to Cheez-Its back in his high school days.  They put up signs around campus…even got some folks to attend.

It was all a joke on their part.  But a guy who jokes about Cheez-Its?

He’d be a friend of mine.

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Posted in Celebrities, Comedy, Entertainment, Friends, Humor, Internet, Life, Relationships, Television, TV

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Judging Amy

Posted on September 8, 2010 | 1 Comment

I don’t think Amy Poehler should be the guest host for the season premiere of “Saturday Night Live.”

In the two years since she left the show, she’s been back numerous times to do stints on “Weekend Update,” imitate Hillary Clinton, and guest star on the Betty White special.  She still seems like a member of the cast.

Why bring her back now as a “guest host,” especially when the show is introducing four new cast members?

The two new girls — Vanessa Bayer from Second City and Taran Killiam from The Groundlings — will already have to fight tooth and nail for every moment on stage, since most female roles seem to go automatically to Kristen Wiig.

Now you’re adding Amy Poehler to the mix…so all they can hope for is the rudimentary waitress role or maybe the face-in-the crowd scene.  If they get lucky, they’ll be a reporter asking a question from the audience.

Wow — that rocks.

Don’t get me wrong.  When you consider all “Saturday Night Live” femmes — current and former — Amy is near the top of the list.  She’s not only an amazing improviser, character actor and comedienne, but in all interviews and conversations, she appears to be a down-to-earth, nice person.

That is a rare compliment indeed in that business.

But half the fun of “Saturday Night Live” is bringing in an A-list celebrity who’s not the first name in comedy and seeing what they can do.  Remember how unexpectedly great Peyton Manning was as a guest host?  Or Brian Williams from “NBC Nightly News”?  Even a great dramatic actor can quickly lose his footing on SNL — or be amazing like Christopher Walken.  And that’s what we want to see…not a very-very-recent cast member who seems like she never left.

So, while I’m sad Amy’s sitcom “Parks and Recreation” is on hiatus until mid-season — and she’s no doubt looking to fill her schedule — I think there are plenty of other celebs out there (not to mention the new cast members, hello) who are chomping at the bit for the opportunity to show what they can do in the comedy arena.

But Amy?  Girl, you’re good to go.  Give our best to Will and the boys.

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Posted in Blogging, Celebrities, Comedy, Commentary, Entertainment, Humor, Internet, Life, News, Television, TV

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Lawsuit as career advancement?

Posted on August 27, 2009 | 2 Comments

So…this is a joke, right?

Sunda Croonquist, a comedienne from New Jersey, is being sued by her mother-in-law for jokes she has told about her in her act. Apparently Croonquist has been doing this sort of thing for years, but of late, information posted on her website has made it easier for folks to figure out exactly who the oft-joked about mother-in-law is. And she’s had enough.

Now…I’ve never heard of Sundra Croonquist (although with that last name, I can see why she went into comedy). And she seems moderately funny in the footage of her act and in the interviews I have now seen due to the publicized lawsuit.

But I have to believe that this is just a publicity stunt. Heck, it’s a good idea. If you are a comedian — or comedienne, in this case — who has been working the circuit for a while with little national exposure, why not fashion a reality show-esque moment that will pull the TV cameras your way? (Her husband is a lawyer…it’s not that far-fetched that they might have brewed up this idea at home.)

So, before we shed any tears that this situation is tearing their poor family apart, let’s consider if the courts, the media, and we, the eager viewing public, are possibly being used to help Sunda Croonquist’s career.

That’s just not funny.

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Posted in Humor

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