When I first saw this short film, I fell in love with it. Never before has a short film taken something as simple as a chat room and make it subtly hilarious (and true). It was released in 2001 and still stands the test of time. The next film by the director, Geoffrey Haley, is a romantic comedy called The Last Word starring Winona Ryder.
With so many comedians out there, it’s sometimes hard to wade through all the Carrot Tops and Gallaghers in the world. Here are the top 6 comedians that will not only crack you up, but also leave you with something to think about.
6. Bill Hicks - The self professed “dark poet”, Hicks was a comedian unlike any other. His social commentary was not only revolutionary for it’s time, but most are still relevant fifteen years later. No subject was ever taboo to Hicks. From the evils of Republicans in the White House to the logistics of JFK’s assassination, Bill Hicks always had intelligent insights while making the audience laugh. It’s unfortunate that Hicks died of cancer at the age of 32 because the world could have definitely used more of his views on life.
Suggested viewing: Bill Hicks Live - Satirist, Social Critic, Stand-Up Comedian DVD
5. David Cross - While not as crass as Hicks, David Cross is definitely the closest modern equivalent to him. Cross has a knack for analyzing current events with an intelligent left wing slant. While he has been taking a break from stand up in favor of movies lately, hopefully he will get back on the road soon to share more of his comical insights with the world and release a follow up to It’s Not Funny.
Suggested viewing: David Cross- Let American Laugh DVD
4. Patton Oswalt - No other comedian can make fun of the dregs of humanity in a self deprecating way quite like he can. Why often sarcastic, Oswalt excels at making pointed comments about pop culture and current trends. While his albums are quite funny, seeing Patton perform his comedy is what really puts his work over the top.
Suggested viewing: Patton Oswalt - No Reason to Complain DVD
Check back tomorrow for the final three most intelligent comedians.
The self proclaimed “world’s first online punk comic”, Nothing Nice to Say, is the brainchild of Mitch Clem. While there are plenty of traditional comic artists who focus on punk (my personal favorite being Ben Snakepit), the only other punk oriented web comic I could find was Potato Gibberish (which doesn’t have the same wit as NN2S and hasn’t been updated since July 11th, 2008.)
The main reason I love Nothing Nice to Say is that he references a relatively small subculture, down to individual members of bands who you could have easily met while they played a basement near you. One of my favorite comics Mitch has ever done is the three part comic that involves a good friend of mine, Sheena from Lemuria.
Even in an age where everything is at our fingertips through the internet, it’s still exciting to see a web comic focusing solely on punk bands and labels. It’s really surprising that there aren’t more punk/hardcore/indie rock web comics. If I had the drawing skills, I would start one in a heartbeat.
Dark Horse recently published the first Nothing Nice to Say book which collects the last two years of the comic (2006+2007.) I haven’t had a chance to pick up a copy yet, but from the reviews i’ve read, and having been a fan of the comic for a few years now, I highly recommend picking this up, you won’t regret it.
What other blogs are saying about Nothing Nice to Say:
While sitting in a half filled theater waiting for a sneak preview of Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, I feverishly try to finish reading the book that the upcoming movie is based on. I had 5 pages left as the one and only trailer (Quantum of Solace) appeared on the screen. As I later found out, those last few pages wouldn’t appear in the movie anyways.
Casting: The casting of most characters was done well. Michael Cera translated perfectly as Nick, as did Kat Dennings (Norah), Rafi Gavron (Dev), Aaron Yoo (Thom), and Ari Graynor (Caroline). The only characters I had a problem with was Tris (played by Alexis Dziena) and Tal (Jay Baruchel).
Soundtrack: While I thought the music in the movie worked well in the movie in that it didn’t seem out of place, I was wishing for more bands that were mentioned in the book. I would have liked to have heard songs by The Smiths, Death Cab for Cutie, or The Magnetic Fields. Every time Nick’s phone rang, The Cure ringtone always made me smile. For a movie with a big focus on music, the soundtrack left a lot to be desired.
Plot: This is where I had the most problems. Having read the book (and loved it) before seeing the movie, I was really hoping the movie would follow the book pretty closely. Unfortunately, this was not the case. The book starts at a show, while the movie understandably starts earlier in the day to give some back story that is told throughout the first few chapters of the book. The circumstances in which Nick and Norah finally meet are quite different in the movie, and I felt in the book it made more sense and created a better dynamic between the two of them. I’m not even going to go into the whole skewed Where’s Fluffy plot-line.
My biggest complaint is regarding Nick’s interactions with Tris and Norah’s with Tal. In the book, they are both trying to avoid their respective ex’s at all costs. This was not the case in the movie. Norah calls Tal on several occasions, and Nick gives Tris a ride home.
My favorite addition to the movie was the scene where after getting into a club without waiting in line, Nick asks Norah if she was on YouTube, which I hope was a subtle nod to Kat Dennings YouTube videos.
Overall: The book is easily one of the best young adult novels I have read since As Simple As Snow by Gregory Galloway. Unfortunately since I had just read the book, I spent most of the movie comparing the two. Hopefully I will be able to watch the movie without any mental interference when I see it again in a few days.
What other blogs think about Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist:
As I’m watching The Score, a thought occurred to me. Why does the media favor blaming video games for making kids violent instead of blaming robbery movies for making people steal shit? I’ve played my fair share of violent video games over the years, and it has never made me want to hurt someone. In contrast, watching movies like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Matchstick Men, and the aforementioned The Score, has made me (and many others I’m sure) wanting to commit a heist. Obviously, I never and will never commit a robbery, but I’m just trying to prove a point: most people would be more likely to rob a store than murder someone, so why attack the medium that supposedly influences kids to do that latter?
