Best NYC Comedy Tonight

Best NYC Comedy Tomorrow

Comedy Club Discounts

Comedy Videos

Favorite Jokes

Archives

Massive NYC Theatre Discounts

FringeNYC 2015

Hy on Theatre

Contact Hy

Hire Hy

Become an Insider

Site Index

Site Search

 

HyReviews.com's Favorite Comedy Videos

Hy Bender

 

Last updated May 2015

 

HyReviews.com's Comedy Albums of the Month:

Chris Gethard and Mark Normand

Chris Gethard: My Comedy Album  Mark Normand: Still Got It

For a good time, buy recent brilliant comedy works
My Comedy Album by Chris Gethard and Still Got It by Mark Normand

Mark Normand at Carolines

Mark Normand at Last Comic Standing

Chris Gethard's My Comedy Album: "Mother's Day"

Awkward and Depressing Holiday Moments from Chris Gethard

Chris Gethard: "I Was An Evil Baby"

Chris Gethard on The Chris Gethard Show

Chris Gethard Does The Ritz Carlton

Return to top

 

 

Jim Gaffigan, Myq Kaplan, and Todd Barry

Jim Gaffigan: Obsessed  Myq Kaplan

For a good time, buy recent brilliant comedy albums Obsessed by Jim Gaffigan
and Small, Dork, and Handsome by Myq Kaplan...

Todd Barry

...and also buy Todd Barry's fascinating and consistently fun documentary The Crowd Work Tout

Jim Gaffigan's Obsessed: "Seafood"

Jim Gaffigan's Obsessed: "Kale"

Jim Gaffigan's Obsessed: "Ice Cream"

Myq Kaplan's Small, Dork, and Handsome: "Jews"

Todd Barry's The Crowd Work Tour: Explaining It to Conan

 

Return to top

 

 

FringeNYC 2014 Encore Series Video Promos

Gary Busey's One Man Hamlet (as performed by David Carl)Fatty Fatty No FriendsThis Is Where We Live

Gary Busey's One Man Hamlet..., Fatty Fatty No Friends, and This Is Where We Live

To help you get a feel for what's available at the FringeNYC 2014 Encore Series
(running throughout September), please click the following links for video peeks:

Gary Busey's One-Man Hamlet (As Performed by David Carl): Trailer

Gary Busey's One-Man Hamlet (As Performed by David Carl): Fundraiser

The Imbible: A Spirited History of Drinking

Smashed—The Carrie Nation Story

Fatty Fatty No Friends: Trailer #1

Fatty Fatty No Friends: Trailer #2

This Is Where We Live

Song from Deborah Berenson (of One-Woman Cabaret Show Sex, Lies & Earl Grey)

<50%

Urban Momfare

 

Return to top

 

 

Best FringeNYC 2014 Video Promos & Sneak Peeks

Gary Busey's One Man Hamlet (as performed by David Carl)Dancing Monk IppenI'll Say She IsThe Mormon Bird Play

Gary Busey's One Man Hamlet..., Dancing Monk Ippen, I'll Say She Is, and The Mormon Bird Play

To help you get a feel for what's available at the spectacular upcoming FringeNYC 2014
(running August 8-24, and hosting 205 productions) , please click the following links
for video sneak peeks of shows at this year's festival:

Gary Busey's One-Man Hamlet (As Performed by David Carl): Trailer

Gary Busey's One-Man Hamlet (As Performed by David Carl): Fundraiser

Twelfth Night: "Fettered Me"

Stone Cold Fox: Internet Animal Cruelty

The 8th Fold: "Under Fire"

The 8th Fold: "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

Dancing Monk Ippen

Breaking the Shakespeare Code

The Imbible: A Spirited History of Drinking

La Donna Improvvisata (entirely improvised opera)

Olympus Records (click first song "Bad Girls")

I'll Say She Is: Trailer

I'll Say She Is: Talkback

Smashed—The Carrie Nation Story

Fatty Fatty No Friends: Trailer #1

Fatty Fatty No Friends: Trailer #2

Tales From Geriassic Park—On the Verge of Extinction

The Boston Tea Party Opera: "Against Writs of Assistance"

The Boston Tea Party Opera: "My Own Cloth"

Smile

Some Are More Human

Stone Cold Fox: The Creepiest Birthday Song

Forgetting the Details

This Is Where We Live

Xavier Toby—Mining My Own Business

Don't Panic— It's Only Finnegans Wake

20/400 Sketchy As F*ck: Homeless Mary

20/400 Sketchy As F*ck: American Family

Isis Variations: Interview with Yokko

The Mormon Bird Play

Seven Seductions of Taylor Swift

His Majesty, The Devil—A Play With Music (audio interview)

Stone Cold Fox: Mets Vet

Whiskey Jack: Promo

Whiskey Jack: Music

Nisei

Tejas Luminous

King of Kong: A Musical Parody

Joel Creasey (stand-up set at Melbourne Festival)

Coming—A Rock Musical of Biblical Proportions: "Ballad of Bethlehem"

Coming—A Rock Musical of Biblical Proportions: "In a Way That Fits"

Teddy's Doll House

Song from Deborah Berenson (of One-Woman Cabaret Show Sex, Lies & Earl Grey)

 

Return to top

 

 

Best of The Amy Schumer Show, Season 2

Amy Schumer Amy Schumer

Few comics have risen so high and so quickly—and have so thoroughly earned it—as Amy Schumer. Not satisfied with being one of the very finest stand-ups in the country, Amy has set her sights on careers in TV and film...and is likely to hugely succeed at both.

Season 2 of Comedy Central's Inside Amy Schumer, which ran Tuesdays in Spring 2014 at 10:30 pm (with repeats at 2:30 am), is red-hot. There were some stumbles in Season 1, but the lessons have been learned. Not only are the sketches more consistently smart, funny, and sharply directed, even the selection of Amy's stellar stand-up and interview bits are better, Amy's performances are comedically subtler and deeper to the point of being world-class, and each episode is thematically tighter overall. Don't miss what's become one of the very best shows on TV...and start by watching highlights from Season 2 below:

Amy Negotiates With God

Focus Group (featuring Kurt Metzger)

Amy Chats With Comedy Friends

Amy in an Elevator With Colin Quinn

Amy Chooses a Movie (with Rory Scovel)

Amy Hotline

Finger Blasters

Chrissy Teigen, Couples Counselor

Who's More Over Their Ex?

Interracial Wedding Photographer (starring Michael Ian Black)

Hotel Heaven

Schumerella Goes to the Prom

Amy Gets to Know Jim Norton

Jim Norton Has Questions

Sex Prep

Rhyming Couplets

Nutritionist to the Stars (with Janeane Garofalo)

Realistic Military Video Game

Animated Opportunity

Save the Pets—From Amy

Inkblots (with Mike Birbiglia)

The Nurses (with Ryan Hamilton)

Feeling Like Less of a Woman?

Bachelorette Party Disaster (with Todd Barry)

Hello M'Lady (featuring Neil Casey & Adam Wade)

Season 2 Trailer

 

Return to top

 

 

Best of The Pete Holmes Show, Part 2 of 2

Pete Holmes Pete Holmes

In October 2013, comedy treasure Pete Holmes kicked off the first 28 episodes of The Pete Holmes Show. You can find the best bits from that run here.

On February 24th, Pete returned for a second and final round of episodes...and he continued to create some of the finest comedy on television, late night or otherwise.

The following are highlights of this second run, which aired Monday-Thursday at midnight and 1:30 am on TBS (following Conan O'Brien) through mid-June 2014, and can also be viewed anytime at Pete's website.

Ray Romano Sings  Ray Romano Duets

Pete Pitches Judd Apatow

Pete Explains to Conan About Being 63 Days Straight

Batman Finds His Voice

Realistic Popeye

Realistic Mario: Dinosaur  Turtle  Mushrooms

Street Fighter: Standards & Practices vs. Ryu

Street Fighter: Standards & Practices vs. Vega plus Thomas Middleditch Outtakes

Ex-Men: Magneto  Magneto: Outtakes

Ex-Men: Jean Grey

Realistic Garfield

Paul Scheer Explains Why Chevy Chase = Colossal Dick

Natasha Leggero Tells of Unchivalrous Moment From Martin Lawrence

True Detective

Duncan Trussell Explains Religion—Seriously  More Duncan Trussell

Pitching Ryan Gosling

Gary Gulman Loves Trader Joes

TJ Miller Describes His Penis

Pete Compares Monsters

New Material Seinfeld: Bar

Return of A Nice Boy Telling Jokes

Ex-Con Attorney

Jamie Lee Stand-Up

Hangin' with Grace Helbig

Hangin' with Eliza Coupe

Hangin' with Jenny Slate

Jared Logan Stand-Up

Foraging in the Forest with David Wolfe

Fear of Clowns

Kristen Schaal's Favorite Ghost

Pete and Joe DeRosa Can't Believe It's Not Butter  Memories of Butter

 

Best of The Pete Holmes Show, Round 1

 

Return to top

 

 

Morgan Murphy: Irish Goodbye

Morgan Murphy Morgan Murphy

Wry, brilliant, hilarious Morgan Murphy is one of the sharpest and funniest writer/performers alive, and her new album Irish Goodbye provides virtually all her best jokes to date. You can watch Morgan perform a killer set on Jimmy Fallon here; and the following are a few more of my favorites:

*******

People say to me, "Morgan, if you weren't a comic,
you'd be the funniest girl in the office."

It's not true at all.

Most of my friends are male comics,
and they would never be the funny guy in the office.
They'd be the fucking crazy guy in the office.

They'd be the guy where everybody's gathered in the
little kitchenette at lunch around the microwave
and going, "Um, that guy talks about rape all day.

Something's wrong with him.
No, like seriously wrong with him.

He shouldn't work here.
He thinks it's funny.
I don't understand."

*******

I did not drink the entire time I was pregnant.

And I'm going to be very honest with you.

It was the hardest four days of my life.

*******

How weird is it, ladies, that we put penises in our mouths?

That shit's crazy.

Guys, look at your wife or your girlfriend. Look at her right now.

She has put so many penises in her mouth,
just shoved them in there—where sandwiches go.

That is sandwich space.

And we just do it as if we're supposed to.

Like, if you put in front of me
a mint and a chocolate milk and a penis
and asked, "What do these have in common?"
I'm supposed to say,
"They go in my mouth."

*******

My favorite movie of all time is to How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

I watch How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days probably 7 to 10 times a year.
I love it so much.

If you don't know what it's about,
Kate Hudson plays a pretty lady.
Matthew McConaughey plays a pretty man.

And the whole thing is Kate Hudson saying,
"I'm going to lose him in 10 days."
And her friends say, "No you're not."
And then she tries real hard.

So she does all these crazy things.
She brings a plant over to his apartment,
she brings stuffed animals over,
she does a funny accent.

Then she goes to her best friend and says,
"I don't know what's happening.
I can't lose this guy in 10 days."

But every time I watch the movie
and see her do all this stuff,
all I can think is
"Shit on the floor."

What are you doing
with the plants and the baby voices?

Just shit on the floor!

I would be the worst best friend in a movie.
Because she'd come to me
and say "I did all this stuff, I don't get it."
And I'd go, "Did you shit on the floor?
'Cause I would just try that."

I'm going to make a short film called
How to Lose a Guy in 16 seconds.

For lots more, buy Morgan's downloadable album Irish Goodbye.
It'll be among the best ten bucks you spend this year.

 

 

The Classics

Leslie Goshko George Carlin

Cut Scene from Movie Classic King Kong

Classical Music with Leslie Goshko

Classical Music Played with Unusual Instruments

Instant Classics on X Factor

Louis CK Argues for Classic Silence

Post-Holiday Shopping Comedy Classic: George Carlin on "Stuff"

 

 

The Pete Holmes Show

Pete Holmes Pete Holmes

Comedy treasure Pete Holmes is trying to do something fresh and different on TV. In the first 28 episodes of The Pete Holmes Show, some of it works, and some of it doesn't; but there's clear potential for Pete to develop into a late night giant. Root for him—not only because Pete has always been one of the nicest, funniest, and most talented guys in comedy, but because If he succeeds, TV will be richer for it. We'll all be the richer for it.

The following are some highlights of the show, which aired in Fall 2013 Monday-Thursday at midnight and 1:30 am on TBS (following Conan O'Brien) and hopefully will be back in 2014:

Advice From Jon Stewart

Advice from Conan O'Brien

Batman vs. Superman

Ex-Men: Firing Wolverine

Ex-Men: Firing Nightcrawler

Ex-Men: Firing Nightcrawler—Outtakes

Ex-Men: Firing Rogue

Ex-Men: Firing Storm

Ex-Men: Firing Cyclops—Outtakes

BET Hip Hop Awards: "All Whitey, Then"

Everyday Pharaohs

Halloween Thoughts

Fallen Sketches

Playing with Allison Williams  More Allison

Playing with Ellie Kemper

Chelsea Peretti  More Chelsea

Anthony Jeselnik

Deepak Chopra  More Deepak

Rory Scovel

Adam Pally

Joe Mande and Noah Garfinkel

Bill Burr on Life After Death

Conan O'Brien: "The Amish R2-D2"

Conan: "You're the Perfect Host for The Pete Holmes Show"

Conan: "You're Making a Living Off of Something That Should Probably Be Treated"

John Mulaney  More John  A Bit More John

Marc Maron  More Marc  A Bit More Marc

Patton Oswalt: Unicorn on the Cob

Tig Notaro: Cooling Us Down

 

Return to top

 

 

HyReviews.com's Book of the Month:
Searching for Dave Chappelle

Searching for Dave Chappelle Searching for Dave Chappelle

Jason Zinoman, who performs the invaluable service of reporting on comedy for The New York Times, has written this fascinating, meticulously researched, and thoughtful ebook based on scores of interviews with people who know Dave Chappelle and recent stand-up sets by Chappelle. It covers the special challenges of being a black comic, doing on-the-fly vs. tightly scripted material, when to battle with TV networks vs. not rocking the boat, and theories on why Chappelle left one of the most successful shows in TV history.
All this and more is yours for a mere $2.99 in Searching for Dave Chappelle.

To refresh your memory on why Chappelle matters, some of his best sketches:

Clayton Bigsby, Part 1

Clayton Bigsby, Part 2

I'm Rick James, Bitch

Prince

Racial Draft

The Wayne Brady Show

The Mad Real World: Token White Guy

The Mad Real World: Katie

The Mad Real World: Sleeper Hold

The Mad Real World: "I Don't Feel Safe"

 

Return to top

 

 

A Lesson in Comedy Technique from Patrick Stewart

Patrick Stewart

A possibly stoned Patrick Stewart gives a lesson in comedy
to his 35-year-old singer-songwriter fiancée Sunny Ozell:

The Quadruple Take

 

Return to top

 

 

HyReviews.com's Comedy DVD/Album of the Month:

Pete Holmes: Nice Try, The Devil

Pete Holmes Pete Holmes

Something I've known for years is finally making it into the mainstream:
Pete Holmes is not only a comedy treasure, but one of our greatest comics ever.
First Pete broke into Hollywood as a sitcom writer for NBC and FOX; then he started the highly popular
podcast You Made It Weird; and now he's going to have a show directly following Conan O'Brien
midnight on TBS starting October 28, 2013. On top of all that, Pete recently did an hour-long special for Comedy Central,
with an expanded version available on CD and DVD: Nice Try, The Devil. Some samples & classic bits:

This Party is McDonald's

Miracle Otter

In Your Dreams

Glad to Not Be a Magician

Why Google Makes Life Meaningless

Considering Cinema

Pete Has Fun Saying "Beers"

Review of Pete's Show by Robots

 

 

Indie Comedy Movie of the Month:
The Exquisite Corpse Project

Megan Raye Manzi

Megan Raye Manzi, the luminous and brilliantly talented actress starring in The Exquisite Corpse Project...

Ben Popik

...and the film's visionary director, Ben Popik

Olde English is a sharp group of sketch comics who performed together for years on both stage and video...but one day simply drifted apart. Then the director of the group, Ben Popik, suggested a project: Each member write 15 pages of a screenplay...while getting to see only the last five pages of the previous writer.

It's a fun gimmick to create a marketing hook for the movie. Naturally, the results of the film made from the screenplay are mixed; but they're not the crazy quilt you might expect.

A critical element that makes the latter work is phenomenally talented actress Megan Raye Manzi. While she has to play wildly different versions of her character in each 15-page sequence, she creates a solid underlying core that's always compelling and emotionally believable, allowing us to care deeply about her character throughout. Manzi is the invaluable glue that holds the "fiction" part of this project together.

Further, the execution of the screenplay is only one side of the coin of this movie. The other major component is documentary footage of the members of the group interacting before, during, and after the project. The latter is handled so subtly and artfully by director Popik that what The Exquisite Corpse Project is really about didn't sneak up on me until near the end—and then hit me in the head in a way that I'll long remember.

In a nutshell, this is a transcendent story about creative relationships...and the nature of relationships in general. And that turns what in lesser hands would be a gimmicky comedy into a genuinely great film.

As an added bonus, at the 1:01 mark, Olde English member Raphael Bob-Waksberg gives the finest description you're ever likely to hear of what it means to be a screenwriter in Hollywood.

You can watch the vibrant work of Ben Popik, Megan Raye Manzi, and the other very talented folks involved at your convenience, because this movie is available for download anytime for a mere $5 here. You can also check out the trailer here. Highly recommended.

 

Return to top

 

 

TV Show of the Month:

Andrea Rosen's Take Me to Your Mother

Andrea Rosen's Take Me to Your Mother

Celebrate Mother's Day every day by watching Andrea Rosen's wonderful new docuseries airing on NickMom at 10:00 pm...

Andrea Rosen's Take Me to Your Mother Andrea Rosen's Take Me to Your Mother

...and available online for free here, and free for members of Hulu.com Plus and Amazon.com Prime: Take Me to Your Mother

 

Return to top

 

 

Best HBO Promo Ever: Oh My God

Louis C.K. Louis C.K.

And now promos. Is there anything Louis C.K. can't do better than anyone else?

Promo for HBO Comedy Special Premiering Saturday April 13, 2013

 

Return to top

 

 

The Jeselnik Offensive

Anthony Jeselnik Anthony Jeselnik

Anthony Jeselnik is one of the quickest & sharpest comics alive, and he now has a national forum to show that off via
The Jeselnik Offensive...where part of the joke is that behind Anthony's sadist persona is one of the nicest guys in comedy.
Tune in to Comedy Central every Tuesday at 10:30 pm to see Anthony find new ways to misdirect and delight you; and
to share the wonderful company of such NYC comedy icons as Amy Schumer, Kristen Schaal, Aziz Ansari, and Nick Kroll.

Promo

Promo for Valentine's Day

Amy & Aziz: Dick Photo Survey

Amy & Aziz: Latino Voices

Kristen & Billy Defends Their Tweets

Natasha Leggero Has the Best Laugh Ever (Even When Discussing Cannibalism)

Jason & Natasha Defend Their Tweets

Child Mortality

9/11 Babies

Cancer Yucks

Google Racism

2012 Video Interview with Anthony

2013 Text Interview with Anthony by Pete Holmes

 

Return to top

 

 

Kroll Show

Kroll Show

Comedy Central's Kroll Show is the finest sketch comedy series to grace television in years.
Nick Kroll has created a pop culture-driven smorgasbord of brilliantly detailed and razor-sharp parodies.
(For example, the above is the show's representation of its male 18-35 target audience...)

Kroll Show Kroll Show

Nick plays a broad range of characters, most of whom are self-absorbed, extreme, and hilarious.
Another delight of the show is its featuring many stellar former and current talents of NYC's
comedy community, including Jenny Slate (above right), Jon Daly, John Mulaney, Jason Mantzoukas,
Eugene Cordero...pretty much a who's who of UCBT-NY stars over the past decade.
The first 8-episode season is over, but you can see Nick and his friends tear reality apart in these clips:

Yogurt Water

Demo Monster

Too Much Tuna

Drones

Rich Dicks

Dr. Armond Is Here For You

KPSA Suicide

Wheels Ontario

Episode 8 (first season finale)

Return to top

 

 

Summer and Eve

Summer and Eve

Summer and Eve

A rare combination of hilarious writing and ace musical skills make Nadia Quinn, Emily Tarver, Aaron Quinn, and
Rebecca Kaasa a band worth keeping an ear on. Here are some of the best songs (so far) from Summer and Eve:

Smoking

Jolene

Bong Song

Justin Bieber

You're Gonna Die Someday

Christmas Showdown

Return to top

 

 

HyReviews.com's Favorite Amazon.com Customer Reviews

Hutzler 571 Banana Slicer BIC Cristal For Her Ball Pen Tuscan Whole Milk, 1 Gallon How to Avoid Huge Ships

Some of the funniest material on the Web can be found on Amazon,com pages,
thanks to the creativity of customers responding to randomly absurd products.
Here are some of the very best examples:

Hutzler 571 Banana Slicer

Tuscan Whole Milk, 1 Gallon: $45

BIC Cristal For Her Ball Pen

Fresh Whole Rabbit

The Mountain Three Wolf Moon Short Sleeve Tee

How to Avoid Huge Ships

Denon AKDL1 Dedicated Link Cable

Uranium Ore

Return to top

 

 

Science Comedy

Epic Rap Battles of History: Einstein vs. Stephen Hawking Epic Rap Battles of History: Einstein vs. Stephen Hawking

Epic Rap Battles of History: Einstein vs. Stephen Hawking

Stand Up Straight

The Best Number

The Triple Point of Water

A Physicist Goes Into an Ice Cream Parlor

Why is the Sky Blue?

 

 

Funniest Movie Deaths

Funniest Movie Death Ever

1973 Turkish film Kareteci Kiz (a.k.a. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah")

Most Surprising Shark Attack

Another Unlikely Attack

Movie Death Medley

The Princess Bride: The Choice

Greatest (Horrific) Fight Scene Ever

The Classic: Sword vs. Gun

 

 

Dogs

 

Eileen Kelly and her dogs Dog Tease

Eileen Kelly and her dogs (who are assholes); a dog who cares a bit too much...

The Usual (Dog) Suspects Hippo and Dog

...a suspect is interrogated; and a hippo is upstaged

Eileen Kelly: My Dog is an Asshole (song)

Eileen Kelly: More on Dogs (stand-up)

Dog Tease

Husky Love

The Usual Suspects

Hippo and Dog

 

 

Dave Hill: Tasteful Nudes

 

Dave Hill Dave Hill's Tasteful Nudes

Dave Hill's first book, which was just released this month, is charming, vulnerable, and packed with laughs.
Please check out a video teaser and choice excerpts from chapters below, and then please buy the book by clicking here.

 

Tasteful Nudes music video

 

Introduction (Abridged)

 

Dear Reader,

 

Hi. How are you? I'm pretty good, mostly.

Thanks so much for asking.

I just wanted to thank you in advance for reading my book.
I typed it all by myself and I really hope you like it.

 

You seem nice,

 

Dave Hill

 

From Introduction (Unabridged)

 

For those of you who might still be standing there reading this in a bookstore:

Look, I'm not going to tell you how to live your life or anything, but just as a suggestion,

how about marching this bad boy up to the register?

 

Of course, if money is tight, you forgot your wallet, or you just don't feel like parting with [insert really-high-but-completely-worthwhile price here], I say you slowly shut this book, tuck it under your arm, have a quick look around, and run, run as fast as you can for the exit. I'll get my cut anyway, so don't worry about me.

 

From Loving You Is Easy Because You Live Close to My Parents' House

 

There I was, a 13-year-old boy still trying to piece his life back together after having his heart squashed all over the playground a year earlier, now totally about to make out with an actual girl for the first time in his entire life. Fortunately for me, Jenny had totally made out with someone before and guided me through the process, as I imagine most Thai prostitutes tend to do with their first-timers. As soon as we settled into one of the pleather-lined benches in the back of the sexy, sexy ski bus, Jenny wrapped her arms around my neck and shoved her tongue in my mouth, something I somehow never saw coming, not even after having seen Fast Times at Ridgemont High at my friend's house that one night. Taking my cues from Jenny, I shoved my tongue in her mouth and I held on for dear life. My technique was crude, brash, and desperate—perhaps even more so than it is now. Fortunately for Jenny, exactly seven minutes later, I felt a tap on my shoulder. "Time's up," Maria said, looking down at us like a tired and impatient madam who's seen it all. I politely peeled myself off Jenny and dizzily stood up. Having passed what felt like a major milestone in my life, I was both exhilarated and relieved, at once thrilled to have the whole thing over with while severely disappointed that an entire seven minutes could fly by quickly. "Thanks, Jenny, that was really fun," I said before returning to ny seat. "And thank you, Maria, for making it all possible. You're doing important work here."

 

From As Of Now, I Am In Control Here

 

Sometimes I managed to turn the otherwise cringe-worthy into fun. Swapping out a urine sample for apple juice and then pretending to accidentally drink it in front of my supervisor was a trademark move I remain especially proud of. Once the rumor that I was a pee drinker spread throughout the shelter, it gave me a mystique I really enjoyed.

 

Toward the end of each shift I'd poke my head into each of the shelter's sixty or so rooms to make sure every resident was in and accounted for by the 10:00 o'clock curfew. As a result I regularly barged in on one guy who, like clockwork, would be perched on the edge of his bed masturbating like he was in some sort of contest, no matter how many times I knocked first. I could never tell whether I was hurting or helping his mission by walking in on him like that, but regardless it was hard not to admire his joie de vivre. You can take away a man's home, and maybe even a little bit of his pride and dignity while you're at it. But, dammit, you can't stop him from living.

 

From On Manliness

 

If you get in at least one knife fight in your lifetime, no one will ever question your manhood again. Just ask one of the Sharks or Jets from West Side Story. Those guys sang and danced around like a pack of raging queens 90% of the time, but when they broke out those knives there was no question about it—these were real men. Men with a keen interest in choreography, but men just the same.

 

From Tasteful Nudes

 

I respected that she played by her own rules. But it also occurred to me that, given the close proximity of our fellow diners, everyone around us was now likely under the impression that I had arranged to meet a prostitute for lunch. “Wait a minute," I thought after considering things for a moment. "I did arrange to meet a prostitute for lunch.” The 15-year-old in me giggled to himself in a bizarre mixture of mild embarrassment and full-tilt excitement that only a manchild can truly understand. But a moment later, horror set in. "Oh my gosh!" I thought. "Did she want to meet me for lunch just so she could proposition me?" I had never been so conflicted in my entire life: On the one hand, I was insulted that she might think I was the kind of guy who'd be willing to pay for sex. But on the other hand, I was completely flattered that she might think I could afford to spend $4,000 on it.

 

"But you're so nice and pretty, ma'am!" I wanted to blurt out. "Why would you do that sort of thing?"

 

"I want to quit a lot of the time," she told me, "but the money is so good."

 

When I thought about the hourly rates for my own work, I couldn't disagree. Clearly she had a better agent than I did.

 

From Rocking Me, Rocking You

 

Barry White was a singer/songwriter and producer who combined R&B, soul, funk, and disco into a sound that made people want to have sex, usually with him. He is perhaps the only person capable of singing the words "take off that brassiere, my dear" with confidence, authority, and not even a hint of irony, which was great for him, and for a lot of other people too.

 

From Witness the Fitness

 

I made the gym's elliptical machine my bitch a couple of times a week like clockwork for several months and largely credit it for helping me achieve the just slightly less doughy look I was totally going for. The only thing I don't like about it is at the end when it gives you a "workout summary." Instead of giving me a bunch of numbers I don't understand, I wish it would instead make me feel good about myself by telling me how bangable I am or something. Or maybe it could just be straight with me for a change. Just once I'd like to see it say, "Look, Dave, clearly you had a lot to drink last night. But don't worry, no one is judging you. There's only so many hours of the day you can sit around in your underwear before you start to feel like having eight or ten drinks and then maybe eating a pint of ice cream and staying up until 2:00 am looking at pictures of largely unattainable women on the Internet. In fact, if you factor in all of that stuff, the fact that you even showed up here today is pretty impressive. Now go hit the showers, you gorgeous and totally unpathetic man!" The technology to make that sort of thing possible is probably decades away, but I can still dream.

 

From The Time I Went to Prison

 

About a week before my Sing Sing prison debut, when the reality of my situation finally kicked in, I didn't find it quite as funny anymore. Instead, it seemed more like some sort of horrible prank I was inexplicably about to play on myself. Suddenly all I could think about were the innumerable ways my show could go horribly wrong. I saw myself bombing, with microphone feedback filling the airspace where I'd hoped laughter would go. A lone inmate would approach the stage, slow-clapping at me before removing a shank from his waistband and driving it straight through my ribs, causing the inmates to laugh for the first time of the night. Then he'd call all his friends over to take turns shanking me, playing soccer with my head, calling me names, and having sex with my face. In the week leading up to the show, I watched this movie in my mind repeatedly. Sometimes I'd see it from the perspective of those cable television prison shows. "An auditorium full of furious and violent felons is no laughing matter," the narrator would say. "Funnyman Dave Hill found out the hard way..."

 

From Big In Japan

 

I had expected Tokyo to be the Japanese equivalent of New York City. In fact, as we approached the city limits, I almost felt like we were coming home. But I soon realized that comparing Tokyo to New York is a total insult. To Tokyo, that is. In fact, if Tokyo and New York were in prison together, New York would be Tokyo's bitch, with Tokyo buying New York for a carton of cigarettes and having intercourse with its face for weeks on end just to show it who's boss. I mean that, of course, in the nicest of ways. It's just that Tokyo has so much to offer. It's like New York times ten but still crammed into the same amount of space and then popped into the microwave at full heat for ten minutes. You must go.

 

Over the course of the tour, I'd become increasingly fascinated with Japanese toilets, you might even say obsessed...This time I saw another button, which had a silhouette of a woman on it. "The lady-parts button," I presumed. It felt like forbidden territory. I know I'm not a lady and I wasn't even sure how the electronic eye would assess the situation. And I certainly didn't want to confuse the technology. But then I just thought "When am I going to start living my life?" I closed my eyes again, took another deep breath, threw in the sign of the cross for good measure, and pressed the lady-parts button. Another jet stream came out, only this time it hit me in what some people, including me, like to call the taint. Like most people, I had spent my whole life trying to avoid letting exactly this sort of thing ever happen to me. But once it did, I couldn't imagine how I managed to go all those years without being blasted in the taint with water every single day of life. It was intoxicating. So then I started hitting the taint button as fast as it would let me. Then I went back to the butt button. Then I went back to the taint button. Then I went back to the butt button. And then I went back to the taint button again. And again.

 

After about two hours of this, I felt as if I were floating over my own body as I looked down on it. I'm also pretty sure I saw that bright light that people who've had near-death experiences always talk about. And I was about to go back for more when John burst into my room screaming "Come on, we gotta go rock the fuck out of Tokyo!" Ripped from another dimension, I pulled up my pants, marched out of there with my head held high, and rocked the fuck out of Tokyo with a cleaner ass and taint area than anyone who's ever rocked the fuck out of Tokyo before.

 

To buy Dave's book—which you should do immediately—please click here.

 

 

HyReviews.com's Comedy Videos of the Month:

NYC's Greatest Storytellers, Part 1

 

Elna Baker Elna Baker Elna Baker

Elna Baker

Saying Yes

The Giant Cookie Incident

For the Love of Nubbins

So Tired...

 

Adam Wade Adam Wade

Adam Wade

The Page

First Love

Celebrity

Lindy

Persistence

 

Ophira Eisenberg Ophira Eisenberg

Ophira Eisenberg

Dream House

Getting Him Back (jump to 37-minute mark for Ophira)

Oops...

The Accident

Audio Tales from The Moth

 

 

T.J. Miller

TJ Miller TJ Miller

TJ Miller TJ Miller

TJ Miller TJ Miller

T.J. Miller is slowly developing into one of the finest comedic film actors,
sketch comedy performers, and lightning-quick improvisors in the business—
part Bill Murray, part Zach Galifianakis, part The Mask, and mostly pure TJM.
If you haven't checked out T.J. lately, please click the links below...
and keep an eye on this talent with the potential for comedy superstardom.

Sparkly Nails

Sarah Palin, Scum of the Earth

Auditioning for Yogi Bear

Now We're Partying

Characters

Ludacris

Elmo Sex Tape

DJ Stop N' Talk

Yogi Redux

Green Lantern Miller

Bananaise

 

 

Animated Comics

Dave Hill Chris Gethard

Jon Bander Jackie Kashian

Todd Bieber, the wonderfully innovative Director of Content & Production for UCBComedy.com, helms two of the best theatrical shows at UCB. One is Commercial Interruption, which is an autobiographical one-man show that's smart and hysterical and you should rush out to see. The other is Animated Stories, in which Todd hosts some of NYC's finest comics to tell tales on stage...which he then has some of NYC's finest animators turn into cartoons. Four of the best of these follow, along with some choice animated stand-up sets:

Chris Gethard: I Was an Evil Baby

Dave Hill: Toilet of a Lifetime

Kyle Levenick: I Sorta Killed a Girl

Jon Bander: Crazy

Andrea Rosen: Auditioning for HBO

Jackie Kashian: Pet Owners

Lenny Bruce: Thank You Masked Man

 

 

Being Funny About Feeling Down

Dave Chappelle Louis C.K.

It's Depression, Charlie Brown George Carlin

Comedy genius Chris Gethard recently wrote a brave and insightful essay on his dealing with depression; please read it by clicking here.

In tribute to Chris' words, here are a few comedy videos about feeling low:

Dave Chappelle: Keep Your Chin Up

Eddie Gossling: Cure for Depression

George Carlin: On Death

Louis C.K.: The Saddest Handjob Ever

It's Depression, Charlie Brown

David Cross: Speaking Seriously About Depression

 

 

John Mulaney John Mulaney John Mulaney

Cartoon Version of a Rich Man

Best Meal Ever

Drag Queens

Accepting Adulthood on a Subway Platform

Beware the Mean Insights of 13-Year-Olds

It's Hard to Really Get Lost in New York

That Tall Child Looks Terrible

Law & Order

Interview #1

Interview #2

Interview #3

John Mulaney is one of finest stand-ups in the country, offering hilarious on-target observations crafted with the artistry of a poet and the playfulness of a young brat. John's also one of the most beloved guys in comedy, thanks to his remaining steadfastly down-to-earth throughout his increasing success as a staff writer for Comedy Central and Saturday Night Live, and his new Comedy Central hour-long special. The latter is coming at the end of January in CD and DVD versions under the title New in Town, which you can—and should—buy by clicking here and/or here.

 

 

In the Bedroom

Bridgid Ryan Ask Milly

Flight of the Conchords Patrice O'Neal

Ask Milly (From Her Bedroom)

Can't Sleep (written/directed/starring Bridgid Ryan)

Business Time (sung by Flight of the Conchords)

Bedroom Moves (written/starring Patrice O'Neal)

 

 

Pete Holmes

Pete Holmes Pete Holmes: Impregnated with Wonder Pete Holmes

Glad to Not Be a Magician

Why Google Makes Life Meaningless

Power Drinks

Phantom Vibrations

Pete Has Fun Saying "Beers"

Pete Describes a Problem with His Enormous Balls

Pete Dissects Facebook and Why Being a Kid Sucks

Pete Dissects an Early Bomb

Pete Gets Animated About Being Manly

Ray Romano Sings

Pete and Joselyn Hughes Go On a Wine Date

The South Beach Diet

Pete on Lost

Dr. Pete: The Conversation  No Easy Way  Baseball   Whooping Cough  Down Syndrome

Cat Person: Hard Choice

Ray Romano Sings, Christmas Edition

Pete Holmes has one of the most lightning-fast and hilarious comedic minds in the country. Pete combines the organic energy of improv with the precision of a great wordsmith and split-second timing of a world-class performer. Pete's razor-sharp observations have warmed up audiences for The Daily Show; lit up such shows as Conan O'Brien, VH1's Best Week Ever, and Comedy Central's Premium Blend & John Oliver's NY Stand-Up; and illuminated the cartoon sections of such magazines as The New Yorker. Pete's also the co-creator of the hilarious Front Page Films, and most recently has been a staff writer for two network sitcoms. A 6'6" teddy bear, Pete has the accessibility of a Ray Romano—and is genuinely one of the nicest guys in show biz—but can also be as surreal and silly as a young Steve Martin. Please check out the videos above to enjoy this genius comic's range; and then buy his just-released CD Impregnated with Wonder, which reviewers—including me—are calling one of the very best comedy albums of the year.

 

 

Stand-Ups Vs. Hecklers

Louis C.K. Zach Galifianakis Richard Pryor

Louis C.K., Zach Galifianakis, Richard Pryor...even the giants have had to deal with hecklers

Louis C.K. on Hecklers

Jimmy Carr

Zach Galifianakis

Bill Hicks

Richard Pryor

Amy Schumer

Billy Connolly

Joe Rogan

Rob O'Reilly

Ron Shock

Steve Hofstetter

More Steve Hofstetter

Louis C.K. (audio only)

George Carlin (audio only)

Eddie Izzard (audio only)

Bill Clinton

Bill Murray on David Letterman

Medley

 

 

Laura Grey's & Jennifer Grace's Horrorgasm

Horrorgasm

Laura Grey & Jennifer Grace: Adorably perverse

In the golden age of radio, the finest writers and voice actors in the country would craft mini-plays that thoroughly engaged your imagination using only sound. The productions covered every genre, but they were especially effective for SF/fantasy/horror tales—because the special effects budgets were limited only by what they could lead you to create within your mind's eye.

Stellar writer/comics Laura Grey and Jennifer Grace understand the power of sound-based plays; and in the best episodes of their new iTunes podcast Horrorgasm, they create stories that resurrect old timely radio...and garnish them with wry, modern comedic twists. (Think Futurama, only focused on horror and with your eyes closed...)

Below are some of the best shows Laura & Jennifer have crafted to date. There are few better ways to celebrate the coming of Halloween than listening to these quirky gems:

Horrorgasm

The Homunculady: Not for every taste. But if you're open to feminist horror, this is genius.

Horrorgasm

Nun with a Gun: "She’s a nun with a gun. Good God, that sister’s packin’! It’s the Lord’s ammunition—and it’s Satan she’s attackin’!"

Horrorgasm

Rupert: Men shouldn't play with dolls.

 

 

The Unsinkable Mamrie Hart's You Deserve a Drink

Mamrie Hart Mamrie Hart

The magical Mamrie Hart offers a transformative drink for Harry Potter fans...

Mamrie Hart

...gives good advice to daughters on Mother's Day....

Mamrie Hart

...makes a tough choice among past lovers...

Mamrie Hart

...and goes tit-for-tat with Katy Peary

 

 

Anthony King

Anthony King Anthony King

A large reason the New York comedy community has thrived over the past five years—and expanded into TV series and movies nationwide—was the consistently caring, thoughtful, brilliant work of UCBT-NY's Artistic Director Anthony King. As indicated by the photos above, Anthony achieved a rare balance between being relaxed & creative, and acting as a disciplined administrator who maintained high standards for all.

Anthony quietly resigned from UCBT in August to take a staff writing job on an NBC sitcom, and I hope he achieves enormous success in LA. Meanwhile, his impact on comedy history can hardly be overstated. As a small tribute, here are some of the more memorable comedy videos Anthony created as a writer and/or performer:

UCB Touring Company

(excerpt from one of many improv shows Anthony & other stars performed on the road)

Improv Everywhere: I Love Lunch

Improv Everywhere: Food Court Musical

(improv events Anthony co-wrote—and in the first one, also co-starred in)

Craigslist Songs: Masturbating

(installment of a series Anthony co-wrote that sets Craigslist ads to music)

Craigslist Caterers: Orgy

(self-explanatory; co-written & co-starring Anthony)

Bored Cops

(Web series Anthony co-wrote & co-starred in about odd officers)

Final Advice from Anthony

(Anthony's parting words on August 31, 2011 after leaving UCBT-NY)

 

 

Best FringeNYC 2011 Video Promos & Sneak Peeks

A scene from COBU, which dynamically blends Japanese Taiko Drum & American tap dance

Yeast Nation: "Love Equals Pain"

Yeast Nation: Behind the Scenes

COBU: Promo

COBU: Scene from Show

Big Fatty Boombah: Em O'Loughlin on Losing 187 Pounds

I Will Be Good: "Progress"

I Will Be Good: "Mama"

When the Sky Breaks 3D

You Only Shoot the Ones You Love: Jeffrey Sweet on Improv Legend Del Close

You Only Shoot the Ones You Love: Jeffrey Sweet on Russians

PigPen Presents: The Mountain Story

I Light Up My Life—The Mark Sam Celebrity Autobiography: "Preemptive"

I Light Up My Life—The Mark Sam Celebrity Autobiography: "It Gets Better"

The F*cking World According To Molly: Interview with Molly Equality Dykeman

The F*cking World According To Molly: Molly Looks Forward to Meeting Her Fringe Audience

Wallstories

Aja Nisenson Raises Funds for Daja Vu

The Bad Arm—Confessions of a Dodgy Irish Dancer: "Typing"

The Bad Arm—Confessions of a Dodgy Irish Dancer: "Culture Clash"

Mark Storen's & Oda Aunan's Killing Nellie

Leonard Cohen Koans: "Suzanne"

Mary-Beth Manning's Mother

Call Mr. Robeson

Jersey Shoresical: A Frickin' Rock Opera

You're Ruined a Perfectly Good Mystery

The Underbelly Diaries redux: "Innocent Canadians"

74 Minutes of Stereo Radio Theater: Gumbo (audio only)

74 Minutes of Stereo Radio Theater: Jenna Rooney (audio only)

Zombie Wedding: Assorted Songs (audio only)

 

 

Chris Gethard Chris Gethard Chris Gethard

Chris Gethard laughed...he managed...he chewed...

Chris Gethard Chris Gethard Chris Gethard

...he listened...he loved...he fought...

Chris Gethard

...and he made a dream come true. And now he has his own weekly TV series: The Chris Gethard Show

 

 

SketchFest NYC 2011

This year's magical SketchFest NYC ran June 8-11 at UCBT. You can get a sense
of the wonderful sketch troupes that participated by watching these videos:

Kurt & Kristen The Whitest Kids U' Know

Kristen Schaal & Kurt Braunohler, The Whitest Kids U' Know...

Harvard Sailing Team Meat Sketch Comedy

...The Harvard Sailing Team, Meat...

Mamrie Hart and Stephen Soroka Laura Grey and Jordan Klepper

...Mamrie Hart & Stephen Soroka (BoF), and Laura Grey & Jordan Klepper (Klepper & Grey)

Kurt & Kristen: Kristen Schaal Is a Horse

The Whitest Kids U' Know: Abe Lincoln

Harvard Sailing Team: Boys Will Be Girls

Meat: Evil British Children

Laura Grey (of Klepper & Grey): Let's Wear Masks Tonight

Mamrie Hart (of BoF): Mother's Day

Elephant Larry: Sweet Little Voice

Pangea 3000: Spelling Bee

 

Jane Borden Jane Borden

Jane Borden, treasured Comedy Editor of Time Out New York, has written a bestselling book...

Storytelling as new form of comedy (audio only)

Book interview

 

Demetri Martin Demetri Martin

...and so has beloved comic Demetri Martin

I Love Kids

The Paperclip

Useless Talents

Fortune Cookie

The Point SystemConclusion

 

Michael Showalter Michael Showalter

Michael Showalter has a new bestselling book. To buy it at a huge discount, pleases click here.

Kevin Kline Reads How to Write and Sell A Hollywood Screenplay

Kevin Kline Reads Dreaming Jokes

Michael Reads His Own Book (audio only)

Michael Interviews Zach Galifianakis

Zach Galifianakis Interviews Michael

Michael Interviews Paul Rudd

Michael on Seroquel

Michael on Cats

Michael's New Reality Show

 

My All-Time Favorite Oddball Comedy Videos

Louis C.K. and Ricky Gervais

Pete Holmes Lenny Bruce

What's better than a video that makes us laugh? A video that simultaneously turns our perceptions of the world upside-down. A great example is Louis C.K.'s new show on FX, which he writes, directs, edits, and stars in—and is one of the most daring, original, and hilarious series to ever grace prime time TV. Check out how Louis messes with our heads; and also explore the strange worlds of other stellar comics, including Zach Galifianakis, Dave Hill, Pete Holmes, and Lenny Bruce in these...

Stand-Up Comic Oddball Shorts

Louie: The Poker Game

Louie: A Visit to the Doctor

Louis C.K.: Learning About the Catholic Church

 

Zach Galifianakis: Molesting Michael Cera

 

Dave Hill: Select Dental

Dave Hill: The Birthday Party

 

Pete Holmes: Ray Romano Sings Christmas Classics

 

Lenny Bruce: Thank You Masked Man

 

Pamela Murphy 

Pamela Murphy We Like the Moon

As demonstrated above, live-action shorts can be awesome. But for thoroughly standing your world on its head, there's nothing as effective as animation—in which anything can happen, creating a state of lucid dreaming. Check out these favorite journeys into the weird and hysterical:

Animated & Children's Oddball Shorts

The Frightened Little Boy

 

We Like the Moon

 

Never Trust a Penguin

 

Charlie the Unicorn

 

Betty Boop: Minnie the Moocher

Betty Boop: Bimbo's Initiation

Betty Boop: Snow White

(If you don't happen to know your Betty Boop, please click the links above

to play three 1930s cartoon gems. Each one starts out slowly,

but please be patient and watch all the way through...and then observe

what happens to your mind after experiencing these black & white dreams.)

 

Rainbow, a 1972-1992 UK version of Sesame Street

(Shot for the show's 1979 Christmas party; and the funniest children's TV episode, ever...)

 

Jack Nicholson's Heartwarming New Dramedy

(This isn't animated, but its cartoonish quality will soon become apparent...)

 

 

A Comedy Talent Ready for Stardom: Pamela Murphy

Don't miss writer/improvisor/character actress Pamela Murphy's new one-woman show The C Word, which was
the best-scripted one-act to grace UCBT in 2010—and performed with wit, grace, and pitch-perfect comedic
timing. Murphy may have what it takes to follow the lead of such other breakout UCBT talents as Lennon Parham,
Aziz Ansari, and Donald Glover, who all became prime time network TV stars. Catch Murphy before LA steals her away.

Pamela Murphy Pamela Murphy

Pamela Murphy Pamela Murphy

The C Word

The C Word Promo 1: Poor Sadie

The C Word Promo 2: Poor, Poor Sadie

Tech Mom Mailbag

Tech Mom: Hacking Made Easy

How to Make a Situation About You: When Your Friend Needs You

How to Make a Situation About You: At a Funeral

How to Make a Situation About You: At a Party

Lost Icons: Pippy Longstocking

My First Aromatherapy Candle

Lady Toddler

I Could Eat You Up

 

 

Bill Hicks: The Essential Collection

2-CD/2-DVD set released Nov. 2010; to learn more and/or to order, please click here.

Bill Hicks Bill Hicks

Marketing

Drugs and Evolution

Behind the Music

Religion

Smoking

Kill the Audience

What You Reading For?

Gays in the Military

Greeting UFOs with Shotguns

Banned David Letterman Performance

Final Live Performance

Medley

It's Just a Ride

 

 

Greg Giraldo RIP

Greg Giraldo Greg Giraldo

The Greatest City

Excess

Marsupial Sex

Cleavage

The Terrorists Will Never Win

Fat, Asthmatic Kids

Doing Drugs and Getting Old

 

 

Sex & Marriage

Mike O'Connell: What's It Gonna Be? Shayna Ferm & Carolyn Castiglia: Marriage is for Fags

Dr. Ken & Mike O'Connell, and Shayna Ferm & Carolyn Castiglia

Mike O'Connell: What's It Gonna Be?

Shayna Ferm & Carolyn Castiglia: Marriage is for Fags

Alexyss Tylor & Mom: Penis Power

 

 

Comics on Dates

Gavin Speiller Gavin Speiller

 Pete Holmes and Joselyn Hughes

Bad First Dates with Gavin Speiller: Lord of the Rings with Kelly Hudson

Bad First Dates with Gavin Speiller: Picnic with Kate McKinnon

Bad First Dates with Gavin Speiller: Flowers with Molly Lloyd

Pete Holmes and Joselyn Hughes: Wine Date

Pete Holmes and Jenny Slate: Honesty Date

Ellie Kemper and Quiet Library: Blind Date

Kate McKinnon and Serious Lunch: Speed Dating

Charlie Sanders: The Hotter You Get...

Smack the Pony: Saying Goodbye

 

Charlie Sanders

 

 

The Many Faces of Genius Comedic Actress Kate McKinnon

Kate McKinnon Kate McKinnon

Kate McKinnon Kate McKinnon

Concierge

Kate's Sketch Reel

Susan Boyle Perfume

Veronica Moss, Auto Lobbyist

Speed Dating

Jersey Shore Explains Catcher on the Rye

Jersey Shore Explains Heliocentric Physics

Basement

Fitzwilliam

Kate's Acting Reel

Kate's Voiceover Animation Reel

 

 

Brian Posehn's Fart and Wiener Jokes

Mexican Babies

Ask Me

Comic Books

Where Do I Know You From

iTunes

Valet in the Valley

Dork for Thirty Years

 

 

Greatest Sketches of All Time, Part 1

 

Monty Python: The Funniest Joke in the World

Monty Python: The Spanish Inquisition

Monty Python: The Ministry of Silly Walks

Monty Python: The Job Interview

Monty Python: The Argument Clinic

Monty Python: Dead Parrot

 

Your Show of Shows: This Is Your Story #1

Your Show of Shows: This Is Your Story #2

Your Show of Shows: The Clock

 

Smack the Pony: Saying Goodbye

 

 

John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show

John Oliver—God bless him—has created a series that represents the top stand-up comedy scene far better than anything else on TV. John is a genius stand-up, but also humble enough to listen and learn...and to appreciate the talents of such peers as Maria Bamford, Marc Maron, Kristen Schaal, Nick Kroll, Pete Holmes, Janeane Garofalo, Eugene Mirman, Brian Posehn, Hannibal Buress, Matt McCarthy, and other brilliant talents. Watching John's show on Comedy Central is highly recommended; and so is checking out the following links to some of its finest bits to date:

John Oliver: Foul-Mouthed Squirrel from Jersey

John Oliver: Falling in Love with America

John Oliver: Great American Heroes

John Oliver: Great American Heroes 2

John Oliver: National Pride

John Oliver: Titanic

John Oliver: Voting Upside Down and Drunk

John Oliver: Penguin

John Oliver: Teddy Bear

 

Rob Riggle Interviewing John

Rob Riggle Interviewing John 2

 

Maria Bamford: Office Drama

Maria Bamford: Joy Whack-a-Mole

Maria Bamford: Shtick

Maria Bamford: Sea Cow

 

Marc Maron: Hard Pressed to Explain

Marc Maron: The Future is Chinese

Marc Maron: The Future is Chinese 2

Marc Maron: Confronting the Different

 

Kristen Schaal: Am I Right?

Kristen Schaal: Family Friendly

Kristen Schaal: Inside the Mattress

 

Nick Kroll: Fabrice Fabrice

Nick Kroll: Fabrice Fabrice 2

Nick Kroll: Fabrice Fabrice 3

 

Pete Holmes: Power Drink

Pete Holmes: Phantom Vibrations

 

Janeane Garofalo: Customs Questionnaire

Janeane Garofalo: Save Your Sandals

Janeane Garofalo: Young People

Eugene Mirman: He Dared Me To

Eugene Mirman: Banner Ads

Eugene Mirman: God Is A Twelve-Year-Old Boy With Asperger's

Brian Posehn: Ask Me

 

Hannibal Buress: Purple

 

Matt McCarthy: Musicians vs. Comedians

Best Literal Music Videos of 2009

 

Bonnie Tyler: Total Eclipse of the Heart

Hall & Oates: Jingle Bell Rock

Meat Loaf: Anything For Love

The Monkeys: Daydream Believer

Pat Benatar: Love Is A Battlefield

Eurythmics: Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)

 

Bonus: Best Viral Videos of 2009

 

Natasha Leggero

  

Natasha on Biology

Natasha on Female Comics

Helping Orphans

Tearing It Up on Chelsea Lately

On Hip Hop

On American Idol and Death

On Acting Auditions

On Idiots

"It's Just Business"

Natasha's Acting Reel

 

 

Cherished Moments from David Letterman

 

Borat

Rena Smaha and Her Monkeys

Matt Damon Does Matthew McConaughey

Cher, Part 1  Cher, Part 2

Sonny & Cher Reunion, Part 1   Part 2  Part 3

Sam Kinison's First National TV Appearance

Harvey Pekar's Penultimate Appearance  Harvey's Final Appearance

Harmony Korine's First Appearance  More Harmony Korine

Madonna

Drew Barrymore Flashes Dave

Dave's October Surprise  Dave's Follow-Up

Dave on 9/11

 

 

HyReviews.com's Book of the Month: Elna Baker's

The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance

  Dave Hill

The radiant, insightful, and hilarious Elna Baker has been one of the brightest lights in the NYC comedy and storytelling scenes for years. This month Elna put her many adventures between covers..and created an instant monster bestseller.

Elna held a wonderful book release party for her memoir The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance at The PowerHouse Arena in Brooklyn on October 15, 2009. Here's a portion of the Q&A session:

 

Q: Do you think there’s more desperation for finding a mate in or out of the Mormon circle?

Elna: I think the desperation manifests in different ways. In Mormonism there’s a different kind of pressure, because there are a lot more Mormon women than there are Mormon men. And you are taught that to get to the highest level of Mormonism, you need to be married to another Mormon. So it can be pretty cutthroat. (audience laughter)

 

Q: How do you think the Mormon community is going to react to your book?

Elna: That's the thing I'm most afraid of. It's interesting to do something you haven’t seen done before, because you don’t know what will happen to you for doing it. People have written books about being Mormon after they have left the Mormon faith. And people have written books about being Mormon within the Mormon faith for other Mormons that are, you know, sold in Utah and present a sort of soft-focus version of love and happiness and family. My book deals with doubt and questioning, and figuring out in your 20s what you want to do on your own, and it does it in a way that I think a lot of Mormons will really appreciate, and a lot of Mormons will really be upset about. So we'll see...

 

Q: Elna, I've always known you as a storyteller on stage. What was it like to transition from performing live to writing a book?

Elna: I had all these scripts from shows I’d done that I thought I could just cut and paste; but turns out it doesn't work that way at all. (audience laughter) It didn't jump off the page, I needed to do a lot of thinking about my material. And I learned a lot from that.

I was doing a great deal of performing, and then got the opportunity to write. So I stepped out of the limelight, and spent two years mostly alone, writing. I'd experienced a lot of stuff very quickly in my life and had never taken the time to really process it. So in those two years I retired from being alive, and processed it.

I always thought of myself as someone who spoke stories. The great thing about writing all those stories down is that now there’s this book, and I can just sort of drop it on someone’s desk and say “These are things that I think about.” And I don’t have to talk anymore. (audience laughter)

 

To buy Elna's book The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance—which sold out every copy in the store less than halfway through her release party, and has been a mega-bestseller on Amazon.com since the day of its publication—please click here.

 

 

Jenny Slate, the newest cast member of Saturday Night Live

  

  

Jimmy Fallon: Jimmy, I'm Jenny

Bad TV

Bestie by Bestie #1

Bestie by Bestie #9

Honesty Date

Jenny Makes History on SNL Debut (A Small Stumble on the Road to Stardom)

See also this article, which nails it

 

 

Bill Burr—Comedy Force of Nature

  

"Is This the Line to Lose Half My Shit? Awesome!"

Resisting Urges

Solving Overpopulation on David Letterman

Date on 125th Street

Encounter in Nashville

Grandma (audio only)

Nebraska

Faith vs. Organized Religion

Dog RIghts

HBO Special, Part 1  HBO Special, Part 2

Interview: Origins  Interview: Return to Boston  Interview: Return to NYC

 

 

Best FringeNYC 2009 Promos & Sneak Peeks

It's August—and for me, that meant it was time to start focusing on the New York International Fringe Festival, as one of my claims to small fame is seeing & reviewing more FringeNYC shows than anyone, ever. This year FringeNYC ran August 14th-30th, hosted 201 productions, and attracted over 75,000 audience members. To get a feel for this year's shows, please click the links below; and for the rest of my coverage, which was updated daily through August, please click here.

Baby Wants Candy: Highlights Reel

Baby Wants Candy: Perfect Wedding Day (starring Jack McBrayer and Eliza Skinner)

Baby Wants Candy: Alone (starring Eliza Skinner)

Woyzeck

The Boxer: A Silent Film on Stage

America's Next Top Bottom

Stand-up comic Erin Judge, co-writer & co-star of The Meaning of Wife

Comedogenic (long but brilliant comedic film by Paul Thomas)

Comedogenic (another long but hilarious film by Paul Thomas, co-starring Hannibal Buress)

Dolls (shrewd animated trailer by Michael Phillis)

Bitch! (fundraising video by Charlotte Booker)

Zack Adams: Awkward

Allison Case singing "Paper Airplanes" from musical Vote!

Andrew Keenan-Bolger singing "Ambition" from musical Vote!

Abraham Lincoln's Big Gay Dance Party

Hatching and Art's Heart stars Scarlett Duvall and Anthony Johnston

Stand-up W. Kamau Bell, in 2005, tells Comedy Central's first ever Barack Obama joke

Bob Brader: Spitting in the Face of the Devil

Owen Dara: White Horses—An Irish Childhood

Viral

Zipperface!!?!: The Hobo Musical

Anthony Fascious Martinez's Penumbra

Flight (audio only, but superb songs; click Music Player in bottom-left)

Graveyard Shift (for song, click The Show link at the top, then The Prologue in bottom-right)

Far Out: The Sci-Fi Musical Comedy (audio only, Act 1 Finale)

Sperm sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" to prep for... Spermalot: The Musical

Finger Paint

666

Diamond Dead

Unique bathroom theatre from the Japanese company of Romeo and Toilet

 

Between the Ferns with Zach Galifianakis

 

Molesting Michael Cera

Natalie Portman and Her Dog Whiz

Jimmy Kimmel's Views on Bananas

Jon Hamm Triggers an Allergic Reaction

For more Zach videos, please click here.

 

Casey Wilson Reads Fan Mail from the Net

Saturday Night Live cast member Casey Wilson reads viewers' reviews on the Web

in a pitch-perfect video. To experience it, please click here.

 

 

Reggie Watts

  

Reggie Watts is a musical improv comedy genius—a scary talented vocalist, beatboxer, and musician whose unique skills will likely amaze you. Reggie won the 2009 ECNY Award for Best Musical Comedy Act and the 2007 Andy Kaufman Award; is a cast member of the new Electric Company; and recently delivered a bravura performance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. To learn more, please visit ReggieWatts.com; please explore his album Pot Cookies; and please check out these videos of Reggie showing what he can do:

The Pepsi Challenge

The Beginning is Near

What About Blowjobs?

Out of Control

Banana Terrorist Guerilla

Let's Party

The Worst Thing You Ever Heard

Tribute to Reggie

It's Over

 

Obama at White House Correspondents' Dinner

There aren't many times when President Barack Obama jokes around;

but one of them is the annual While House Correspondents' Association Dinner.

To watch the stand-up set Obama delivered on May 9, 2009, please click here.

 

Susan Boyle on Britain's Got Talent

This isn't comedy in the usual sense. But please click the photo above, and enjoy.

 

Brilliant & Beloved NYC Comics in Prime Time—Amy Poehler,

Aziz Ansari, and Aubrey Plaza in NBC's Parks and Recreation,

and Demetri Martin in Comedy Central's Important Things

Pete Holmes Amy Poehler

Aubrey Plaza Aziz Ansari Amy Poehler

Demetri Martin Demetri Martin Demetri Martin

Has Amy Poehler Ever Looked More Beautiful?

Amy's Inspiration

Aziz and a Bra

Amy on Jay Leno

Demetri on Chairs

The Prince and the Pauper—with John Oliver!

Lost Footage of The Prince and the Pauper

Demetri on Things Greater Than or Equal To

Demetri on Walls, Babies, and Earthquakes

Demetri Learns How to Be Cool

 

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

Pete Holmes

The Brilliant & Thoroughly Loveable Jack McBrayer Proves He's Not Bobby Jindal

SNL Flashback Before Late Night De Niro Interview

Conan O'Brien Interview Before Debut

Jay Leno Tells Jimmy the "Talk Show" is Now Really a Comedy Show, with Guests

Awkward Silence Bear

The Giant Pickle

Jimmy Gets Last-Minute Advice from Lorne Michaels

Highlight of Week 1: Dance-Off with Cameron Diaz

Conan O'Brien is moving up to NBC's Tonight Show, and so March 3rd, 2009 was the debut of his replacement: Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Taking over from a comedy genius like Conan is daunting—but the same was true when Conan replaced David Letterman back on September 13, 1993. There were some bumps then, but Conan ultimately more than rose to the occasion; and here's hoping Jimmy does too. His show's writing staff includes genius stand-up & rising star Anthony Jeselnik (HBO, Comedy Central), and creepily hilarious comedic actor AD Miles (Human Giant, Conan O'Brien, Dog Bites Man, Reno 911). Behind the awkwardness, Jimmy is a powerful talent and quick learner—as was demonstrated beautifully by the dance-off with Cameron Diaz. The nerves showed at times during the first week (a low point was Jimmy mock-snoring when Billy Crudup tried to provide a few seconds of information about Watchmen; honestly, it's okay to let people say intelligent things now and then...). But tune in to watch Mr. Fallon grow and, over time, make his own special mark as a Late Night host.

 

Pete Holmes

Pete Holmes  Pete Holmes  Pete Holmes

Pete Describes a Problem with His Enormous Balls

Pete Dissects Facebook and Why Being a Kid Sucks

Pete Dissects an Early Bomb

Pete Gets Animated About Being Manly

Ray Romano Sings

Pete and Joselyn Hughes Go On a Wine Date

Pete and Jenny Slate Go On an Honest Date

Pete Discusses the South Beach Diet

Dr. Pete: The Conversation  No Easy Way  Baseball   Whooping Cough  Down Syndrome

Cat Person: Hard Choice

Ray Romano Sings, Christmas Edition

Pete Holmes has one of the most lightning-fast and hilarious comedic minds in the country. Pete combines the organic energy of improv with the precision of a great wordsmith and split-second timing of a world-class performer. Pete's razor-sharp observations have warmed up audiences for The Daily Show, lit up such such series as VH1's Best Week Ever and Comedy Central's Premium Blend, and illuminated the cartoon sections of such magazines as The New Yorker. A 6'6" teddy bear, Pete has the accessibility of a Ray Romano—and is genuinely one of the nicest guys in show biz—but can also be as surreal and silly as a young Steve Martin. Please check out the videos above to enjoy this genius comic's range; and then catch this rising star live on stage as often as possible.

 

Anthony Jeselnik

    

Anthony on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live

Anthony on NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien

Anthony on Comedy Central's Premium Blend

Anthony on HBO's Down and Dirty with Jim Norton

Anthony Performs a Joke as Dane Cook

Anthony Explains Why His Body is a Temple

Anthony Explains Why a Comedian is Like a Tank

Anthony Jeselnik (being lauded above by Robin Williams) is just starting to became famous, but I believe he'll prove to be one of the sharpest & funniest stand-ups, writers, and overall performers in comedy history. There's nothing better than seeing Anthony live on stage, but in the meantime please enjoy these videos; look for his work as staff writer on NBC's upcoming NYC replacement for Conan O'Brien's show, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon; and keep an eye out for repeats of Anthony's Comedy Central Presents half-hour special, which debuted January 16, 2009.

 

Prop 8: The Musical

 

Sarah Palin

SNL's Tina Fey and Amy Poehler as Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton

The Actual, Disastrous Katie Couric Interview

Analysis of the Katie Couric Interview, Part 1

Analysis of the Katie Couric Interview, Part 2

SNL's Tina Fey and Amy Poehler Reenacting the Katie Couric Interview

SNL's Tina Fey and Jason Sudeikis Reenacting the VP Debate

SNL's Tina Fey and Sarah Palin Quickly Walking Past Each Other

SNL's Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, and Darrell Hammond as George W. Endorsing Palin & McCain

The New Yorker on Sarah Palin's Proximity to Russia

Gina Gershon as Sarah Palin

Comedic Actress Sara Benincasa as Sarah Palin

More Sara Benincasa

CNN on Sarah Palin Impersonators

Jon Stewart on Sarah Palin

Matt Damon on Sarah Palin

 

Sarah Palin Celebrates Thanksgiving

 

On November 20th, following the traditional cute pardoning of a single turkey, Sarah Palin decided to conduct an interview while the other non-pardoned turkeys are being slaughtered directly behind her. The resulting disconnect between her words (about her "values and convictions," the political process being "brutal," etc.) and what's happening mere feet away—not to mention the interviewer asking a question about state programs "being on the chopping block"—is one of the the most surreal and hilarious political interviews, ever.

(Note: After this blew up into a national story, Governor Palin said she didn't know what was going on in the background. Observers find this tough to swallow. My own perspective is that it's hard to say which is funnier: her being oblivious, or being utterly insensitive, to the carnage. Please judge for yourself; and either way, enjoy.)

For a slightly sanitized version, please click here.

For the complete gruesome version, please click here.

For a Twilight Zone version that speculates on what else Governor Palin might miss while conducting an interview (from Slate.com), please click here.

 

Dave Hill

Select Dental

Little Michael Jackson and Me 1: "All Washed Up"

Little Michael Jackson and Me 2: "Game! Set! Match!"

Little Michael Jackson and Me 3: "We Can Work It Out"

Seasonal Employment

The Birthday Party

Dog Psychic

How to Hide Drugs

The Dave Hill Show

The King of Miami

HyReviews.com Show Report 9/24/07: Dave Hill Turns Things Around

 

Best FringeNYC 2008 Show Promos

Usher: "Twelve Hours"

Carl and Shelly, Best Friends Forever

Nightlife Jesus

Kansas City or Along the Way: "Lullaby" (audio only)

The Complete Performer

Becoming Britney

The Sound of One Hanna Clapping: "Ode to Britney" (audio only)

The Refugee Girls Revue

The Home for Wayward Girls and Fallen Women

Shots: A Love Story

Kansas City or Along the Way: "Hammer" (audio only)

Zombie

Operation Adelmo

Oatmeal and a Cigarette

The Dershowitz Protocol

III

Kansas City or Along the Way: "Adelaide Hall" (audio only)

Dreadful Penny's Exquisite Horrors

Usher: "I Might Have Taken You Dancing"

 

Zach Galifianakis

Characters

Visit to Jimmy Kimmel

Getting Canceled...and Starting Over

More Stand-Up from Fat Jesus

On Physical Comedy

Ad for Absolut Vodka

Another Ad for Absolut Vodka

 

The Unsettling Artistry of Comedy Troupe Quiet Library

 

Violet Krumbein and Greg Tuculescu

Quiet Library: Chris Cooper, David Hale, Dave Cederquist, & Greg Tuculescu

The Secret Strikes Back

Blind Date

Porn Writer's Meeting

Parents of Miss Teen South Carolina

Miss Teen South Carolina vs. Bush

Brown Noser

Der Tourist (The Tourist)

 

Rob Paravonian

Pachelbel Rant

Life as a Comic: Nooners

Life as a Comic: College Conventions

Life as a Comic: Downtown Comedy

Life as a Comic: Reels

Life as a Comic: Guitar Comics

 

Memorable Award Show Moments

Conan O'Brien, Jon Stewart, and Stephen Colbert at the 2006 Emmys

Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and Steve Carell at the 2007 Emmys

Jon Stewart's Opening Monologue at the 2008 Academy Awards

Jon Stewart Presenting a Baby at the 2008 Academy Awards

 

Sarah Silverman: I'm F*cking Matt Damon

For Jimmy Kimmel's Fifth Anniversary show,

his long-time girlfriend Sarah Silverman

gave him a video gift.

To enjoy it yourself, please click here.

 

The Writers Guild Strike

Most Concise & Dead-On Explanation of the Strike

Tim Kazurinsky Succinctly Explains the Strike

The WGA Explains the Strike

Neal Pollack's 5-Year-Old Elijah Explains the Strike

David Letterman Explains the Producers' Side of the Strike

Tim Carvell & Jason Ross of The Daily Show on Viacom Paradox

Yet More Paradox in Voices of Uncertainty

Heroes of the Strike

Strike You!

The Office is Closed

Family Guy's Seth MacFarlane on the Strike

Animals in Solidarity

David Letterman—Bless Him—Negotiates Separate Deal with WGA

(news article about why you should tune into new episodes of Late Show with David Letterman starting 1/2/08)

Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno, Jon Stewart, and Stephen Colbert—Bless Them—Facing Tougher Situation

(New York Times article about these comedy genius writer/performers also returning to the air, but sans writing staffs)

A Ninja Offers Advice to the Writers Guild

How Moonlighting Handled the Writers Strike of 1988

For the Best Strike Coverage: Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood Daily

 

Jessica Delfino

 

I Wanna Be Famous

Jessica Does Ireland

Don't Rape Me (played on rape whistle)

A Message to All Men

My Pussy is Magic

Lullaby

 

Album of the Month: Jessica Delfino's I Wanna Be Famous

Funny, filthy, graceful, seething, and always artful, Jessica Delfino is a rare treasure:

a stellar comic who employs the voice of an angel to sing lyrics that would make a sailor blush.

At times she tries too hard on the latter, going for shock over substance; but more often Jessica hits the right notes via marvelous songs such as I Wanna Be Famous, Don't Rape Me, and Only a Stranger's C*ck. Not for every taste; but if you're open to a different kind of comedy, this imaginative and beautifully packaged combination CD/DVD is a steal at $10 plus $2.99 shipping. To check out some of its tracks, and to then order multiple copies for yourself and your more unusual friends, please click here. Please also visit Jessica's Myspace page by clicking here; check out her music videos (directly above) by clicking here; and keep an eye on this promising rising star.

 

Aziz Ansari

What Shoulda Happened... (co-starring Eugene Mirman)

Aziz Stand-Up #1 (Kanye West & Val Kilmer)

Aziz Stand-Up #2 (Enemies List)

Aziz Stand-Up #3 (Gay Marriage)

Aziz Stand-Up #4 (Harsh)

Aziz on Amateurish YouTube Editing

Complete Stand-Up Routine (MP3 audio clip)

 

Seinfeld: The Lost Episode

 

Free Hugs

Free Hugs: Backstory

 

First four minutes of Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat

Trailer for Borat

Borat interviewed by Jon Stewart

Sacha Baron Cohen torturing supermarket manager

Borat Q&A at Toronto Film Festival

 

Chad Vader, Day Shift Manager:

Episodes #1, #2, #3, and  #4

 

Amanda Congdon Bids Farewell to Rocketboom

Amanda Explains Things on MSNBC

Amanda Tries a New Job

(The lovely and super-talented Amanda Congdon's split

with her producer Andrew Baron has been the focus of the

biggest soap opera to hit the Web since Microsoft vs. Google.

If this drama has somehow slipped by you, these clips cover the highlights.)

 

The Evolution of Dance

(comedian Judson Laipply dances through several musical generations—in just six minutes)

 

Our Legal System at Work

(actual deposition conducted in April 2006 by famed Texas attorney Joe Jamail)

 

Star Wars: Brokeback Empire

Brokeback to the Future

Top Gun 2: Brokeback Squadron

(the secret Brokeback trilogy)

 

Throw the Jew Down the Well

(Jewish comic Sacha Baron Cohen—a.k.a. Borat and Ali G—shines a light on anti-semitism)

 

Return to top

 

 

Hy's Book and Screenplay Services

In addition to this Web site, I run two commercial editorial services:

 

 

 

Hy's Other Websites

Book Service: BookProposal.net

Screenplay Service: HyOnYourScript.com

 

15th Nonfiction Book: CIGThyroid.com

Ghosts on Drugs Fiction Anthology: GhostsOnDrugs.com

 

The Millennial Career Playbook Podcast: TMCPB.com

 

Contact Hy

I'd love to hear from you at hy@hyreviews.com.

 

History will be kind to me,
for I intend to write it.
—Winston Churchill
 

Return to top

 

Copyright © 2017 Hy Bender

Email: hy@hyreviews.com