comedy – News Stories About comedy - Page 9

OBITUARY

Jun 29, 2009 11:58 AM CDT

Impressionist Travalena Dead at 66

(Newser) - Fred Travalena, a master impressionist whose catalog of voices ranged from US presidents to Frank Sinatra doing Boy George, has died at 66 of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, the Los Angeles Times reports. The actor-singer-mimic, known as the "Man of a Thousand Faces," opened for the likes of Shirley...

Proposal Scores at Box Office

box office roundup

Jun 21, 2009 3:28 PM CDT

Proposal Scores at Box Office

(Newser) - Audiences fell for The Proposal this weekend, sending Sandra Bullock's comedy down the aisle with $34.1 million, USA Today reports. Banking $12 million more than pundits predicted, the romcom claimed yet another box office win for summer comedies. The Hangover hung onto second with $26.9 million, Up finished...

Curb Star in Woody's
Latest ... Eh, Whatever

Movie Review

Jun 19, 2009 10:00 AM CDT

Curb Star in Woody's Latest ... Eh, Whatever

(Newser) - Woody Allen! Larry David! It sounds like a match made in comedy heaven, but the results are more like purgatory, according to the critics. Here’s what they’re saying:

Whatever Works is one of Allen’s worst movies, writes Claudia Puig of USA Today. David’s Boris “is

...

Year One Offers
Unevolved Laughs

movie review

Jun 19, 2009 6:59 AM CDT

Year One Offers Unevolved Laughs

Prehistoric comedy aims low and hits the target

(Newser) - The jokes in caveman comedy Year One with Jack Black and Michael Cera are prehistoric, say critics, but it's still passable fun for anybody not expecting a comic masterpiece.

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: "More or less indefensible, but I'll gladly defend parts of it." It won't rank up

...

Bullock: I Hate Romcoms

interview

Jun 12, 2009 1:11 PM CDT

Bullock: I Hate Romcoms

(Newser) - Sandra Bullock made a name for herself in romantic comedies but “can’t stand” them now, America's Sweetheart tells the Wall Street Journal. “I always read scripts and go, ‘I want to change the role of Sam to Samantha because it’s written better,’” Bullock...

Colbert: The New Bob Hope

TV review

Jun 12, 2009 7:36 AM CDT

Colbert: The New Bob Hope

Iraq stint brings back predecessor's 'easy-going' style

(Newser) - Taping his show in Iraq this week, Stephen Colbert channeled Bob Hope in an "unexpectedly charming" series of shows, writes Alessandra Stanley in the New York Times. Colbert largely stayed in ultra-right character, though he let it slip in places. His interviews were “pleasant, not barbed,” and...

Colbert Gets
Buzz Cut in
Baghdad

Jun 8, 2009 8:13 AM CDT

Colbert Gets Buzz Cut in Baghdad

(Newser) - When Stephen Colbert announced he was doing four shows in front of the troops in Baghdad, many wondered if he’d tone down his ironic bluster. Wonder no more. Colbert swaggered on stage for the taping in a camouflage business suit yesterday, and declared himself the only one man enough...

Hangover Is So Good It Hurts

MOVIE REVIEW

Jun 5, 2009 6:48 AM CDT

Hangover Is So Good It Hurts

Screwball male-bonding Vegas comedy may be year's funniest yet

(Newser) - The Hangover 's raunchy tale of three bachelor-party buddies trying to piece together a wild night in Vegas blends its screwball ingredients into a hilarious and surprisingly headache-free mix, say critics.

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: The movie is "rowdy, scurrilous, and, for about three-quarters of its running time, a

...

5 Judges Obama
Never Considered

OPINION

May 26, 2009 11:53 AM CDT

5 Judges Obama Never Considered

We guarantee Obama never considered any of these schmucks

(Newser) - Barack Obama probably never sat down to consider the worst possible contenders for David Souter’s Supreme Court vacancy. But the guys at The Stimulist did. Here are the top (bottom?) five judges who never had a shot:

Myron Steele: Used his government email address to send a lewd video

...

Leno's Last Guest: Conan

May 14, 2009 2:18 PM CDT

Leno's Last Guest: Conan

Star-studded lineup for final week

(Newser) - Conan O’Brien is sneaking onto the Tonight Show a little early. He and James Taylor are the guests for Jay Leno’s final episode, to air May 29, Acesss Hollywood reports. Leno’s lineup for that week includes Mel Gibson, Lyle Lovett, and Billy Crystal. “I really do...

Washington Can't Take a Joke

OPINION

May 13, 2009 7:44 AM CDT

Washington Can't Take a Joke

Uproar over Sykes' routine shows we take things too literally

(Newser) - Sure, Wanda Sykes’ controversial jokes at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner were “over the top,” and they weren’t all that funny, writes Kathleen Parker in the Washington Post. But the uproar they sparked just shows “we take ourselves far too seriously—and literally.” Sykes...

Just Not Funny:
Obama Is Comedy Poison

May 4, 2009 12:39 PM CDT

Just Not Funny: Obama Is Comedy Poison

Why Bill Maher gets boos when he tries to razz the prez

(Newser) - Comedians have a big beef with President Obama: he's a humor-killer, writes the LA Times. It's not just that this president lacks a defining target for humor (funny accent, balance problem, wandering eye), but also that the American public may just not be in the mood to make fun of...

'Imperious' Arthur
Was a 'Thunderbolt'

appreciation

Apr 26, 2009 5:58 PM CDT

'Imperious' Arthur Was a 'Thunderbolt'

Comedian broke new ground in Maude , Golden Girls

(Newser) - Bea Arthur may not have been television’s most iconic actress, “but no woman ever made so many people so happy by being so imperious, so decisive, so just plain bossy,” Ken Tucker writes in Entertainment Weekly. No one defied or upstaged her on Maude or Golden Girls,...

Efron's Charm
Helps Unoriginal
17 Again

MOVIE REVIEW

Apr 17, 2009 8:34 AM CDT

Efron's Charm Helps Unoriginal 17 Again

High School Musical star adds life to age-old body-swap concept

(Newser) - The doing-your-life-over-again movie 17 Again does what its many predecessors have done over and over again, say critics, but Zac Efron runs through the clichés with charismatic charm.

Claudia Puig, USA Today: "Though not as clever as 13 Going on 30 or Freaky Friday, it's also not

...

Can Amy
Poehler Save
NBC's Bacon?

glossies

Apr 6, 2009 5:50 PM CDT

Can Amy Poehler Save NBC's Bacon?

(Newser) - Wallowing in a muddy fourth place among major networks, NBC is betting on Amy Poehler to clean up its ratings with Parks and Recreation, Will Leitch writes in New York magazine. A mockumentary style sitcom “from the people who bring you The Office”—as NBC ads are trumpeting—...

Sykes Walks Thin Line
to Obama Roast

Apr 3, 2009 11:04 AM CDT

Sykes Walks Thin Line to Obama Roast

White House correspondents' dinner comics' 'most feared' show

(Newser) - Wanda Sykes is getting ready for what could be the toughest gig of her life: the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, attended by the president. Not particularly political, Sykes will be roasting a president who’s posed a challenge for her fellow comedians in front of an audience Bill Maher...

Adventureland Is a Sweet Ride

MOVIE REVIEW

Apr 3, 2009 8:35 AM CDT

Adventureland Is a Sweet Ride

Retro coming-of-age movie will touch nostalgic hearts

(Newser) - Coming-of-age romance Adventureland isn't a rollercoaster of surprises, critics say, but it's still honest and poignant enough to be touching—especially if you grew up in the '80s.

Todd McCarthy, Variety: "A rather ordinary account of youthful summer misadventures that goes down easily thanks to a sparky cast, more

...

Sykes Signs On
to Challenge SNL

Apr 1, 2009 3:08 PM CDT

Sykes Signs On to Challenge SNL

It's her second shot on the network

(Newser) - The last time Wanda Sykes had a show on Fox, Wanda at Large lasted just 19 episodes. But "if Rihanna can go back to Chris Brown, I can go back to Fox," Sykes tells the Los Angeles Times. Beginning this fall, she'll have a Saturday late-night talk show...

I Love You, Man:
Bromance at Its Best

MOVIE REVIEW

Mar 20, 2009 10:23 AM CDT

I Love You, Man: Bromance at Its Best

Stars keep formulaic satire on male friendship fresh

(Newser) - I Love You Man's tale of a guy searching for a best friend rolls out every buddy movie cliché from the Odd Couple onward but stays likable, thanks to its stars, say critics.

Rossiter Drake, San Francisco Examiner: Paul Rudd and Jason Segel "take what might have been a

...

Foreigners Lap
Up US Comedies

Mar 18, 2009 2:06 PM CDT

Foreigners Lap Up US Comedies

(Newser) - Foreign audiences are totally into Marley and Me, the Owen Wilson/Jennifer Aniston vehicle, which topped the international box office last weekend with $14.2 million, Variety reports. Marley’s success—it’s beating Watchmen, among others—runs counter to traditional wisdom about foreign taste for US yuks leaning more to...