09/14/06 The Comedians Of Comedy: The Movie

The Comedians Of Comedy: The Movie (2005), directed by Michael Blieden

watched w/ Leslie (partially); DVD rental (Netflix) @ home

Considering I was both in a great comedy mood, and just bitter enough that I missed the recent Comedians Of Comedy Fall Tour that came through the Triangle...I felt like renting the next best thing to live comedy...watching live comedy & behind the scenes goodies of a comedy tour on my boob tube at home. Set in a personalized documentary format, the filmmakers get nice and cozy (sometimes frighteningly so) with this batch of misfit comedians. You have to get this brand of counter-culture slacker comedy and references to enjoy it, so hopefully you know what you're getting yourself into beforehand. Look no further than the title of the movie as a rip on the overly hyped (but still funny) "Original Kings Of Comedy" tour movie from Spike Lee...even more so when Posehn comments what his original title for the doc should be...the Martin Luther Kings Of Comedy. I am a big fan of all four of these talented young (and crotchety...and fuzzy) jokesters, Patton Oswalt, Brian Posehn, Maria Bramford, and Zach Galifianakis. We had the luxury of seeing Mr. Oswalt live this summer on the Bonnaroo festival circuit, so I can see his brand of angst-ridden dork-chic coming through the screen. With the film, you get an endless cascade of sight-gags, inside jokes, comic book shopping before the show, naked dancing in the woods, off-kilter piano numbers, anti-political rants, and Star Wars references. You tend to see all four of these talents either on half-hour comedy specials, bit parts in Hollywood films, or on the small screen in various television sitcom roles (Oswalt's obvious "King Of Queens", but the best is when Posehn is recognized on the streets by some pre-teen girls squealing about him being "that guy" from "Just Shoot Me"...priceless). However, what you need to recognize is their sheer brilliance in anti-mainstream live performances...where they cater to hipper audiences who get their messages, and share the stage in more intimate & smoky rock clubs/indie venues rather than the norm in usual comedy clubs. It's a great buddy/road flick, told in real time by some oddball comedians with a wicked sense of humor. It's not for all, but definitely for me.

4 out of 5 stars