James Morosini’s I Love My Dad, which won both the audience and Grand Jury Award at the 2022 SXSW Film Festival, is a masterclass in cringe comedy. Morosini stars as Franklin, a troubled young man fresh off a suicide attempt. His father, Chuck, played with an incautious tenacity by Patton Oswalt, has been desperately trying to […]
Comedian Josh Johnson is multi-talented. Comedian Josh Johnson is a hustler. Comedian Josh Johnson is an optimist. Not being able to figure out which way to start off a conversation about Johnson is a good thing because in this case, all three statements are true. For someone barely scratching the surface of his thirties, Johnson […]
FX is stepping behind the velvet rope with Hysterical, a documentary about emerging and established female comics that looks at how the comedy world is finally catching up with the times. Feature-length, the piece explores the joy of stand-up, tackles the “women aren’t funny” trope, tiptoes into cancel culture from a female perspective, and reveals […]
April 1st (aka April Fool’s Day) marks 13 months since independent venues have been shut down across the country due to COVID-19, including comedy clubs and comedy theaters. While musicians adapted nimbly and found ways to thrive publicly with livestreams, comedy went underground. Backrooms, basements, rooftops, alleyways and even apartments and backyards became the new […]