That's So Funny (I Forgot to Laugh)!

by Chiron O'Keefe

By now, most of my online friends know that in addition to being a writer, I play a mean rhythm guitar and love to sing—blues, torch songs, R&B, soul, classic Motown, Beatles, Stones, the list is endless. I've logged countless hours performing music, including some of my own tunes and even opened for *Gasp* Timothy Leary at a local Body, Mind & Spirit expo. Crazy, man!

Another dimension to my wacky life is my love of comedy. In South Lake Tahoe, I wrote skits and co-produced a comedy show that showcased at the late, great Del Webb's High Sierra My favorite comedy rises above flatulence humor to push new boundaries. Lately, my favorite source for humor is online.

For me, it all started with Sarah Silverman  and the following video, that she introduced on her then-boyfriend, Jimmy Kimmel's show. Warning, profanity and rude conduct!

Sarah Silverman in "I'm F#@$ing Matt Damon!"



I'm just glad I'd set down my glass of wine, since I'm not sure my monitor would have survived the spit-take! Not to be outdone, Jimmy Kimmel quickly followed suit with his own response. Warning, profanity and rude conduct!

Jimmy Kimmel in "I'm F#@$ing Ben Affleck!"



Watching these led to the discovery of the website Funnyordie.com  This comedy video website was founded by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay's production company and features both user generated content (definitely hit or miss, so watch at your own risk) and some very professionally put together videos starring such luminaries as  James Franco Andy Richter Fred Willard, with guest stars ranging from Lindsay Lohan  to Tim Roth.  There's a Presidential Reunion starring many of the SNL regulars over the years in their various presidential roles.
 

There's a series called "Drunken History" which is very hit or miss (one episode that I quickly shut down featured vomiting—ewwww!!!!), but is a hilarious concept, I must admit. The concept: have a very drunken person describe an important historical event while actors play out the scene, lip-synching along with the drunken narration. When it works, it's brilliant. Particularly when the actors are  Will Ferrell and Don Cheadle:



There's cute and silly, like this one revealing a glimpse inside http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0748620/ Paul Rudd's computer:



What's great is these aren't just shaky videos featuring kitties dancing or sea gulls stealing cat food (okay, that one was pretty funny).

These are quality productions, reminding me of the amazing videos SNL has produced over the years. Warning, adult content! Check out Tim Roth in "Brostitute":







Now, Ralph Macchio in his latest role:






As can be expected, Funny or Die is extremely popular and this year was picked up by HBO. Another website getting attention is www.istudio.com , featuring Lisa Kudrow  in a series called "Web Therapy". Word is that this series has been picked up by Showtime. Check out this "session" with guest star, Julia Louis-Dreyfus.



Seems there's a treasure-trove of funny out there on the web. Since laughter really is the best medicine, I say, "Bring it On!"

Now it's your turn to share. Any funny videos that rated a spit-take? Do share!

--Chiron O'Keefe

Chiron loves to laugh, sing and dance. Give her a glass of wine, a guitar and a smile and she'll be entertained all night long!

Comments

  1. I love that you're into comedy! and you have a comedy background!! How cool is that. ;) I enjoy the funny or die sketches as well. I"m not sure I can watch the Lisa Kudrow web series up here - I'll have to check it out. Cheers!

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  2. What great history you have - and I do remember Dell Webb's High Sierra at Tahoe.

    But comedy is a funny thing - ha, ha! it has to sneak up on me - it's unexpected and surprising what I'll find funny.

    Two of the funniest movies - to me - were "What's Up Doc?" and "City Slickers," although we tried watching them again and they weren't quite as funny. They lost the "surprise" moment.

    I loved Johnny Carson's humor.

    I often find the lyrics in bawdy songs absolutely hilarious.

    Like I said, humor is umpredictable for me so it's hard to recall just what I find funny.

    But maybe real-life situations are the funniest. Whenever my mother, grandmother, aunts, and cousins would get together, I would literally be on the floor laughing.

    And hubby has the funniest sense of humor and we laugh our heads off.

    But I just can't recall what it is we laugh it - we just do it all the time. :)

    Nice to change it up, Chiron! Great post!

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  3. Hi JoJo!!

    Hope you can catch Lisa's series. It really is crazy. I stumbled on that one late, late, late one Saturday night and couldn't tear my eyes away. What a hoot! And that particular drunken history was featured on HBO, so when I had a friend over one night I showed her and this woman can LAUGH. She was literally screaming, falling over and holding her sides. Is there anything more fun than a sister-friend who can really Laugh?

    *heh-heh*

    Thanks so much for your help in getting this up!! (that's what she said. ;-P) You're a treasure!

    --Chiron

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  4. Kathy!! You remember Del Webb's? *squeal* Too cool! I also won a Lip-Synch contest dressed as (believe it or not) Mick Jagger. I spent about three years up at Lake Tahoe and loved it.

    Okay, one of the funniest moments I recall on The Office. I howled the first time, but you're right, it was the suprise factor.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poDLjwSmaW0

    But I still snicker when I watch Young Frankenstein. :-D

    And tell your hubby, research indicates that women are happiest with men who make them laugh. Yay! Of course, research also showed that horses prefer to mate around other horses and in natural light so there's a big DUH factor going on there! *grin*

    Thanks so much for jumping in, Kathy!!

    --Chiron

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  5. Chiron dressed up as Mick Jagger? Oh, no, I could never imagine that - LOL!

    And, yeah, I miss the High Sierra - used to go to Tahoe a lot when I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for 22 years - always thought it would be cool to live in Tahoe - had friends with cabins up there.

    And a guy with a sense of humor is a total turn-on!!!

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  6. Chiron, you're a chameleon like Cate Blanchett! Dressed as Mick - I would love to see a video of that. :)
    These are so funny! I didn't realize the web had such a wealth of funnies. Now I'll have to search out more. These are a hoot! I especially love Sara Silverman and Jimmy Kimmel, and how Lisa Kudrow manages to keep a straight face in this clip.
    Contagious laughter in itself is great.
    Young Frankenstein's one of my favorite funny movies. "Frau Blucher" (neigh!) gets me every time.
    Thanks for the giggles!

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  7. Hey Cate!!

    So sorry, I missed this. I'm used to blogger sending comments to one account but then it switched (without my consent) to Gmail and I rarely remember to go there. *d'oh!*

    I wish I had a video of my lip synch days. What a hoot that would be! Dang. I know a video was made of the comedy show I co-wrote but alas, I never got a copy and then the director split so that was the end of that. *sigh*

    Isn't Lisa freaking hilarious trying to keep it together? I just watched the "psychic" episodes with Courtney Cox and howled. :-D

    Young Frankenstein has to be one of the best movies of all time.

    Thanks so much for jumping in!!

    --Chiron

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