Comedy plays to the potty-mouthed set
Not that this will come as much of a shock, but the best of the rowdy and raunchy from the Just for Laughs festival cannot be caught on CBC-TV. Something about censorship.
It had long been a concern for Just for Laughs programmers that they needed a TV showcase to turn on the young and the restless to their comedy cause. Last year, they found an outlet on HBO Canada — where censorship is not an issue — to launch Funny As Hell, featuring a slew of the more edgy and potty-mouthed wits out there.
Viewers were treated to such breaking talents as Chelsea Peretti, Jim Jefferies, Deon Cole and Hannibal Buress, who were filmed at the festival, but in a venue not open to the public. So if their acts seemed fresh, it was no accident. The feedback and numbers must have been impressive because Funny As Hell is back for a second season, beginning tonight at 9 p.m., again on HBO Canada. Following the same formula, a who’s who of stand-ups was shot in a private setting at last summer’s fest.
Back to host once more is Jon Dore, a Canuck now based in California. The move to more tropical climes has obviously not hurt him.
His timing and delivery are decidedly sharper, and his material decidedly more macabre: “I treated my grandfather like royalty. I killed him in a car crash ... Too late?”
Also back again, in the opening episode, is Buress, the 30 Rock writer who is fast emerging as a phenom on the standup front. Buress has really honed his act.
He takes an almost Seinfeldian approach — only darker — in dealing with life’s minutiae: “I never put a napkin on my lap. Why? Because I believe in myself. I have mastered the art of getting food to my mouth without soiling my jeans.”
Buress also has some helpful advice. Such as winning an argument with an unreasonable taxi driver: “Don’t slam the door to make your point when getting out of the car. Leave the door open, so he’ll have to get out and shut it. Then open the next door . . .”
But Buress is at his best and angriest with people who utter mindless clichés. Like, “I’m taking it one day at a time. You know who else says that? Everybody. Because that’s how time works.”
Also up on his cliché list is “I’m going to pray for you.” This one really baffles Buress: “What? You’re going to sit in your apartment and do nothing but pray for me.” Pause. “Make me a sandwich instead. I can’t cook for myself.”
The second instalment of the eightpart Funny As Hell airs March 2.