HAPLESS Peacock
BERT KREISCHER Kia Forum
Bert Kreischer is one of the topgrossing stand-up comedians in the game today, but he’s so much more than just a funny man on a stage. The co-host of the hilarious podcast “2 Bears 1 Cave” (along with friend and fellow bear, Tom Segura) has starred on the big screen (“The Machine”), curated and headlined his own festival (The Fully Loaded Tour), co-owns a vodka brand (Por Osos), and still finds time to be a family man. This year, he’ll also become part of an extremely small number of comedians who have sold out the Kia Forum for his headlining show on the second week of the festival. With a capacity of 17,500, getting into that venue for Kreischer promises not just an electrifying party filled with laughs, but you’ll also get an outstanding view of his recently slimmed-down bare chest projected on those screens. If that’s not enough to entice you, we don’t know what is. — A.L.
JACK JR. The Belasco
Jack Assadourian, a.k.a. Jack Jr., comes from a comedy family. Growing up watching stand-up at his parent’s comedy club, the HaHa in North Hollywood, punchlines are in his blood. Assadourian’s jokes about his upbringing — a mix of Mexican and Armenian heritage — have helped him stand out in the world of stand-up. In 2019 he was the finalist on the NBC show “Stand Up” and he’s been featured on Amazon’s “Laugh After Dark” and “The Church of What’s Happening Now Podcast With Joey Diaz.” In the last few years, Jack Jr. has also leveled up as a show promoter and the creator of the NoHo Comedy Festival. After opening slots for such comedians as Marlon Wayans and David Spade, among others, Jack Jr. will bring his witty humorous headlining act to fans at the Belasco.
— A.D.
I THINK YOU SHOULD LEAVE WITH TIM ROBINSON LIVE!
Greek Theatre
When people talk about today’s polarized society, they’re probably not talking about “I Think You Should Leave” — but they should be. If you don’t love the Emmywinning sketch show, you probably can’t stand its “cringe comedy” or its fans quoting it incessantly. But if you’re not just here for the zip line and know that you gotta give, then it looks like Christmas came early. Grab your shirt brother, eat a sloppy steak and head to the live version of “I Think You Should Leave.” It promises to be unlike anything else at the festival, and it’s simply too good. —
This week, TV critic Robert Lloyd and staff writer Mark Olsen recommend a British sitcom with “Curb” appeal and an Ethan Coen thriller.
Gary Sinyor’s very funny British sitcom, whose two seasons have landed here, has regularly been compared to “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” and certainly there are plotlines that would have served that series well. And, like Larry David, Paul Green (Tim Downie) has a tendency to get the short end of whatever stick he’s waving. But where Larry is a rich celebrity with too much time on his hands, Paul attacks the world from a less privileged position. A harried, middle-aged, low-grade reporter for “the fourthlargest Jewish publication in the U.K.,” he treats his banal assignments with a contemptuous lack of interest, even as he has a habit of questioning everything — even, or especially, things not worth questioning. (“The Jewish Enquirer” was the series’ original name.) Notable for the cultural specificity of its humor — I don’t know where else you’ll find jokes about wrapping tefillin — it can be, one might say, awkwardly timely. In one episode, Paul’s nephew is upset because “some kid in his school called him a racist Jew Zio.” “Doesn’t he go to a Jewish school?” Paul asks his sister. “Yes,” she replies. “I do know that. It’s on trend.” You just have to laugh. (R.L.)
DRIVE-AWAY DOLLS Peacock
“Drive-Away Dolls” may not be entirely good, but it certainly is a lot of fun. For his first fiction feature made without his brother, Joel, Ethan Coen collaborated with wife Tricia Cooke to craft an outrageously flaky crime tale of two lesbian friends (Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan) who inadvertently end up driving a car with a severed head and a briefcase full of bespoke sex toys in the trunk. (Guess which causes them more trouble?) Despite brief supporting appearances by Colman Domingo, Pedro Pascal, Matt Damon, Bill Camp and Beanie Feldstein, the movie really belongs to the sweet chemistry between Viswanathan and Qualley: It’s at its best when it’s just the two of them hanging out. Plus, any longtime Coen brothers fans will want to check out the bawdy absurdity of Ethan’s solo effort as a point of comparison to Joel’s austere “The Tragedy of Macbeth” to attempt to unravel who was responsible for what in their indelible filmography together. (M.O.)