Are you watching tonight’s presidential debate?
Really? You are?
Why?
Continue reading “What I would love to see from this debate, even though it doesn’t really matter…”
On Friday, in what a certain sect of America considered a major political move, independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced he would be suspending his campaign and endorsed former president Donald Trump. Kennedy made it very clear that he would not be ending his campaign, but that he would be taking his name off of the ballot of all swing states and states expected to go to Trump. The intention is clear unless you’re an absolute idiot: Kennedy is not really staying in the race, but if he can do anything to take one vote away from Kamala Harris, then he’s damn well going to try. The fact that the junior Kennedy was then announced as part of the transition team showed that it was obvious where his allegiances lie, which is interesting for a man who entered the election cycle as a democrat.
With Friday’s announcement, I thought I would look closely at Kennedy’s decision and ask the following questions: Who does this help? Who does this hurt? Where has the announcement of a political candidate supporting his previous rival moved the needle? Let’s dive in.
Seventeen years ago today, I stepped on a comedy stage for the first time. It did not go well.
Continue reading “A (different) open letter to comedy…”
Over the last week, I watched the new season of The Bear (F/X and Hulu) with hesitation. Like most of the world, I have loved the first two seasons, set in a Chicago restaurant. But there seemed to be a growing cloud over this new season, which was decided to release in one installment perfect for mass consumption. People were not happy with the storylines that were given and how the season was told. Look, every show, no matter how good, has a season that is not up to the usual standard of excellence (looking at you, season 4 of Fargo). So I went in expecting to not have the reaction I had with the earlier offerings. Turns out, I had nothing to be worried about.
Season 3 of The Bear fucking rules, you guys.
Continue reading “The Angel, The Devil, and The Bear: examining the new season of the most talked-about show where everyone calls each other “Chef””
I don’t particularly care what your morality is based on. It doesn’t matter, really, what system you base your morality on. What matters is who’s in charge.
Who is running your belief system right now?
Continue reading “Go Kill Putin – written by Jordan Holmes”
In general, I have a rule when I am performing comedy: Do not blame the audience if things are not going well. Too often, I have found comedians who have not done well get mad at a crowd and believe it is the fault of the audience when, in reality, they should be shouldering a lot of that responsibility themselves. If a crowd doesn’t laugh at a joke, I’m usually not one to blame the crowd. Maybe it’s not a great joke. Maybe I delivered it poorly that night. Maybe something happened earlier in my set that I failed to pick up on and now I’m seeing the repercussions of that. I find having this mindset (hopefully) makes me a better comedian and performer because it is always making me look at ways to improve my comedy.
There are, of course, notable and obvious exceptions to this rule. Sometimes an audience member has decided they are going to help the show by heckling. Sometimes an audience member is blind drunk. And sometimes a former co-worker tries to get your show cancelled before it even begins.
This story is about that last kind of example.
Continue reading “My all-time most bizarre comedy experience…”
We are in a perilous time in our nation, and the upcoming November election is not going to make things any better. Between the two viable candidates, neither exactly presents hope for the next four years. What America needs right now, perhaps more than ever, is a candidate who is willing to not only disregard the partisan media, bloodythirsty lobbyists, and the greater demons of their own party and bring our country together in a spirit of compassion, compromise and unity. Neither President Biden nor former President Donald Trump come close to checking those boxes, and it’s gonna be rough living here for the considerable future.
“But Matt,” you might be saying, “you said there were only TWO viable candidates. What about this Robert Kennedy Jr. I’ve been hearing about on social media and some of my weirder friends? I’m sure you just forgot about him and now you are going to go back in real time and change your column because it’s only fair to include everyone with a realistic chance of becoming the next President of these great United States.” If this is you, I have a simple response: Shut up. You are wrong. RFK Jr. has no chance of becoming the next leader of the free world.
Well, that’s not exactly true. There is one path…
Continue reading “Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Path To The White House”
Last week, we were lucky enough to get the trailer for Paddington In Peru, the third film in the PCU (Paddington Cinematic Universe). With a November 24th UK release date (January 7th for us unlucky souls in the United States), there hasn’t been a more anticipated movie ever. That is not hyperbole.
Paddington 2 is the third best sequel of all time, only behind The Godfather Part 2 and The Empire Strikes Back. As mentioned on this site, P2 usurped Citizen Kane to become the film with the highest-ever Rotten Tomatoes score of all time. With the first Paddington film, Paul King gave us an amazing and beautiful (plus very funny) story and the second film blows the first one away. To call Paddington 2 a great film would be an insult… it’s a goddamn fucking masterpiece.
Continue reading “Paddington In Peru: The Trailer Breakdown”
Of the indie directors to come out of the 1990’s, Richard Linklater might be the hardest to attach a label to. He doesn’t have Steven Soderbergh’s visual style or Quentin Tarantino’s inventive storytelling skills or even Kevin Smith’s ability to write a great scene. But, if there was any director from this class I think I would like working with if I was an actor, it would be Linklater. Because the man is a true and selfless collaborator.
In his great movies, of which there are many, the Texas filmmaker works hand in hand with his onscreen talent to create the best possible product. In many of Linklater’s films, the actor has a screenwriting credit, which shows you exactly how much he wants the input of his talent. And then there is Boyhood, in which he worked with his three principal actors over the course of a dozen years to truly show the experience of growing up.
Continue reading “A true actor’s director: A review of Hit Man plus a ranking of Richard Linklater”
Last night, after a full day of watching people respond to Kendrick Lamar’s allegations that he was a pedophile running a child trafficking ring out of his mansion, Aubrey Graham (better known to the world as Drake) finally responded. Look, I’ve never been in a feud with Kendrick Lamar. And I’ve never been accused of, by all accounts, the worst crime a person can be accused of. So I’m not going to pretend I have any idea what was running through Graham’s head as I sure he was doom-scrolling social media reading about himself.
His response came in the track “The Heart Part 6”, a reference to a series of songs Lamar has released. And as far as responses go…
It’s really stupid.
Fancy Boys Club 