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CONAN (2010-June 24, 2021)

May 29, 2021

(TBS/YouTube) I’d love to say that I was a rabid viewer of LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O’BRIEN as a youth, but I don’t recall routinely tuning in for many late night shows back then.

However, I became more of an avid viewer as I grew older and Conan and his writers’ sensibilities have since informed an enormous part of my comedic taste. From Conan’s classic Simpsons’ ep MARGE VS. THE MONORAIL to Robert Smigel’s absurdity and filth to Andy Richter’s irreverent sidekick quips and on-his-feet reactions, not to mention Jon Glaser, Mike Sweeney, Jessie Gaskell*, Brian Stack, and so many more, penned and performed a treasure trove of smart and extraordinary dumb jokes.

That said, I’ve grown a bit worn out by him as of late. I still watch CONAN regularly, but the relatively recent change to thirty-minute eps excises many of the more surreal high-points of his shows. Worse, he’s been interviewing the same people over-and-over-and-over again for the past two years. I get it: he’s tired of a lot of the celebrity bullshit and he now only wants to talk to folks he has fun with, but the show has become rather routine.

However! Since opting to pull the plug on CONAN, this show has livened up a bit (even if he’s still primarily interviewing his favorite celebrities). A recent favorite moment was when Lisa Kudrow came by to promote the FRIENDS reunion special. Conan has been taping his show in the famous (well, to comedy nerds at least) Largo at the Coronet theater, and the two of them were able to take a walk down memory lane and visit the small stage where the two of met attending improv lessons. It’s surprisingly touching and sweet, and I hope the show leans into that sort of thing as it approaches the finish line.

  • Mike Sweeney and Jessie Gaskell hosted two seasons of the podcast INSIDE CONAN, which dove into the nitty-gritty of writing and producing the show, and it’s chockfull of delightful insight.

** If you haven’t watched CONAN O’BRIEN CAN’T STOP (2011, Prime/tubi/etc.), it’s a great character profile doc that was filmed around the time of his tour. It’s also a touch depressing.

PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET (1953)

May 19, 2021

(FLIX FLING/YouTube) Every film noir nerd has their own definition of what constitutes a ‘noir’ film, and I’m no different. To me, what makes a film ‘noir’ isn’t hard-boiled dialogue, severe chiaroscuro cinematography, or moral detective stories, but that the protagonists are considered deviants or ‘cultural misfits’ and the forward thrust of the noir then focuses on removing them from society. The appeal of noir, at least for me, is in the acknowledgement that there are a subsect of folks that will never mesh with mainstream culture, no matter how hard they try, and they’re almost always eradicated via conviction or death.

PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET, while being an oddity in that it’s ‘spy noir’, embodies that through unruly women, flawed men, and a shit-ton of political chicanery. It’s all about the fringe elements of society, despite (or perhaps, exacerbated by) the fact that it’s framed by an FBI investigation.

It’s worth noting that PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET is getting a proper Criterion release in June!

Trailer:

Full film via YouTube:

THE LODGER: A STORY OF THE LONDON FOG (1927)

May 17, 2021

(Criterion/HBO MAX/YouTube/VOD)? Hitchcock is arguably the progenitor of modern genre film, which I suppose is why no one thinks of him as a silent filmmaker, but he directed handfuls of silent films before his first sound film, BLACKMAIL, and THE LODGER is one of his most remarkable early achievements.

While THE LODGER lacks the sophisticated visual scene construction Hitchcock would become known for, it does feature a number of his other signature attributes: an infatuation with blondes, startling visual motifs (his focus on the lodger’s right hand, for instance) and sexual tension buoyed by a sense of danger. It also plays with color tinting, has an astounding use of graphic design, and the interstitials are uniquely gorgeous with their use of fonts and background visual elements.

As a mystery, THE LODGER is a bit lackluster, but Hitchcock’s command of cinematic language far makes up for it, and showcases how ahead of his time he was.

As usual, I’ve included a trailer below, but please don’t let it fool you: the restored BFI print that Criterion and HBO MAX have is thrillingly vibrant. There’s also a link to a YouTube copy of the film below and, while it’s more pristine than the trailer, it lacks the tinting of the restored print.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJnoaTzJdLs

Full film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_grf3UHuak

SLEATER-KINNEY -Hurry on Home- (2019)

May 11, 2021

(YouTube) Miranda July (ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW, KAJILLIONAIRE) directing a SLEATER-KINNEY video about trying to woo Carrie Brownstein back? Yeah, that fits squarely in my wheelhouse, but what I really love about this video are the fingertaps and ambient sounds. There’s a tactility to this ‘lyric video’ that’s rarely seen — err, heard — that I absolutely love (not to mention the ingenious use of autocorrect) and it conveniently complements the audible breathlessness that closes the song.

“You got me used to loving you You got me used to loving you You got me used to loving you You got me used to loving you You got me used to loving you You got me used to loving you”

It’s worth noting that SLEATER-KINNER just announced their latest album, -Path of Wellness- and released the first single –Worry With You– and, while I had this recommendation slated for later on this month, today’s as good a day as any!

IT’S GARRY SHANDLING’S SHOW (1986-1989)

May 9, 2021

(Dailymotion/Vimeo/YouTube/etc.)? You’re probably familiar with THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW, which features stand-up comedian and actor Garry Shandling as a neurotic late night host. (Given that Shandling was one of a few folks considered to be an heir to Johnny Carson, it was not much of a stretch for him.) It was a huge critical and commercial success for HBO, and its depiction of the nitty gritty of producing a late night show was very ahead of its time. However, before THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW there was IT’S GARRY SHANDLING’S SHOW.

Simply put, IT’S GARRY SHANDLING’S SHOW was one of the first meta-sitcoms. Shandling plays ‘himself’, aware that a sitcom audience, at home and in the studio, is watching him as he lives his semi-celebrity, narcissistic, vain, and insecure life. Each SHANDLING’S SHOW episode opens with Garry giving a fourth-wall breaking monologue about his current status as well as what he hopes to accomplish this episode. (I’ll note that THE GEORGE BURNS AND GRACIE ALLEN SHOW did something similar decades prior with their introduction to the show.)

As each episode of SHANDLING’S SHOW would progress, Garry would continue to nod and wink at the audience and, as the show grew older, became bolder about actively turning the safe 80s sitcom format on its head with loads of surreal bits and set-breaking acts.

SHANDLING’S SHOW was one of the first comedies penned for Showtime, as well as Shandling’s first show working both in-front of and behind the camera. He co-created it with Alan Zweibel, one of the original SNL writers, and they often enlisted legendary TV comedy director Alan Rafkin (THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW, ONE DAY AT A TIME (1978), THE BOB NEWHART SHOW — his directorial filmography is ridiculous). Oh, and Ed Solomon (BILL & TED) had a hand in more than a fair number of eps, too!

It also has one of the best TV theme songs ever, reflecting the meta-nature of the show, also penned by Shandling & Zeiwbel. It’s 41 seconds long — a fact the show frequently hammers home — but it’s catchy enough that you’d suspect it was written and performed by Randy Newman:

(From the first episode — there’s a bit of setup, but not much):

To follow that up, it has one of the best riffs on the theme song opening:

Sadly, today it seems to be barely remembered except by TV and comedy nerds, despite the fact that it was quite critically acclaimed at the time. There are several reasons for that: first, it was on Showtime in 1986 and they didn’t exactly have a huge audience then, and they certainly weren’t known for their original programming. That said, FOX purchased rerun rights to bolster their Sunday lineup, but this was before they’d wrangle THE SIMPSONS.

Second, it was practically impossible to watch after FOX ceased airing reruns in 1990. Some fans would post VHS recordings to YouTube once that was a thing, but it was like posting into a vacuum.

Third, Shout! Factory released a full-series DVD set over a decade ago that I dragged my feet on buying and, before I knew it, it was out-of-print and almost of the ripped YouTube eps had been scrubbed.

However! You can still find a fair number of eps out there, as well as a smattering of clips. They’re well-worth your time although I’ll warn you that more than a few jokes haven’t aged terribly well, but they’re all immaculately constructed. If you don’t believe me, Rolling Stone just listed the show as #58 on their ‘100 Best Sitcoms of All Time’ list*.

Sample episode (S01E12):

First episode (S01E01):

Shout! Factory’s DVD Trailer:

  • I quibble with the list, not because of the entries themselves, but because I don’t believe you should include an in-progress series on the list, and they included -many- on-the-air shows.

THE LAST LAUGH/DER LETZTE MANN (1924)

April 8, 2021

(kanopy/VOD/YouTube) Sure, F.W. Murnau directed NOSFERATU, FAUST, as well as one of the greatest melodramas ever with SUNRISE: A SONG OF TWO HUMANS, but my favorite film of his is THE LAST LAUGH.

THE LAST LAUGH is an extraordinarily depressing story of a hotel porter’s fall from grace starring Emil Jannings, an actor exceptional at portraying broken characters. While the tale is simple, it’s not simply told, as Murnau puts forward all of his talents with his ‘untethered camera’ as possible. Briefly put: the aging hotel porter (Emil Jannings) loves his job, loves the limelight of the front door and accommodating the hotel’s guests. However, his boss deems him too old and re-assigns him to be a washroom attendent. Despite the very slight story, it’s an expressionistic marvel, pure cinema, with Murnau’s camera visually and emotionally gesticulating all over the place, eschewing title cards except for one which is displayed upon Jannings falling asleep in his newly anointed washroom attendent’s chair. (Yes, yes, one might construe the following as a spoiler):

“Here our story should really end, for in actual life the forlorn old man would have little to look forward to but death. The author took pity on him, however, and provided quite an improbable epilogue.”

The last fifteen minutes of the film consists of an orgy of food, montage, and lower-class well-wishing. Talk about having your cake and eating it too.

A clip:

The full film via YouTube (it’s in public domain, but there are restored editions out there that are worth your hard-earned cash):

STRANGE WEATHER (2014)

March 12, 2021

(YouTube) [Anna Calvi & David Byrne] I first saw Anna Calvi perform at Chicago’s Schuba’s back in 2011. If you haven’t been to Schuba’s, it’s basically a local bar with a bolted-on small stage and a fantastic sound system which, as it turned out, was perfect for Anna Calvi.

If you aren’t familiar with Anna Calvi, she’s a belter with a guitar. If her voice doesn’t bowl you over*, her prowess with her axe will. She’s fond of spaghetti western noodling, but also can craft a damn fine hook. Seeing her in such a small venue with her larger-than-life voice was a revelation, and I was eager to repeat the experience when she was scheduled to return to Chicago on April 2nd, 2020.

You know where this is going.

The show was canceled due to the pandemic, so I did what I’ve done so many nights before and since: watched the video of her cover of Keren Ann’s STRANGE WEATHER. Directed by Alan Del Rio Ortiz (who has also directed music videos for Ice Cube, Elle Fanning, and Solange) and featuring Kate Lyn Sheil (SHE DIES TOMORROW, YOU’RE NEXT), the video perfectly captures a specific sort of urban ennui: the surreal hollowness of frustratingly meandering through a city at the dead of night while trying to beat back the voices in your head.

  • STRANGE WEATHER isn’t exactly the best showcase of her vocals, as she’s rather restrained here. If you really want to hear her give her all, check out her JEZEBEL video.

THEODORA GOES WILD (1936)

March 6, 2021

(YouTube/DVD) THEODORA GOES WILD is a screwball comedy that not only features winsome repartee between leads Irene Dunne and Melvyn Douglas, but is also about liberating men and women from cultural shackles.

Dunne is Theodora Lynn, a Sunday school teacher by day, but racy, explicit romance author by night. No one but her publisher knows about her writerly habits, at least until Michael Grant (Douglas) the progressive cover artist of her book, discovers her secret and finds himself hellbent to convince her to come clean and live an open life, one where she be proud of her achievements and can actually spend her well-earned novel money. Consequently, he shows up in Theodora’s small town and weasels his way into her life posing as a gardener, and antics ensue.

It’s a tightly scripted, rollickingly good time from director Richard Boleslawski, based on a story from Mary McCarthy (who certainly pitched it as a story she wanted to see on screen). Yes, there’s some dated content, but it has aged remarkably well.

80 BLOCKS FROM TIFFANY’S (1979)

March 3, 2021

(YouTube) A pointed documentary on the gangs of the South Bronx in the 70s by Gary Weis (who at the time was working with Albert Brooks on filmed SNL bits), inspired by the Esquire feature SAVAGE SKULLS.

While Weis often uncomfortably inserts his privileged white, outsider self into the interview room with his subjects, he doesn’t edit out the folks that call him out on his motives, and he does make an effort to dig into the personalities of those embroiled in gang life. The end result is a number of strange profile pieces and re-enactments that feel like an ill-fitting but important portrait of 70s New York City.

Sadly, the doc has only had the barest of releases — it was shot to fill time during a SNL summer hiatus only to be scrapped by NBC execs, then used as an educational film for a bit, then had a limited DVD print run over ten years ago — but you can view it (albeit with abrupt commercial interruptions) here:

FISHING WITH JOHN (1991)

January 19, 2021

(DVD/YouTube) A quintessential 90s oddity, this was a six-episode show that aired on IFC and Bravo (back in the day when Bravo aired foreign films and ballet), and featured John Lurie heading out on a fishing trip with a famous friend each episode, such as Tom Waits or Dennis Hopper. Whether they caught anything was beside the point — well, perhaps except for the shark expedition with Jim Jarmusch.

Incredibly low budget with high travel aspirations, this was a bizarrely pioneering show that blurred the lines between reality, scripted comedy, and absurdity. A prototypical -adult swim- show, if you will. For those that witnessed this on their CRTs in the 90s, it was a strange, downbeat revelation.

I have high hopes that his new series, PAINTING WITH JOHN — which hits HBO MAX on January 22nd and feels like the flip side of a JOE PERA TALKS WITH YOU coin — will improve on the formula.

PAINTING WITH JOHN trailer:

FISHING WITH JOHN (video playlist):