And we're back for another round of auditions for the semi-finals. The eager-sounding voiceover reminds us that these comics are ready to compete tonight for comedy's biggest prize. Comedy's second biggest prize? A week headlining at Mr. Chucklepants' Comedy Hut, a Pizza Inn coupon, and a hotel bed that isn't full of dead moths.
Bill Bellamy saunters back out, still wearing the aluminum foil suit and unaware that he looks like the damn Tin Man. Accompanying him are--HOLY SHIT! CELEBRITY MIDGETS!
There is a Gene Simmons midget, an Elvis, and a Marilyn Monroe. I want to collect all three and let them stand in my garden. We have the same judges as we did last week, Richard "Tartar Buildup" Belzer and Steve "Where's My Neck" Schirrippa. Let's just go ahead and assume that both auditions were filmed in the same evening.
Our first comic of the night is Marcus, who only goes by one name like Madonna or Gonzo or Jesus. He's cracked open his Dane Cook starter kit, complete with unshaven scruff, spiky hair, and exaggerated gestures. His whole three minutes--which to me, felt like 30--was based on how Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is the scariest movie to ever show an 8 year old. He did Johnny Depp impressions, sang an Oompa Loompa song, and then he got a standing ovation. When the judges expressed some skepticism, he replied in a Christopher Walken voice and got another big O from the Vegas crowd who loves him more than anything this side of the 99 Cent Shrimp Buffett.
Next up is Dan Cummings, whose wife asked him what he thought was sexy. He said "Asian cheerleaders", even though the correct answer was "Bangs." He also asked if you have a "Trespassers will be shot on sight" sign, does that make murder legal in your yard? Although I didn't think this set was quite as sharp as his audition, I still like him, his writing, and his Renaissance Faire hairstyle.
Iliza Shlesinger has two X chromosomes and a fondness for V-neck shirts. She is also stellar. Her set started around the premise that you never wake up from a night of drinking to realize that it was a good idea; instead you have 14 calls from a stripper named Desiree you don't remember bonding with. She made Richard Belzer smile, which is terrifying in a Scar-from-The-Lion-King kind of way. She started a bit about dating a shorter guy so she'd feel like a model but was cut off by the LCS music like she was thanking too many people during her Oscar speech. I like you, Iliza even though your name is impossible to shorten into an A-Rod-like nickname. Il-Sles just doesn't work.
Eddie Pepitone is insanely loud. He talked about his designated eating shirt, how he watches True Crime shows so he'll feel better about himself, and had an entertaining bit about what it would be like if hecklers knew him as well as he knew himself, shouting his secrets out during his set. I'd like to see him make it. There's something both likeable and troubling about him, like if he doesn't win he'll go on a four-day bender that ends with a drifter stuffed in his car trunk.
Papa CJ is Indian (The call center and magic carpet kind) so he focuses on that for every joke, punctuating each punchline with very theatrical gestures. He's likeable enough--and he did say "boobies"--but after he's covered reincarnation, cobras, and the Kama Sutra, how many more stereotypes does he have left to riff on?
Stone & Stone sounds like a law firm, but they're actually identical twins with identical suits and identical underbites. They talk over each other and finish each other's sentences and their schtick was well-rehearsed, well done, and well funny (I was going for a theme there) for the first 2 minutes, before they had a long setup for a Governor McGreevey joke that fell flat. Tonight's show has been solid so far...
...and then Mary Mack minces onstage and ruins it. I'm not sure what her set was about because her shrill voice liquidated my eardrums after she shrieked something about being from Wisconsin. To her credit, her head did great job starring as the Crystal Skull in the new Indiana Jones movie.
If you missed Bob Biggerstaff's 180 seconds, think about Papa CJ's set but replace all of the Indian punchlines to fat guy jokes. That's right, swap Delhi for Deli. Hey-OOOOH!
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Comments (2)
I've only seen this one episode, but you were spot on. Jackie Kashian should have been picked over any of the three you named. I especially didn't like the Indian guy - partly because his humor is so limited by his accent. Ku seemed limited, too, but at least I like how she looks.
Ramey and Tavara are my early picks. (They should do this sort of thing for a living.)
Most of these people seem pretty likeable. And it's such a tough business - my hat's off to them for having the guts to get as far as they have.
1 of 2 | Posted by fire@will | Posted on July 16, 2008 8:00 AM
I agree with your picks...
The indian dude pisses me off to no end! I find his delivery very condescending, like he is (not-so-discreetly) calling the audience stupid with every punch-line...
Iliza & Tavare are my early faves... :D
2 of 2 | Posted by KrispyDixie | Posted on July 16, 2008 9:25 AM