Tiny Cities Made of Reviews -- Saturday Night You Bull Sessions

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Date Posted: 00:20:21 07/01/05 Fri
Author: CCS
Subject: Tiny Cities Made of Reviews
In reply to: Patrick Lonergan 's message, "REVIEWS: Lewis Black 06/18/05" on 21:05:10 06/18/05 Sat

This is the first part in a two part missive entitled "What CCS Thinks Of Your Sketches." I hope it brings light and illumination to you all.

<center>And Then There Were Celebrities...
by Mark Jennings Reese II</center>

Flow from bit to bit in this sketch was mostly fast and efficient. Like the ill-fated The Sketch Show, gears kept moving fast enough to keep things interesting. Some parts were stronger than others; some, such as Joe Jackson's dialogue, I felt like I heard before, while others, like the random Bob Denver cameo, were more unexpected. I like how you cut to the jumper to do the LFNY; it was a nice finishing touch.

<center>Lewis Black's Monologue
by Justin Kaplowitz</center>

For the most part, I found this to be an excellent representation of the type of stand-up you would expect from Lewis Black to open the show. I'm glad someone attempted his style, because there's no way Black should end up doing audience Q&A. It was a tad on the long side, but it's hard to pace stand-up straight from the page - it might appear that there are too many examples of how many variations of the songs he's heard, but when performed the timing could be perfect. The only thing I think definitely could be cut with no loss would be the Lew chanting stuff, as it does not relate to or reach the same comedic level as the rest of the monologue. I'm only marginally aware of who My Chemical Romance is.

<center>Dennis Miller Working At McDonald's
by John Hugar and Mark Jennings Reese II</center>

This sketch carried Dennis Miller's style, mostly. While it contained his sentence structure and transitions, I really felt some of the references were way beneath Dennis Miller standards. Let's pull out the references specifically: Queer Eye, Bill Gates, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, Ruben Studdard, Kate Moss, Snoop Dogg, Bonaroo, Mama Cass, Boba Fett, Dick Cheney, Jenny Craig, Donald Trump. A few of these make the cut, like Mama Cass and Bonaroo, but others are just far too contemporary. Here's a basic rule of thumb: if Leno would use it for a punchline, then Dennis Miller wouldn't. Remember, this is the guy who will pull out James K. Polk or the Gadsden Purchase at the drop of a fedora. Ruben Studdard could easily be replaced with any other fat person ever, so why not choose someone a bit historical. My mind goes towards Taft, but there's certainly other terrific choices. Anyway, the structure and flow of this sketch, and the McEnroe ending were great, you just need more ridiculous references.

<center>Coffee Break
by Jim Bevan</center>

The concept and development of this sketch is very good. You hit a lot of the right beats in terms of making the situation more ridiculous as you go along. I'd be a bit concerned about length with this piece, it reads alright but the funny concepts might feel like they're dragging along if performed. There was a lot of tension and release work involved in this sketch, and I like how you release it at one point by deciding to make Hitler Coffee kosher. I like how you pull out so many ridiculous Hitler traits in a quick timespan to end the sketch.

<center>Richardson's Funeral Home
by Patrick Lonergan</center>

Heh, I wonder if this character was based off a certain author named J.P.? Either way, this commercial would generate a lot of laughs from style. It's funny to see hyperactive spokesmen for products that really shouldn't have it. I think the Frequent Mourner Discount Card was the funniest gag. There are parts of the sketch that don't seem to rely on gags so much as the stylistic contrast, but I think it's quick enough that it won't get dull.

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Replies:

thanks for your comments, CCS (NT) -- jennings, 16:49:43 07/04/05 Mon
- A long-overdue review (hey, that rhymes!) -- Jim Bevan, 18:58:06 07/09/05 Sat