Despite only being in its second year, The Comedy Awards were a cavern of comedic talent, old and new.
Screening on Comedy Central, the awards celebrate all things funny - from the sitcoms we recite line for line (Parks and Recreation and Community) to the viral videos we spend our work day watching.
Hitting the red carpet on a balmy Saturday evening, it was incredible to think I would be coming face to face with some of the greatest comedic minds of this century and last.
Nestled between BrooklynVegan.com and the lovechild of Elton John and Phil Spector (his own joke ... told five times in the course of an hour), we prepared for the celebrities to arrive.
Bounding down with outrageous enthusiasm was Randall the Honey Badger Guy. Nominated for Best Remix, his video depicting a crazy nasty-ass honey badger eating cobras and wrecking havoc has been watched by over 44 million people. While the Honey Badger may not care about the plight of the kiwi, Randall assures us he does. "I love kiwis! They were meant [to] be in my latest book but they got scrapped for some reason. Poor kiwis, always get scrapped by nasty-ass publishers"
But it is a certain Kiwi who has stolen his heart. Spartacus star Lucy Lawless acted in one of Randall's videos and he can't praise her enough. "She's the best," says Randall. "Not even a honey badger could hate Lucy. She's totally one of my BFFs".
The enthusiasm for a Youtube star was phenomenal, Friends star Matthew Perry whizzed past with little fanfare compared to uproar of cheers for The Gregory Brothers, who made a mash-up of Charlie Sheen's winning.
To be fair, Chandler definitely looked a little older; it seems life in the 'burbs with Monica and the twins has been a little hard on the jokester.
Getting old doesn't mean you can't keep up with the kids though as Parks and Recreation star Jim O'Heir (Jerry Gergich) told us. With nearly 20,000 followers, the 50 year old can't get enough of Twitter.
"It has been really great in promoting the show. Sometimes I will tweet about what I'm doing. It's crazy though, within two days of joining I had fifteen thousand followers. I had no idea people cared that much"
Although it did take him a while to realise he could take a break from live updates.
"One day I answered questions for nine hours. There were so many great questions that I just didn't want people to miss out. I set a time limit now." he jokes.
Wearing a rented tuxedo, the man we know as clumsy Jerry was careful not to reveal what's going to happen in the upcoming season finale though.
"Does Leslie Knope win or lose the election? I know the answer but regardless of what happens it is going to be hysterical"
Ty Burrell, who got probably the loudest cheer of all the stars, told us about his own modern family.
In classic Phil Dunphy style Ty revealed that it is his "wife who does all of the IT stuff".
Sporting a thick beard and black rimmed glasses, Ty told us that his favourite scenes to do are the ones involving rollercoasters and bouncy castles.
"You know, the typical Dunphy day," he sniggered as all of the female journalists swooned.
The Daily Show were out in full force, our heart swelling a little with pride as every other reporter asked Kristen Schaal not about her debut on the Daily Show or her stint on 30 Rock, but what our very own Jermaine and Bret are up to these days.
It wasn't all little country love though. Fellow Daily reporter, Larry Wilmore was unimpressed to hear that New Zealand's mention on The Daily Show was headline news.
"That's so wrong. It is all misplaced affection. It shouldn't happen but somehow it does," he says.
"I think you guys just love Jon. We get the credit but it's all him"
With skits, stand-ups and even a sketch with some Saturday Night Live alumni the show itself will have you in stitches.
Legendary comedian and pretty much childhood hero, Robin Williams told us how he had to hold himself back from running onstage to join his buddies.
"When you're in a room like this you are just sitting there going 'wait for it.... no not yet...."
Sitting in awe, mere feet away from Mrs Doubtfire, I almost wish he had run up on stage. He held that press room in the palm of his hand with but three questions.
But in a comedic landscape of views and box office totals, timely as New Zealand's own International Comedy Festival starts to hit its stride, it was touching that the person who had everyone in stitches wasn't a video mash-up or a syndicated sitcom.
In rambling remarks that alternated between tender recollections of performers he reveres intercut with his trademark insults, 86 year old Don Rickles , clinched the Johnny Carson Award for Comedic Excellence and the title (in the words of Jon Stewart) of "the patron saint of comedy."
"I see many in the audience," he said tenderly, then hurls a zinger: "I realise tonight, I'm the biggest name here."
He wasn't wrong.
Check out all of the categories, calamity and chaos in tonight's broadcast on Comedy Central.
Then go and make your own viral video so you can attend next year. Sorry the crazy nasty-ass huhu grub is already taken.
The Comedy Awards screen May 16 on Comedy Central at 8:30pm.
- © Fairfax NZ News
No comments:
Post a Comment
Share Your Imagination with Us