Positively Ellinwood Street: comedy

Showing posts with label comedy. Show all posts

Friday, July 26, 2013

Always the Bridesmaid, Never the Bride...

In honor of all the wedding parties this season, here is a list of books and movies that focus on the wedding party itself. (Okay mainly the bridesmaids, but I just couldn't resist listing The Hangover as one of the best groomsmen movies)

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Have (Funny) Audiobook, Will Travel

There is something romantic about the idea of tackling the open road in summer. A warm breeze on your skin as you ride along the interstate, the music blaring as you sing along...if you can only make it through an hour or so of congested Chicagoland traffic.

For those of us with a more realistic sense of what driving in Illinois can be like (painfully gridlocked or utterly boring), audiobooks can help bring some serenity (now) to summer road trips or even just the daily commutes. Especially if those audiobooks can actually make you laugh while stuck in traffic.

If listening to whole novels seems daunting or even more tedious than the traffic, try some of the great comedic memoirs and recordings in the nonfiction section. A little laughter can help speed along a not-so-pleasant journey, and make you less likely to think ill of fellow drivers. Plus our collection ranges from the best of NPR's Car Talk to Adam Carolla to Tina Fey. They also fit in well with our summer reading theme "Have Book, Will Travel" which starts on June 8th this year.

Whether you are going to the beach, downtown Chicago, or just to work, here are some great comedic audiobooks that can make the trip just a little bit easier:

Condensed Comedy for the Commute

Friday, March 8, 2013

"Do Ross and Rachel end up together or something?"

The title question came from my girlfriend, who was sort of half-watching the episode of Friends I was watching.

"Wait you haven't watched Friends?!" I was in utter disbelief. I naively assumed even if everyone my age had not seen the show they at least knew the biggest 'will-they, won't they' couple from it. Apparently not.

So started a journey where we decided to watch all ten seasons of Friends in order. By the middle of the series, Carrie was hooked. She constantly complained it was predictable, but she laughed out loud more at Friends then any other comedy we have watched.

I asked her to describe her experience and she said "It was okay, but every character had exactly two jokes that were repeated over and over: Monica used to be fat and is obsessive about cleaning. Ross has effeminate qualities and is nerdy because of his profession. Joey is dumb and dates around a lot.
Phoebe has a rough background and says extremely quirky things. Nobody seems to like Chandler and he makes sarcastic jokes. Rachel...dates a lot and is sorta ditzy."

"Well I am impressed. That was surprisingly accurate." It is interesting to see how American television comedies have evolved continuously. My interest in watching Friends again stemmed from listening to Warren Littlefield's Top of the Rock: The Rise and Fall of Must-see TV.

Here are some great comedies you can check out from Des Plaines Public Library, along with some great books on the subject of television comedy:

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

A Quote a Day ...

"Now they know that we know that they know that we know." - The 'Burbs

Recently I found myself smiling while I was in the comedy DVD section. It wasn't hard to figure out why: I was surrounded by the films nearest and dearest to me because of their ability to reduce me into an unresponsive mass of laughter. Two movie lines that had automatically sprung to mind (and made me smile) are below.

From Without a Clue - Dr. John Watson (Ben Kingsley) is referring to the evil Professor Moriarty when he states to Sherlock Holmes (Michael Caine) "Don't worry - he knows you're stupid!" To which Holmes replies, visibly relieved, "Oh, good."

From The 'Burbs - His neighbors call out to Art Weingartner, "Art! You're wife's home .... and your house is on fire!" Art responds, "My wife's home?!?"

Out of context, they may seem somewhat vanilla. Within the framework of their respective films, however, these lines can be utterly giggle-inducing. Many experiences of my life are passed through the comedic quote-filter in my head, providing me more chances to laugh along with life as it comes at me (ask my wife how many times a week I quote The 'Burbs and she'll tell you, "Too many."). Here are some other movies enshrined in my Quotable Hall of Fame:

How about you? Which movies help you sometimes to get through the day?

bc-list