Results tagged “comedy”

Maybe it's because I love war movies. Maybe it's because I love George Clooney. But The Men Who Stare at Goats, based on a book by Jon Ronson and directed by Grant Heslov (a distant relative-of-a-relative by marriage, but that's not really pertinent), was definitely on my list of most-anticipated movies of 2009. The film, which is based on more truth than you'd like to believe (a paraphrase of the opening title card), follows a reporter's quest to learn more about an elite group of psychic soldiers, nicknamed "Jedi warriors," also features (as Allison so eloquently put it in today's CinePhillyist) "Obi-Won, Kaiser Soze, and The Dude"—a cast list that at once made me giddy with anticipation and totally nervous that the movie wouldn't do its cast justice.

Here's one for the standup comedy junkies: Comedy.com has posted their list of 10 funniest comedians in Philadelphia. (Even better, they didn't go with "Phunniest," for which we must give them mad props.)

Phillyist's quick-picks for your evening agenda.

Phillyist's quick-picks for your evening agenda.

Phillyist's quick-picks for your evening agenda.

A lot of comedians need a shtick. And that's not to say it's a bad thing: heck, a lot of trailblazing comedians relied on their shticks and achieved great success and influenced comedians who followed them. George Carlin's profanity and Sam Kinison's scream (without either of which, we would not have the brilliance of Denis Leary), Gallagher's sledge-o-matic (which is directly to blame for Carrot Top, who was actually surprisingly funny when this Phillyist saw him many, many years ago), Foxworthy's "You might be a redneck..." (which is probably the greatest one-liner gimmick ever). So we love comedians with shtick; but sometimes, it's refreshing to see a comedian who can just go on stage and be themselves, and be very, very funny. We also love local talent. To our delight, we found both in local comedian Chip Chantry.

Performances: The Brothers Flanagan (The Flanagan Project) (Future Performances); barFlies (Vagabond Acting Troupe) (Future Performances); Welcome to Yuba City (Pig Iron Theatre Company) (Future Performances)

Phillyist's quick-picks for your evening agenda.

Comedian and late-night talk-show host extraordinaire Chelsea Handler will be appearing this weekend at the Borgata Atlantic City in what will surely be a series of raucous and racy stand-up comedy shows. The author of My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands and Are You There, Vodka? It's Me Chelsea is performing in a trio of sold-out shows. Hope to see you there, and be sure to check Phillyist for a recap next week.

Phillyist's quick-picks for your evening agenda.

Phillyist's quick-picks for your evening agenda.

John Oliver—Daily Show correspondent and reluctant heartthrob—will be performing for one night only at Helium Comedy Club, and it promises to be an evening of deliciously British stand-up comedy. Phillyist had a chance to talk to John in advance of the show, to which you should go...but only if you like stuff that's awesome.

A steaming hot pile of our favorite things from around the internets.

A tall, icy glass of our favorite internet junk, just for you.

Phillyist's quick-picks for your evening agenda.

Note: Hey, Phillyist readers! Whiz was out of commission for a bit there, and actually we can't promise we'll be back again anytime soon, but at least for today, let's enjoy some crazy links together, eh?

The shapeless dough of the internet, formed into tasty pellets and baked to perfection, just for you.

A steaming hot pile of our favorite things from around the internets.

The best of the internet, squirted out in flavorful neon globules, just for you.

The shapeless dough of the internet, formed into tasty pellets and baked to perfection, just for you.

A steaming hot pile of our favorite things from around the internets.

A tall, icy glass of our favorite internet junk, just for you.

The best of the internet, squirted out in flavorful neon globules, just for you.

The shapeless dough of the internet, formed into tasty pellets and baked to perfection, just for you.

The best of the internet, chopped into tiny bits and grilled for your enjoyment.

It takes a special kind of person to enjoy Daniel Tosh's comedy. In order to get the full experience at one of his shows, you almost have sign a mental waiver from the start, saying, "I believe it's OK to make jokes about pretty much anything, including but certainly not limited to: religion, sex, racism, country music, the Special Olympics, clowns, the Dave Matthews Band, etc., just as long as you make it completely hilarious."

Fun around town, for $10 or less:

A tall, icy glass of our favorite internet junk, just for you.

Fun around town, for $10 or less: