INSIDE THE JOKE: Playing the race card to win
One of the jokes that gives Alonzo Bodden a reputation as a smart political comic goes something like this: “I support Barack Obama because he’s black. There are a hundred other reasons: taxes, housing, education, health care … but he had me at black.” Alonzo Bodden is black, too. Would the joke work otherwise? Appearing […]
Kemo Treats: Sane Clown Posse
The theory that parodying something long enough causes one to turn into the very thing being made fun is put to the test with Kemo Treats. Six years after starting the most ridiculous gangsta rap duo in Edmonton – if not the entire world – its co-founder Greg Goa remains clear on the targets of […]
COMEDY: Kathleen McGee’s act is a life examined
Oprah’s truck balls, tweets of people’s genitals, Al Roker telling everyone he pooped his pants in the White House, Facebook status updates of breakfasts that look like poop – these are a few of our favourite things! We live in a world where the phrase “whoa, too much information!” is uttered by no one ever. […]
Is Jeff Dunham racist? No, but his puppets might be
Name any movie that doesn’t depict puppeteers as insane or evil. Think about it: They talk to themselves, they play with dolls, they say terribly offensive things they wouldn’t have the courage to say in real life if they weren’t pretending to talk through their creepy puppets. But isn’t that what good comedians are supposed […]
Steve Martin’s second love didn’t put him on stage
There’s something disturbing about Steve Martin coming to Edmonton – because he’s not here to do comedy. He’s going to play bluegrass. Oh, joy. Sure, you can expect humour when Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers perform Sunday at the Jubilee Auditorium. They’ll probably do an a cappella number called Atheists Don’t Have No […]
Kevin Hart brings soaring standup career to Edmonton
He didn’t get nominated for standup of the year at the Comedy Awards — much to the chagrin of Chris Rock — but Kevin Hart gets the last laugh: a Canadian extension to his hit tour, including a stop in Edmonton July 26. The standup, whose Comedy Central concert videos on Netflix have helped vault […]
WHAT’S SO FUNNY: Rob Schneider, Dave Foley return to comedy stage
The trick to enjoying Rob Schneider movies is to have low expectations – and in that light, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo is a comedy classic. To a lesser extent, so is Grown Ups. Conversely, when the Saturday Night Live star returns to the stage-up comedy stage from whence he came – Friday night at the […]
Brent Butt comes back to stand-up comedy – June 22 at the Winspear
Before Brent Butt went on to star in the modern version of The Beachcombers, he was a happening stand-up comic – and like most happening stand-up comics who make it big, he always seems to come back to his roots. The star of Corner Gas and CTV’s Hiccups will hit this road this spring for […]
