I went to Friday night's IMAF 2012 "Funny Ha Ha" screening at The Guild, in Charlottetown. Actually, just didn't "go", but co-hosted with Graham Putnam.
I thought my hosting got off to a rough start when I said something about how the shorts we'll be seeing aren't necessarily funny... my goal was to point out how "funny" is such a personal thing, and what's funny to one isn't necessarily funny to others. But I think it may have come out as me declaring that none of the videos were funny. At least that's how my brain has since remembered the moment. Probably wasn't quite like that. My hosting for the start of Act Two seemed to be more smooth, I thought.
So, were the shorts funny? Well, here's a 7 word review of each of them.
Uptown Charlottetown by Lennie MacPherson and Fraser MacAllum (PEI) - Too long. Edited like a rough draft.
Superscience by Joel MacKenzie (NS) - Sophomoric presentation, amateurish performances. Didn't even smile.
Home Sweet Hell, ep.1 (and ep.2 later on in the evening) by Fox Henderson (PEI): Dated spoof misses the mark. Terrible sound.
The Fourth Minute by Ross Vincent Moore (NFLD): Uninteresting script, uninspired. Two minutes too long.
Buzz Off by Renee Laprise (PEI): Tries way too hard to be funny.
Afghan by Pardis Parker (NS): Smart, interesting, sharp. A bit too long.
PEI Encyclopedia: Intelligence (and later : Fighting) by Dominique Girouard (PEI): Lowest comedic denominator; like cumming into Kleenex.
Goodbye Robot Army by Greg Jackson (NS): Looked good, but that's all. Predictable & long.
Dead Guy Sleeping (or The Quiet Guy) by Nils LIng (PEI): Pointless, predictable, perplexing. Unintersting script, unmotivated delivery.
The Wake by Andrew Winter (NFLD): Hated it. Unlikeable characters. Obvious, unfunny punchline.
Hurricane Harry by Neil Wiley and Richard DesRoches (PEI): A mess. And here's five more words.
Ken Fucks Up by Ruby Boutilier and Sarah Byrne (NS): Interesting idea, funny moments, a bit repetitive.
Bunkerdown: A Friend For Dinner by Jason Rogerson (PEI): (disclosure: this is a Sketch22 video, and I was involved in the creation of it) Cartoonish "Jerry" performance distracts from tone. Ambitious.
Was I in a bad mood that night? Not very many positive reviews. I only smiled a handful of times and laughed only a couple of times.
I guess it's true: comedy is hard.
6 comments:
Wow Rob, I've been watching your little train wreck since your nonsense at the IMAF comedy screenings. This little "review" is the cherry on the cake.
At first when reading this I was offended but that soon turned to embarrassment. Rob, I was embarrassed for you. All of us know that comedy has not been good to you, but is lashing out looking like a lunatic how you get your revenge?
Hosting the comedy night then blasting everything you saw on the internet is incredibly childish and unprofessional.your whole rant smacks of jealousy.
Rob, if you put as much energy into your own projects instead of insulting others you would have a body of work you could be proud of, instead you're just turning yourself into one of your sad little jokes.
My 80 year old super catholic Nana from Tignish has a better sense of humor than you. Go cry yourself to sleep.
Agreed. It's extremely unprofessional (and narcissistic) to critique a festival you not only hosted, but also participated in. Who reviews their own projects publicly?!
*And let me also add that I use the terms "critique" and "review" loosely, as any imbecile can string together 7 adjectives. I would hardly call the above phrases sentences, let alone critiques, or reviews.*
I don't know who you are, or what your deal is, but based on this blog post, your blog bio ("I'm not a monster, I'm a human bean") and the fact that you begin this article by defending a comment you made opening night at the festival, I can only assume you are a bit of a douche bag...
Ever hear of the concept of "Artists Unite"? It's a pretty big movement, particularly in Atlantic Canada, to help provide and sustain a viable industry in the arts by supporting each other publicly and with solidarity. You know, so jokers like you can make a living...?
Actually, nevermind. Invitation to unite withdrawn.
I missed the screening in question but wanted to point out that Rob is really just expressing opinions here. Even if you don't agree with them that's no excuse for taking personal shots against his character. Posting his truthful opinions is not childish but insulting him is.
So far no one has questioned the validity of his reviews, just the fact that he made them.
A critic has to know that if he can dish it out,...
Sure enough but any dishing should be restrained to his work rather than character. Personal attacks like "Douche Bag" and "Lunatic" for example would be inappropriate.
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