andPOP » comedy

Russell Peters Teaches andPOP How To Master Accents

Ilan Mester — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:51:28 +0000

A superstar in his own right, Russell Peters is to comedy lovers what Robert Pattinson is to pre-pubescent girls. The Canadian humorist born to Anglo-Indian parents became the first comedian to sell out the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, and is one in a handful of comedians to perform at the Madison Square Garden to a sold out audience. Peters’ new tour celebrating his 20th anniversary kicks off this January.

Anyone who’s seen him perform knows that one of the many things that distinguishes Peters from other acts is his dead-on accuracy when it comes to accents. What’s his secret?

“I listen,” he tells andPOP. “You’ve got to listen to get the inflections and the intent of what people are saying. That means listening to people when they’re happy, sad, angry. That’s how you learn how they speak. I still can’t do a Scottish accent though – doesn’t matter how much I listen and try it… those tricky Scots!”

Fans can hear him and his array of accents when Peters hits the road with “The Green Card Tour” in celebration of his 20th anniversary. But rest assured the jokes will focus on a variety of cultures as usual, not only on Americans. “The reason it’s called The Green Card Tour, is because I’ll be getting my Green Card in 2010,” he explains.

And if you’ve ever dreamed of opening for Peters during one of his shows, here’s your chance. He’s looking for a Canadian BFF (not a la Paris Hilton) through SIRIUS Satellite Radio and Russell Peters’ Search for Canada’s BFF. “In this contest we’re looking for anybody’s and I mean anybody’s ‘Best Funny Five Minutes,’ ” says Peters. “This is a chance for all those people who watch stand-up and say, ‘Hey! I could do that’, to actually get up on stage and do it, with a chance to open for me somewhere in North America.”

Just like many fans out there wish they could be Peters’ “BFF” – and they can enter at www.russellpetersbff.com - he has an ideal celebrity BFF of his own. “Eddie Murphy because I grew up watching him and I want to know what goes on in his head now,” he admits.

His latesest DVD, “Red, White and Brown,” was a huge success but Peters is still not sure when he’ll release new material. “I’m trying to figure that out. We taped a lot of the shows across Canada this past summer, but I’m still not sure what we’re going to do for the next DVD,” he says. “I want to make sure that I’m giving the fans the best possible show that I can when I release my next DVD.”

Aside from the tour – that stops in the U.S. and Australia in 2010 — Peters reveals to andPOP some exciting news. “I’ve got a few things on the go right now. We’re back into developing a sitcom and there are a number of different opportunities being presented to me these days,” he shares. “We haven’t cracked series television yet, but that’s okay because some of the stuff that’s come my way hasn’t necessarily been that good, so I’d rather wait until it’s right. It’s not a race.”

He’s also working on a few other things for Showtime and a book for Canada. “Canada is all about a variety of cultures – it’s one of the things that makes us great,” says Peters. “I wouldn’t be who I am or where I am if I’d have grown up in any other country, including the States.”

For Peters, the best and only way to celebrate his anniversary is to be out on the road doing what he does best: making people laugh. “Just doing what I’ve been doing for the past 20 years, getting on-stage and performing,” he says of how he’s celebrating. “Only now it’s arenas instead of biker bars for 50 bucks in London, Ontario.”

Movie Review: A Serious Man

Ilan Mester — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:22:20 +0000

Only great movies require cheesy appraisals, so here it goes: “A Serious Man” is seriously good. Compared to other Coen brother films, it holds its own in a line of classics. And for those thinking you’re going in to see a comedy, note that it’s not just any comedy — it’s a horrific comedy (meant in the best of ways).

When you see the opening sequence featuring a Polish peasant and his wife speaking in Yiddish, just note that you’re not in the wrong theatre. The film kicks off with a short horror film, ending with spilled blood. It raises the question: “Has the almighty Hashem blessed them with a visitor? Or cursed them with a soul-stealing dybbuk?” You’ll understand once you see the film.

It then fast forwards to a 1967 Minneapolis Jewish community, of which Physics professor Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) is a part of. And let’s just say his life isn’t one you would envy. Larry’s wife wants to leave him for their lovey-dovey friend Sy Ableman (Fred Melamed), his brother has taken over the family couch and his bathroom, and his kids are constantly bickering with each other.

To top things off, Larry’s opportunity to a life of tenure is being threatened by a student who blackmails him over something he didn’t quite do. Could things possibly get any worse? Apparently they can.

“A Serious Man” raises the question: what did Larry do to deserve all of this? The answer, however, isn’t quite clear, and that’s the point. Joel and Ethan Coen return to their Midwestern routes in this film and you can tell it’s a personal one for them (though to make it clear, it’s not a biopic of their lives). Although they set the film in a Jewish community, the quest for understanding that Larry goes on is universal, anyone can relate. Most of the film’s humour comes from his angst and the fact that everyone surrounding him is too self-absorbed to notice he’s suffering.

The Coens, who wrote and directed the movie, took a big risk when they put together a cast of mostly unknown actors for the black comedy. But they can rest assured the risk paid off. Stuhlbarg is so authentic as the film’s protagonist. Although none of the characters seem to sympathize with Larry, viewers will without a doubt. The entire supporting cast, including Larry’s wife Judith (Sari Lennick), his brother Arthur (Richard Kind), Sy (played by Fred Melamed) and his children (Jessica McManus and Aaron Wolff) are simply incredible (especially his pot-smoking pre-teen son).

Sure “A Serious Man” doesn’t feature the signature violence of “No Country for Old Men,” but it still has that custom-made surrealism only the Coen brothers can pull off.

Recording Our First andPOP Radio Show for XM Canada

Robert Ostfield — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 14:46:46 +0000

Getting ready to record our 1st XM radio show in my parents’ basement in a former storage room. Can’t wait till my parents see that we needed to drill holes in the wall to hang the sound insulation. Remember to tune into Laugh Attack 5pm EST on Friday September 18th with your XM Radio!

andPOP Is Hitting The Satellite Radio Waves With XM Canada

Robert Ostfield — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 04:33:25 +0000

We have some exciting news. In our continual conquest to be a next generation multi platform media company, we are pleased to announce andPOP will be on the radio starting Friday September 18th @ 5pm on XM Canada’s Laugh Attack Channel (channel 153). The show will feature the uniqueness of the website but on the radio (yes an amazing concept). So you can listen to some interviews, here us banter about the entertainment biz, and also be introduced to some unique characters like Euclid Laframboise. Euclid will be on the show while he also makes a living building coffins out of Thule racks. Watch the vid and you will understand.

Movie Review: In the Loop

Ilan Mester — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 05:02:37 +0000

Who knew Anglo-American relations could be so funny? Directed by Armando Lannucci, “In the Loop” shows just how loopy politicians can be. Be prepared for a nonstop ride of satirical humour made famous by the Brits.

After Simon Foster, a bumbling British minister for international development played by Tom Hollander, unknowingly backs a U.S. war in the Middle East (by suggesting war is “unforeseeable”) during an interview, the Prime Minister’s communications chief (Peter Capaldi) is left to clean up the mess as tension rises amongst both countries.

Soon enough, British government officials land in Washington, D.C., where a U.S. General (James Gandolfini) thinks war is just a crazy idea and the U.S. Assistant Secretary for Diplomacy (Mimi Kennedy) tries to infiltrate the War committee. Foster continues to make things worst by trying to gatecrash a slew of government meetings while his young assistant (Chris Addison) gets distracted by a sexy American intern (Anna Chlumsky), which leads to a United National Security Council vote that makes war seem “unforeseeable.”

See, I wasn’t joking about the roller coaster part, nor the comedy. “In the Loop” features nonstop dialogue back and forth, due in part to Capaldi’s character (said to be a satirized version of real-life British politician Alastair Campbell), Malcolm Tucker. For every adjective used by Malcolm, two or more profanities follow (his favourite is “horse cock”). Capaldi delivers by far the standoff performance in this film (a character he also plays in the British TV series “The Thick of It”). But after all, the script is simply hilarious. Judge for yourself. Here’s a sample of what to expect:

“Good luck at the Foreign Affairs office. Try not to piss off Russia.”

And don’t worry, this isn’t the type of movie that uses up its catchphrases in the trailers, there are plenty more throwaway lines where that one came from. In fact, that’s all the characters do: throw insults at each other (but in a very funny manner).

Hollander does a great job portraying the slightly clueless Simon Foster and Chlumsky (who was made famous in the 90’s alongside Macaulay Culkin in “My Girl”) proves she has a knack for comedy playing Kennedy’s assistant in the movie.

Just be warned that this is not an easy-breezy type of movie. Viewers who daze off for even a second may find themselves sweating to keep up with the back and forth ping pong game that is the dialogue. Don’t go into “In the Loop” expecting “The Hangover-like” humour. The only similarities “In the Loop” and “The Hangover” share is that they both have the letters “t” “h” and “o” in their titles, they’re two completely different comedies.

Movie Review: Paper Heart

Ilan Mester — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 20:02:32 +0000

If “Paper Heart” doesn’t find a way into your heart, then you may just have the same problem Charlyne Yi has in the movie: the inability to understand love.

In this mockumentary that mixes reality with fiction, Yi goes on a quest across the United States to try and figure out this crazy little thing called love (but of course, with an abundance of awkward humour along the way).

The film kicks off with Yi in the midst of Las Vegas, approaching strangers and asking them about love. This continues throughout the entire movie as she goes from state to state trying to figure out what love feels like, and it seems like it’s something everyone from bikers to little kids, novelists, divorce lawyers and celebrities have a say in.

This is the premise of “Paper Heart,” a film Yi co-wrote, executive produced and stars in. However, the movie isn’t just about Yi interviewing Americans about love. See, the cameras don’t just follow Yi during her interviews, they’re supposedly rolling around the clock, including a party where she meets Canadian funnyman Michael Cera (who like Yi, plays himself in this movie).

This really shakes up the film as now her quest to find love reaches a new personal and urgent level. As usual, Michael Cera plays the same uncomfortable character he always does, but he’s clearly great at it so I’m not one to complain. However, this time he’s been paired up with someone equally (if not more) socially inept: Yi. Together they create unconventional movie magic moments (which is really refreshing) and will definitely have you laughing.

Yi is such an awesome dork in this film that she’ll make any geek feel cooler than John Travolta in “Grease.” Speaking of Johns, Jake M. Johnson deserves a pat on the back for playing the film’s real-life director and co-writer Nicholas Jasenovec. It’s a really cool concept for the director of the film (or rather an actor playing the director) to literally be involved on-screen with the movie as one of the cast members. This adds this sort of fake rawness that gives “Paper Heart” its edge. Him and Yi share very funny moments, like when she tells him she thought her ex-boyfriend was in love with her by the way he stared at her, then realized he was “just on drugs.”

It’s clear this movie was made on a low budget, but Yi and Jasenovec’s creativity didn’t let the lack of dough affect their film’s quality. The comedian used puppets she made with her own two hands to illustrate some of the true-life love stories of her interviewees. And before judging the puppets, note that these are some of the coolest and most artistic ones you’ll ever see!

“Paper Heart,” which won Sundance’s Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award, has been getting a lot of buzz, partly because of Yi and Cera’s rumoured off-screen relationship (which Yi has publicly denied), but it’s a movie that stands on its own — regardless of them dating in real life or not. And if that hasn’t sold you, cameos by Seth Rogen, Paul Rust and Martin Starr may do the trick.

Movie Review: Thirst

Ilan Mester — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 18:25:20 +0000

Few movies fit into the dark comedy, horror film and psychodrama category at the same time. “Thirst” is one of them. The latest film by South Korean director Chan-wook Park won the Jury Prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival but beware, it’s not your typical vampire movie.

This was my first time seeing a Chan-wook Park film and it’ll probably be my last — not because it’s a bad movie per se, it’s just not my type. Let’s face it, just like people have preferences over blondes and brunettes, movie goers have genre preferences and gore is not one of mine. So if you love blood (and not just blood, but blood with plot), “Thirst” is definitely for you.

The film tells the story of Sang-hyun (played by South Korea’s Song-kang Ho), a priest who values life enough to risk his own by volunteering for a secret vaccine development project meant to destroy a deadly virus.

Of course, the virus takes hold of the priest and they’re forced to transfuse blood into Sang-hyun. It just so happens that the blood was infected, leading the priest to turn into a vampire.

“Thirst” starts to pick up when Sang-hyun bumps into a sickened childhood friend and his family, including his friend’s wife Tae-ju (Kim Ok-vin), who asks for the priest’s help in escaping her life. So the once goody-two-shoe priest finds himself embarking into a world of sexual pleasure, committing the Seven Deadly Sins.

Park, who is known for exploring human existence in most of his films, does the same with “Thirst.” He deserves a pat on the back for combining creepy humour with intense emotion which are difficult to pull of separately, let alone together. In fact, I was so engrossed in the film that at certain points, I forgot it was subtitled.

Aside from the visual effects and Park’s unique way of combining sensuality with brutality, the characters are what make this film stand out. It’s clear that the movie’s protagonist goes through a major dilemma and that’s where most of the conflict comes from. But what’s even more interesting is what happens with the supporting characters.

See, there’s no real “good guy” or “bad guy” in this film and that’s refreshing. When you’re about to label a character as the good one, something happens and you’re back to square one. This is the case for most of the supporting characters. Some scripts have difficulty developing their main character but in “Thirst,” most of the supporting characters (especially Tae-ju and her mother-in-law) go through pivotal character changes.

Complements aside, “Thirst’s” main fault (aside from its length) is that it’s more of a niche film (a.k.a for those who really dig horror and by horror I don’t mean “House of Wax”). It’s spooky, fresh and bloody, so those who like gore with context will have a feast with it (Twihards on the other hand may want to sit this one out).

Contest: 2 New Comedy DVDs

andPOP Staff — Sat, 23 May 2009 02:49:56 +0000

Here’s your chance to win 2 DVDs. Each one is now in stores!

First one: RUSSELL BRAND IN NEW YORK CITY: EXTENDED AND UNCENSORED!

BRITISH POP ICON. ROCK STAR. LADIES MAN. The unexpected star and scene-stealer of Forgetting Sarah Marshall and the controversial host of the 2008 VMA’s, Russell Brand makes his Comedy Central debut with Russell Brand in New York City. Detailing the difficulty of handling his newfound fame in America, recounting the time he meet the Queen and instructing women on how to approach him, Russell Brand proves he’s the hottest thing to come out of Britain since The Beatles.

Second one: JO KOY: DON’T MAKE HIM ANGRY

Hailed as one of today’s most gifted young comedians, Jo Koy shows you why in his very-own Comedy Central special,

Don’t Make Him Angry. Brandishing his energetic physicality and wacky impersonations, Jo Koy explores America’s obsession with road rage, recalls some of the worst places he’s ever had to visit while touring, and shares some of his most intimate family moments. Whether you’re already a fan or you’re just looking for the next great comic, pick up this DVD. We promise: it’ll leave your ribs hurting long after the show ends.

5 winners will each win copies of both DVDs! To enter, email contests@andpop.com with your complete mailing address. Hurry. Contest ends June 15.

‘Superbad’ Michael Cera’s ‘Revolt’

andPOP Staff — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 17:31:14 +0000

Brampton-born Michael Cera will star as Nick Twisp in the film adaptation of the 1993 C.D. Payne novel Youth in Revolt: the Journals of Nick Twisp.

The story’s heavy use of black humour, camp and overt portrayals of teen sexuality make it a perfect fit for Cera, 19, whose charmingly awkward comedic talents were showcased in the cult hit show Arrested Development and this summer’s blockbuster hit Superbad.

The film will follow 14-year-old Nick as he deals with his parents’ imminent divorce by setting his sights on his dream girl Sheeni Saunders, hoping that she’ll be the one to take his virginity.

Cera can be seen next in Juno, alongside fellow Canadian talent Ellen Page. The quirky comedy premiered to rave reviews at this month’s Toronto International Film Festival, being called “This year’s Little Miss Sunshine.” A must see, Juno will have a limited release in late 2007.

Until then, get your Cera fix by checking out the Juno trailer, his hysterical summer project “Clark and Michael”, and his indie band, The Long Goodbye.

Ronnie Barker’s Last Laugh at Age 76

andPOP Staff — Tue, 04 Oct 2005 11:37:33 +0000

British comedian Ronnie Barker has died at the age of 76.

Barker died Monday after a long period of heart trouble.

Beginning his career on the West End stage and in radio, Barker moved onto his much credited comedy act, ?The Two Ronnies.”

1971 Barker met Ronnie Corbett and decided to create ?The Two Ronnies.” Their program ran for a dozen series over 16 years, and at its peak was watched by 17 million viewers.

Each show ended with Corbett bidding the audience “goodnight from me,” to which Barker would add “and it’s goodnight from him.”

Barker played a plethora of different roles throughout his career: a stuttering shopkeeper in another popular sitcom, “Open All Hours,” Winston Churchill’s servant in “The Gathering Storm,” a sarcastic prison inmate in 1970s sitcom “Porridge” and its sequel, “Going Straight,? among other roles.

In the late 1980s, Barker retired from show business and opened up an antique shop.

Barker made his final showbiz appearance in ?The Two Ronnies? reunion program in 1999.

This past year, Barker and Corbett presented a series of their greatest hits, “The Two Ronnies Sketchbook,” for one last chuckle.