“Playing a sleazy, blustering buffoon the audience loves takes skill—just ask Adam Scott, Ben Stiller, or Julia Louis-Dreyfus.”
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Posted inEditor's Pick
Laugh Riot
“To understand Trump’s continuing hold over his fans, we have to ask: Why do they find him so funny?”
Posted inFeature
Who’s Afraid of Lorne Michaels?
Very rarely can we see an entire system reflected in one person. The creator and executive producer of “Saturday Night Live” is such a person.
Posted inUncategorized
The Strange Power of Laughter
“An anthropologist explores laughter as a far more complex phenomenon than simple delight—reflecting on its surprising power to disturb and disrupt.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Crossed Signals
“Joe Hazard donated the land for a cross that towered over Mayhaw, Mississippi. He never dreamed his generosity would spark a divine comedy.”
Posted inFeature
’Tis the Season to Kill the Dead-Mom Holiday Movie Trope
How many more women will festive filmmakers dispatch?
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Strange Saga of ‘The Gods Must Be Crazy’
“The racist 1980s comedy broke box-office records worldwide—then promptly disappeared. The story behind it is revealing.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Dril Is Everyone. More Specifically, He’s a Guy Named Paul
“Paul Dochney posted his way into the halls of internet lore. After 15 years of anonymity, can he emerge without compromising his act?”
Posted inEditor's Pick
What I Saw at the Movies
“I wasn’t a film critic or festival programmer or even an aspiring director. I was just an adolescent schoolboy and, in my parents’ probably loving description, a ‘weirdo.’”
Posted inEditor's Pick
‘The Simpsons’ Is Good Again
“After 34 seasons, 750 episodes, and a decades-long funk, the show innovated its way back to popularity and relevance.”
