A Double Dose Of Levity On The Big Screen
Bert Kreischer and Sebastian Maniscalco both pull off a cinematic first for stand-ups
This week’s dispatch of comedy news is arriving later in the week primarily so I could close the book on May. Thank you for your patience.
Conventional wisdom for the Baby Boomers of the Comedy Boom held up a single, lofty goal — snag a six-or-seven-figure development deal, then make and star in a broadcast network sitcom based on your stand-up material and persona.
But the idea of turning your routines into a feature film, starring you, as you? Unfathomable!
Richard Pryor came closest back then, when he fictionalized himself (co-writing with Paul Mooney and Rocco Urbisci) to direct and star as Jo Jo Dancer in 1986’s Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling. That film grossed just north of $18 million at the box office. Scrolling past the other big names in comedy history, past George Carlin and Joan Rivers, past Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock, past Steve Martin and Robin Williams — certainly Murphy and Williams became global movie stars, yet none of them played themselves on the big screen, acting out their stand-up bits. In recent years, Judd Apatow has helped shepherd Amy Schumer and Pete Davidson from small-screen stardom to write or co-write their own features. Trainwreck made Schumer a star, earning $140 million worldwide. Davidson’s The King of Staten Island went straight to VOD, because, 2020. (There’s also the curious case of 2013’s This Is the End, imagining Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill and others when the apocalypse strikes during their celebrity bash)
Which made this Memorial Day Weekend all the more momentous.
Bert Kreischer and Sebastian Maniscalco became leading men in movies this past weekend, playing themselves, in plots based on their stand-up.
Kreischer’s The Machine is based, in part, on a story he told to Joe Rogan and then on his Netflix stand-up special of the same name. With Mark Hamill cast as his father, and Jimmy Teatro playing young Bert when retelling that story. Maniscalco’s About My Father casts Robert De Niro as his dad, but puts a new spin on Sebastian’s occupation, wife and in-laws. That they both bowed the same weekend isn’t their fault. They’re from different studios, after all.
Opening weekend estimates had The Machine earning $5.875 million and About My Father $5.397 million; not bad, but well shy of the live-action Disney reboot of The Little Mermaid as well as other blockbusters Fast X, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Thing is, having watched both Bert’s and Sebastian’s flicks over the weekend myself, neither of their movies seemed built for blockbuster status. Well, Bert’s could have legs at the box-office and achieve cult status (it’s up to $6.4 mil before counting May 31 receipts), but Sebastian’s (at $6.29 mil in earning so far) is a smaller, more intimate affair that mighta shoulda coulda woulda done better a couple of weeks later as a Father’s Day movie. Except, well, The Flash and Disney/Pixar’s Elemental open that weekend.
Attending The Machine’s “Livestream Experience” on Thursday meant an extra half-hour beforehand in the cinema essentially watching fans invited to Kreischer’s premiere in Westwood throw axes and play drinking games, along with some awkward carpet interviews?!? On the plus side, we also saw Tom Segura surprise Kreischer and make him cry, and got to hear Kreischer speak inside the cinema. Bert talked about how he inadvertently sold The Machine to Legendary: “Well, I’m afraid it will do well, and the mafia will see it, and I’ll get kidnapped by the Russian mafia. And he lit up. He goes, ‘Sold! That’s our movie. Godfather II meets The Hangover.’”
Kreischer also revealed that when filming in Serbia, he initially attempted to stay sober and work out, before producers advised him against it. “And Cale (Boyter) goes, ‘What the fuck are you doing? That’s not who I hired.’ I go what? He goes, ‘I didn’t hire some sober actor. I hired you, the big fat alcoholic, because that's what we wanted. That's the money we asked for. So do you!’ And then he said something very smart to me that I swear to God I’m gonna live my whole life by — he said, ‘Let me tell you something. I can't promise you that this movie is going to be good. We don't know that. I can't promise you it’s going to make a million dollars, or hundreds of million dollars. What I promise you is if you have a good time, it's going to show up onscreen. So party your balls off and have a fucking blast.’ And I had a glass of wine and I remember saying, ‘Fuck it. We’re gonna have a blast.’”
And he did. And it shows. The more the movie lets Bert be Bert, the more hilarious it is.
On Rotten Tomatoes, The Machine has scored an 88 from fans (compared to an average 22 from critics), while About My Father has scored a 79 from fans (33 from critics).
Perhaps one or both movies might prove some staying power this summer, but only if comedy fans go to the cinema this weekend or next, when the major competition comes from the animated Spider-Verse sequel and the latest Transformers noise.
Parody of Louis C.K. Boosted By Elon Musk
Comedian and writer Alexis Pereira pointed out over the weekend: “Twitter is doing amazing. A person pretending to be Louis CK not only is verified but is making money by selling subscriptions for a follow and tweeting right wing propaganda.” So, of course, Elon Musk fell for it.
GoFunding for Dave Mencarelli
Dave Mencarelli is a longtime radio DJ in Reno, stand-up comedian and gm at the Laugh Factory in Reno. His niece set up a GoFundMe for him last week, seeking financial help for his “very serious complications from type 1 diabetes.” So far 144 folks have chipped in $11,509. Mencarelli expressed his gratitude on Tuesday via Facebook.
R.I.P. David Lew
The Bay Area comedy community is mourning the loss of stand-up David Lew, who died last week from cancer. Ruben Paul wrote about his friend “Lew Lew”… “Everyone loved David how could you not? He was funny, kind, and easy going. He also had a great laugh. One of my favorite things to do was make him laugh because he would snort when he laughed really hard almost being embarrassed by the snort. Which made it funnier. He'd laugh even when the joke was on him and that was most of the time.” Here’s an old clip of David from the San Francisco Punch Line back in 2016:
Industry News and Notes
Just For Laughs Montreal announced their second wave of galas and headliners heading north this July…
What else is new?
Nielsen’s Top 10 streaming originals chart for April 24-30 included John Mulaney’s Baby J at #10, with 376 million minutes viewed since it debuted April 25 on Netflix — Mulaney’s the first stand-up to crack the Nielsen charts since Chris Rock’s live Netflix special in early March.
The Office is going Down Under for Prime Video. Prime Video, BBC Studios Australia and New Zealand, and Bunya Entertainment announced The Office Australia, with its first-ever female lead in the iconic role, comedian and actor Felicity Ward, who’ll play Hannah Howard, managing director of packaging company Flinley Craddick. Debuting globally (except the U.S.?!?) in 2024.
BET+ has renewed The Ms. Pat Show for Season 4, and also put two series from Patricia Williams into development under her overall deal — animated Krack Babies (set in 1980s Atlanta and based on her childhood stories) and a workplace comedy Hud (as in Housing and Urban Development).
The BBC announced a new slate of BBC Comedy Short Films for 2023, including one directed by Ricky Gervais.
A jury found That 70s Show’s Danny Masterson guilty on two rape charges, after his first trial ended with a hung jury. Masterson, 47, faces up to 30 years in prison.
Last Week’s Specials
New on HBO (streaming on Max)
Sarah Silverman: Someone Loves You (my review)
New on Netflix
Wanda Sykes: I’m An Entertainer (my review)
New on Amazon for rent/sale
New on Dry Bar
New on YouTube
Brian Holtzman: #CancelHoltzman (via The Comedy Store)
Nate Craig: Live At The Green Mill (via All Things Comedy)
James Scott Paterson: Superior Design (via 800 Pound Gorilla Media)
Eric McMahon: First Down (via The Laugh Button)
THIS WEEK: 15
LAST WEEK: 16
THIS MONTH (MAY): 38+15=53
RUNNING TOTAL for 2023: 296+15=311
Fun Things To Do In NYC
This weekend’s show I plugged in The New York Times: If you enjoyed Ted Lasso, then perhaps you’ll want to see what Nick Mohammed is like out of character. Or rather, in a completely different character as “Mr. Swallow,” a chap he’s played on UK panel shows over the years, but never before on tour until now.
Elsewhere around the city…it’s a busy Sunday full of options:
Kevin Hart performs outdoors this Sunday at Forest Hills Stadium.
Nataly Aukar’s solo show, “My Turn To Talk,” takes over Joe’s Pub on Sunday.
Jerrod Carmichael’s new show, “Sleepless Without My Boyfriend,” plays The Bell House.
And Ashley Ray is recording hew new album next Tuesday at Union Hall.
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