365 Days, 365 Movies: January

Hello, Everyone!

Sorry for my protracted absence. Nobody is more upset than I am -- I missed this blog's anniversary! Since I wasn't writing, I spent the month of January basically in a state of hermitage, shunning the real world in favor of film and television at home and in theaters. Also, I was preparing for my exciting gig as one of the sad sharks in Katy Perry's halftime show at the Super Bowl. No bigs.

Anyway, my big New Year's Resolutions this year were to watch at least 365 movies over the course of the calendar year and to write down all the movies, TV shows, podcasts, music, etc that I enjoyed (to varying degrees). For the 365 movies, I didn't put many restrictions on what I could watch (TV movies count! I can occasionally watch a movie I've seen before! It doesn't have to be a movie a day), so I'm interested to see how the year shapes up. Anyway, here's my January:

My Mom and I Review "The Skeleton Twins"

Television might be my one true love, but there's nothing quite as comforting as being in a darkened theater, popcorn in hand, to watch a movie with family.  So, when The Skeleton Twins, a dramedy starring Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig, premiered, I knew that there was one person I needed to see it with: my mother. Thankfully, she was in town.

The Skeleton Twins tells the story of Milo and Maggie (Hader and Wiig), two twins who have lost touch over the years but are thrown together again due to circumstance. That circumstance is Milo's attempted suicide, which forces a reunion between the siblings and brings Milo back to his hometown and into the home of Maggie and her husband Lance (the always dependable Luke Wilson). Milo and Maggie are depressed and messed up by themselves but seem to function better together; they're like conjoined twins who are having trouble surviving without the other's constant affection and interaction. With Milo back home and falling back into a dysfunctional relationship, and Maggie trying to stay in her relationship and out of trouble, the reunion seems to come at exactly the right time.

It's Time For The Maya Rudolph Revolution

Maya Rudolph with contemporaries Fey and Poehler

When Maya Rudolph left Saturday Night Live in 2007, she seemed poised for a gigantic career. For seven seasons, she had shone in a cast packed with many soon-to-be television and film stars. But, instead of going the traditional post-SNL path (one terrible movie, a few years of obscurity, rising like a phoenix from the career ashes with a hit Funny or Die video, etc), she instead took a break to give birth to a veritable litter of Rudolph-Andersons. Sure, she has been in a ton of movies and TV shows since her departure, but it always feels like she's flying under the radar, not quite rising to the heights that a person as talented as she is can reach (I did not mean to include as many flying/bird analogies in this post). While Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, two of her SNL compatriots, became supa-dupa famous after they left Studio 8H, Rudolph stayed just moderately well-known, her only real breakout moment being when she pooped in the street in Bridesmaids.

Anything for a laugh.

Well, if last night's one hour variety show, The Maya Rudolph Show, is any indication, now is the Age of Maya. Though the special was a little light on laughs (especially in the second half-hour), it was a great showcase for how amazing Maya Rudolph is as a performer (not to mention how great she is at wearing a variety of sparkly dresses). Even among a cavalcade of guest stars, including Tableau Your Mind favorite Kristen Bell, the elements that shone brightest were pure Rudolph. Like Carol Burnette and, um, Rosie O'Donnell before her, Maya took to the stage with a comedian's bravado the chops to back it up. She hoofed, she sang, she did a few regrettable accents. She did anything for a laugh, and even included a few moments where laughter wasn't the point. Watching old The Carol Burnette Show clips online, I was amazed by how often the sketches weren't about the comedy – it was about highlighting the guests and friendships and giving audiences little peeks into their lives. Now, in a world where we know everything about celebrities, from their preferred birth-control rings to their thoughts on healing crystals, it's a delightful throwback to just watch stars perform as themselves. Chris Parnell's song to his newborn was a particular highlight:

Really, that's all a lot of lead up to explain why Maya Rudolph, despite exhibiting a love of all things old, is the comedy star we need now. Television, and particularly television comedy, has shifted monumentally in the last few years. Changed in part by shows like Poehler's own Parks and Recreation, what has arisen is comedy built on collaboration and friendliness more than snark and resentment. Sure, the TV landscape is full of Louie's and Louie-wannabes, but more and more there is a space for television where everyone gets along and all anyone wants is to have a good time. Shows like Broad City, Playing House, The Middle, and Key and Peele get as many viewers from the actual jokes as they do from the camaraderie exhibited among the casts. People can only handle so much 'depressing' – they want to see people getting along. And nobody seems as attuned to that friendly frequency as Maya Rudolph. She's our maternal and funny gal-pal. I mean, there's a reason she can so effortlessly play all of America's most powerful women: Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Beyonce Knowles, Phylicia Rashad. She's the performer we need and the comedic actress we deserve.

It's time for the Rudolph revolution! It's time for Maya to shine!

I haven't posted anything in a while, so here's a GIF.

 Sorry I haven't written anything in a while, I was too busy being awesome:

The Many Things That Make Daenerys Targaryen And Me Angry

We are perturbed, to say the least.

Game of Thrones character Daenarys Targaryen (played by Emilia Clarke) and I are very different people. For instance, I don't have my eyes on the Iron Throne, and she doesn't binge watch USA's Psych while binge-eating Pirate's Booty. Still, despite our differences, it turns out that Daenerys Targaryen (AKA Daenerys Stormborn AKA Khaleesi AKA the Mother of Dragons AKA HMFIC) and I have a lot in common. Specifically, there are quite a few things that make us angry. You know, things that just make us go:

...and then we dance like Michael Jackson around a golf course.

And guess what, society? Much like Zac Efron in High School Musical 2 (I assume), Khaleesi and I are not going to take these offenses lying down.

What Makes us Angry?
(in semi-chronological order) 

Warning: Some Game of Thrones spoilers are included in this post. 
Spoilers for the TV show, not the books. I don't know how to read.

30 Rock Unaired Pilot

Rachel Dratch and Jane Krakowski as Jenna

Everybody! Set your DVRs and your peepers, because 30 Rock returns tonight and starts the road towards the finale on January 31st. We're sad to see it go (but we love to watch it leave). On the road to the end, we'll be here every week look back at our favorite moments. Since we're moderately obsessed, there's a good chance that it will be way more often than once a week.

Since we're too sad right now to actually write anything, we thought we would give you a video that's been going around the internet today of the original, unaired pilot, wherein SNL-alum Rachel Dratch played Jenna DeCarlo, the character that would go on to be played by Jane Krakowski.



We're gigantic fans of Rachel Dratch, but this Sliding Doors version of 30 Rock would have deprived the viewing public of the many great characters that Dratch did play on the show, including that weird prostitute who kept shouting 'Valen-times', the Blue Dude, Barbara Walters, Elizabeth Taylor, and  Legreta "Greta" Johansen, the best cat-wrangler/Liz Lemon enthusiast east of the Allegheny. Plus, this version of Jenna is a little too close to Liz Lemon herself, and, just like the world doesn't need two Jenna Maroneys, it also doesn't need two Elizabeth Lemons.

White Diamonds!

Taran Killam and Karen Gillan: A Comparison [Amy Pond Week]

If there's one thing we hear over and over again, it's that people love Saturday Night Live and Doctor Who, but it's very difficult to tell SNL's Taran Killam apart from Doctor Who's Karen Gillan. We totally get it. Not only are their names similar, they are also both leggy firecrackers with adorable goofiness written all over their faces. In honor of Amy Pond Week (and to help our readers through a difficult time), we have made a helpful chart detailing the many differences and similarities between these comedy mavens. Enjoy:

The 100th SNL Digital Short!

Congrats!
(Image Source)

That was certainly a surprise! On last night's Saturday Night Live, the three men behind the SNL Digital Shorts (Jorma Taccone, Andy Samberg, and Justin Bieber Akiva Schaffer) premiered their 100th Short!

Now, pre-taped interstitials have long been a part of SNL - Jim Henson's Muppets even used to be a part of them, but nobody has embraced them quite like the The Lonely Island trio. Their bits are funny, memorable, instantly quotable, and so perfectly tuned to today's culture of bite-sized entertainment.  In salute of their accomplishment, we're going to watch the Natalie Portman Raps video on repeat for the next four hours or so, because it is simply the best.

What's your favorite Digital Short? And does knowing that 100 Digital Shorts have been produced make you feel as old and out of touch as we do?