Why I’m Liking (and laughing at) Workaholics

by Lady Blah Blah 

Recently, a younger person than I executed a near perfect impression of Adam DeMamp, one of the main characters in Comedy Central’s Workaholics. I was in the vicinity, so I aggressively giggled. My laugh was met by immediate judgment.

“YOU like Workaholics? But, you’re a woman. A grown woman. You’re a grown woman with a job. You like stupid comedy?”

Then, he hit me.

No! He didn’t! But, I wish he did. A slap would have given me a real reason to write this.

Now, he was right, about almost everything. I am a woman, a grown one.  I sort of have a job. And, I watch Workaholics—almost consistently. However, I had not thought of Workaholics as a dumb show, necessarily.  And, I was unaware that it targeted a gender specific audience.

Humor is abstract and subjective. It is personal. I understand that humor has cultural boundaries, though I wish, most of the time, that it didn’t. But, is humor divided by gender, too? Is man humor different than woman humor? Is there older woman with a semi-job humor? And, if humor is gender specific, does it also have an IQ? I have always argued that if a joke is successful (and I suppose the successful part invites an entirely different argument) then it is somewhat intelligent because the creator of the joke put some intelligent thought into his/her audience and into the content of the joke itself. Is this a fair thing to say? I’m not sure.

If it is all true—if what and why something is funny is determined by genitals and intelligence, then I suppose that makes me a dumb person with a small wiener and a giant butt.

So, as a person with a stupid wiener, I would like to explain why I think “Workaholics” is a little bit funny and a little bit smart.

1. it’s really all about me: Adam DeVine, Blake Anderson, Anders Holm, and Kyle Newacheck, members of the Mail Order Comedy group and creators of Workaholics were almost all born in 1984 (Ders is a little bit older, born in 1981). I mention this because these guys are not much older than I—we’re early Generation Y compadres—and so I am able to relate to many of their “cultural” references—most of which make me laugh. They capture 90’s nuance with finesse—sliding in song lyrics, movie lines, and bitter end of the 20th century/early 21^st century trends and fads. Some would argue that the show’s humor relies heavily on boobies, drug antics, and penis size, but I would disagree. This show is full of allusions, and smart ones at that.

2. nice dic-tion: As Jerry Seinfeld recently stated, funny has a lot to do with word choice and these boyz are mindful word selectors. It is apparent that even character names were carefully hand-picked–Adam Dwayne DeMamp, Blake Chesterfield Henderson, Karl, Waymond–all derivatives of real names and all funny, if inexplicably so. Expressive language, in general, is an impressive part of the show.

Jerry Seinfeld explains why some words are funny

3. physical humor: The body plays an enormous role in the delivery of a joke. Adam’s face. Jillian’s wobble. Ders’ gangly physique and soft chest. Karl’s slight-ish eye issue. Blake’s under-bite. It may just be me, but I feel as if physical humor is (currently) vastly undervalued. If the body is a temple, we should probably start laughing at it.

4. Blake’s subtle underbite: As previously mentioned. While Blake’s face is a little bit funny, it’s also kind and genuine. I recently read that in 1998 he shaved his hair to his skull bone because he was being bullied (about it being so red and curly). This vulnerable side exponentially increased my attraction to Blake and I have since put him on my “stalkers I would like to have” list. So happy to see him using his mop for the win today—and so jealous of Rachel Finely.

5. Alice’s face: A forever fan of Jim Carrey’s malleable face, I couldn’t help but fall in love with Alice’s countenance upon first peek.

6. the boys’ ability to compartmentalize: In a world where many discussions revolve around people hating what they do, it’s nice to see some people doing something about it.

7. Mindy Who?:  Jillian, Jillian, Jillian. Oh My God, Jillian. She’s brilliant. Just ask Larry David.

More Jillian, another one, last one

8. Jet Set’s hair: And his attitude. I love a man who wears a suit most of the time. (RIP Jesse Hudson)

9. Waymond’s under-butt: Maybe I don’t want to see his under-butt, but I sure do like watching this guy walk.

10. Montez’s dirty mind: Pervs who wear tank tops are usually always funny. Unless, of course, they’re bad pervs.

11. Friendship!: There is some moral value to this show, for sure. And while I am doubtful that the high school kids watching on a weekly basis understand the complex humor that is really being presented, I feel safe in knowing that, in a scary, postmodern world, 21^st century young-ins have an outlet that models healthy relationships. I’m a big fan of BFFs.

12. Self-deprecating humor: (It’s all about me part II) I’m still trying to be cool and it’s really hard.  I laugh like a misshapen giant and, when I’m nervous, I twirl my overgrown sideburns and stare at people. I suppose what I like most about this show is that it is driven by insecurities and vulnerabilities. The Workaholics, in every episode, assert that they’re not that cool, and that’s OK because, sometimes, it’s funny.

xoxo LBB

Oscars 2013 by Benjamin Franklin

Tomorrow night, Hollywood’s annual ritual of self-congratulation for a job imperfectly done will proceed apace.  In the course of a laborious (hopefully) three to four hour ceremony, a parade of overpaid celebrities will no doubt go through several costume changes and ornamentation in order to celebrate another mediocre year of filmmaking.   Whenever I hear or see the gushing interviews on television of Academy Award nominees I heave a great collective sigh for our culture.  A culture that awards personalities, not actors, with million dollar salaries and inordinate influence that in turn engenders an inflated sense of self-importance.  In the United Kingdom, talented actors and actresses often go about their lives in near obscurity after graduating from prestigious drama schools, happy to get even a supporting role in a West End production.  In America, we line the seats in order to give lackluster talents such as Bradley Cooper or Kristen Stewart the improper impression that they matter aside from distracting us from the toil of our lives for a precious two hours.  Whenever I see reporters tripping over their lapping tugs in order to heap praise and brownnose another celebrity, I cannot help but think of many of the stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood who were interviewed later in life by Dick Cavett.   Most did not have a “big break” by making millions in an unmeritorious blockbuster, but were rather scouted and recruited by the theatre, and considered themselves inordinately lucky to land a studio contract.  Artists were willing to stand for something other than their own monetary gain, as Bette Davis did by risking her career by fleeing to London and breaking her contract in order to lobby for better roles.  Later in life, she and many other veterans of the Golden Age of Hollywood, from Claudette Colbert to Katharine Hepburn to Cary Grant, always remarked what a consistently humbling experience it was to see their fans line up at premieres, and how lucky they were to be in the business. Such humility is indeed a bygone era in the age of vapidity and narcissism we see in today’s Hollywood.

The vapidity and arrogance of modern Hollywood would not bother me as much if I did not know that there were actor and actresses of far greater talent who do not have the good fortune of Harvey Weinstein bankrolling their films and lobbying Academy members on their behalf.  If you truly are naïve enough to believe the Academy Awards symbolize merit or achievement, then I suggest you stop reading this article, as it is not for the hopelessly naïve.  As we speak, Argo is on track for the Best Picture nod for all of the wrong reasons. Namely, those in the Academy as a whole wish to give Ben Affleck of Gigli fame a Best Picture award as a means of showing their disapproval with the more narrow Director’s branch for failing to give him a nomination.  The sad truth is it has been ages since the Academy Awards have actually nominated films that connect with audiences on a large scale, and to wit, it has been a great passage of time since Hollywood has actually produced films that transcend boundaries.  And so comes another year where everyone in the entertainment industry must affix a forced smile and pretend Silver Linings Playbook is the best modern storytelling has to offer.  But a larger question seems to be what we tolerate as a culture.  A great majority of the time, Hollywood produces duds, a veritable litany of unsatisfactory work complete with stale storylines, trite and stale dialogue and one-dimensional characters that repeatedly reap just enough at the box office for the studio to make a profit.  And every year, Hollywood revels in the stupidity of the average American cinemagoer, basking in a parade of over caffeinated publicists and drowning themselves in overpriced alcohol at a litany of Academy Award after parties in the depths of a recession.  To be an actor in other countries is to be the object of constant ridicule, but in America we elevate celebrities far beyond their worth, work product and status.  Perhaps the joke is ultimately on us.

When did NBA Allstar Weekend turn into a bad version of the Super Bowl Halftime Show?

2-19

As an NBA fan, I will usually tune into the events of the NBA allstar weekend (as they like to call it).  This year I was not only disappointed with the performance of New York Knicks Steve Novak and James White, the outfits of the players watching the Dunk/3 point contest, or the looks of Charles Barkley’s mother (yes, that is real, sorry Chuck), but most of all I am upset with the horrendous musical performances that interrupted anything basketball related in each of the evenings.   A british pop sensation, followed by the American Idol 11 winner and then Fall Out Boy is probably one of the least appealing musical lineups to ever appear on television, but nevertheless who is going to perform at NBA allstar weekend?  That is why I propose to get rid of the bad music altogether (which will never happen because of sponsorship money) or to at least reschedule this madness.  If you’re upset with how I’m reacting, just take a look at this Fall Out Boy performance and tell me if you can watch more then 20 seconds of it without getting unnecessarily angry.   The worst part of this is that I actually watched the whole thing and they punished me at the end of their horrible song with a, “Happy Birthday Michael Jordan” from each of the band members while wearing his jersey.  I am not quite sure how these guys got famous, but I suppose it gives hope to dorky white kids everywhere. Please NBA, don’t do this to me again.   It was sad enough to watch James “the only thing I can do is dunk” White not have enough steam in his 30 year old legs to pull off more than one of his creative foul line dunks.  Watching him fail on most of his attempts was like watching Russell Crowe in “A Beautiful Mind,” a genius and once master of his craft be on the losing side of a deteriorating brain (or body, in White’s case).  The youtube video of his through the legs dunk from the foul line (at 4:50) is enough evidence that this dude was once very special.