Comedy pow wow.

Yesterday, I assembled a handfull of my creative friends at my place to listen to a collection of my comedy skit ideas.

I have been wanting to do this for some time, and seeing how bad the state of Canadian comedy is now, I knew that it was my civic duty to do something about it!

There were 8 of us in total, lots of beer, pot, popcorn, nachos and salsa. It was a good mix. I decided to prime the crowd by watching America's Funniest videos first. E and I had taped them last year and edited out the commercials so we could watch them without interruption at a later date (and when we were stoned). My Pal D was the first to arrive. Before he had a chance to sit down, I popped in my 'famous student film'. It was funny though (I say that in a completely paradoxical way) because my movie (I made it when I was in university and it's about my nervous breakdown at 19...) is quite, well, shall we say, intense? Its a good movie, don't get me wrong, but I had been talking about it for the longest time and really wanted him to see it before the crowd showed up. Well, some 28 minutes later, the experience had ended. He and E just sat on the couch, not saying a word.

"So wasn't that a fun family film!!??"
I was being totally ironic and laughing at myself because it's what I do best, and do to survive. I had lost so much time crying and feeling dead back in those 'seritonin depletion' years...

They were both speechless. I take a great (yet perverse) pleasure in knowing that my film has completely knocked the wind out of those who watch it, and that is what it is supposed to do. It isn't a Disney production of '101 Dalmatians' !

E suggested a smoke, so we all went on the balcony and had some really bad and cheap cigarettes that that bought from the Indian reserve.

Wanting to up the tempo a bit, I found the 'funniest video' tape and popped it in the vcr (YES , I still use a vcr !!). Let me tell you, from the first person being kicked in the nuts to half an hour later of fat people falling off chairs at weddings, the three of us were folded in half, laughing so hard that we were in tears! Laughing is contagious. The harder the people around you laugh, the harder you will too! We went through the '30 hits in 30 seconds' segments where all you see are 3 second clips of people being hit in the head with balls, and their reaction to it. It went by so fast, we had to rewind it about 3 times. By the 4th time, we decided to put the whole thing on 'step' and watch it frame by frame - that was dangerous. I cant remember the last time I had a better abs workout.

The way the body tries to re-balance itself after a blow, is a sight to behold. First there is the impact, then the head absorbs the shock, sometimes snapping and making the same trajectory as the object in motion, and finally, the body starts a graceful contortion which can only be truly appreciated if watched in slow motion: the head goes back, the front of the torso extends forward (as if you were putting out your chest), hence making the back curve like a backwards letter 'C'. The arms begin to extend to the sides, then are raised up above the head and spread gracefully back to the sides again as the body hits the ground. Imagine a evangelistic preacher making the motion of : "PRAISE THE LORD!!". I am sure that every movie and TV show has used that same 'movement' - imagine a person holding a huge balloon over their head. Got that image? Good. Now imagine overweight trailer trash niave people walking right into the oncoming path of a round object coming at them at 40 mph.

It was amazing to see how many people's body reacted the same way, and in slow motion - it was a ballet of the clumsy and absurd. Needless to say, that was the icing on the cake: all ice was broken, low spirits lifted, and the perfect mood set for the night. Within the hour, the rest of the clan began to arrive. We preped them with similar material. Folks - if you want to liven up a party, pop one of those tapes in - it is a guaranteed winner!

Having made sure that all the guest's funny bones were well lubed, I began my shtick something like this:

I have invited you all here because I need some feedback and hopefully some ideas on these skits that I have been accumulating over the years. Some of them are shorts, some of them are 30 second situational absurdities, some of them are in the form of commercials, so please relax, put your thinking caps on and lets get funny!

I did not get a 'rolling in the isles' response that I hoped for some of them, but I told myself that it might be hard to imagine exactly what I am trying to create when so much relies on the visual cues. Some sketches were a big hit though...

The soft horn - for people who use their car horn aggressively, the soft horn is a quiet alternative to reducing noise pollution.
Clip of people before (loud honks, annoying pitches, extended long beeps) and after (the same people but their horns sound like babies giggling, somebody saying 'Excuse Me' softly, or clearing their throat...).

All in all, it was a good night. Looking back at the energy in the room, and the dynamic between all of us, I realized that surrounding myself with individuals that have a comedic way of looking at things and life is really quite a therapy for me. I wish those pharmaceutical companies would work on putting that in a pill...

Thought - The funny pill for adults:
It looks like a prescription capsule, but when you open it, it has a micro mini Kinder toy inside, along with an actual pill to take...

The deadline for this comedy thing is Friday at 5pm - it has to make its way safely down to Toronto before their offices close. If I didn't have some many things to do, and if I was not so broke, I would hand deliver it.

This is how bad I want to win and make this TV show a reality...
Wish me luck.

I will keep you posted.