Homo No Mo'

Like a number of things that carry the National Lampoon name, the 1978 HBO special Disco Beaver From Outer Space was pretty atrocious. But, to be fair, not everything about the special was atrocious. Parts of it were merely bad or OK-ish. And the sketch below marks Disco Beaver From Outer Space at its most passable. As satire it’s muddled and strident but there are absurdist elements that do work such as the fact that gay men can be identified by the funny way they wear their wristwatches, the gratuitous Beatnik-bashing and the final gag which is more haunting than funny. A post-Animal House/ pre-Charles in Charge James Widdoes appears in this for some reason or another.

Shitty Movie, Great Credits

With some notable exceptions, any movie with an animated opening credits sequence should be avoided at all costs. An animated credits sequence only serves to make a promise that the filmmakers can’t help but betray. If any of the films below were even half as entertaining as their credits sequences they would be downright classics.










Here's a fun fact about Brain Donors: The film was originally entitled Lame Ducks. This is why there is such a strong duck motif during the opening credits.

Big Dong

There are far too many short films on Youtube that feature people in unconvincing wigs violently hitting each other as bad cartoon sound effects blare loudly in the background. Big Dong is yet another one of those kinds of short films but with one big difference: it’s actually funny. It’s like Benny Hill and Laugh-In but retarded up about 80%. The most notable thing about Big Dong is that it marks the only time I’ve ever laughed at someone getting a pie in the face.

The Hustler of Money

I like Ben Stiller and I can enjoy just about anything he appears in (even stuff like that Heartbreak Kid remake) but even as the world’s biggest Ben Stiller apologist, I still had problems with his first film The Hustler of Money. It’s obvious, dumb and Stiller’s Tom Cruise impression is surprisingly bad (but it would improve over time). Still, the cameos are interesting and there’s a gag towards the end that still makes me laugh. Oh, and I love the title. It’s not unwatchable, I guess.

Morton & Hayes

Why the hell is Morton & Hayes so obscure? You would think a series that was created and occasionally written by Christopher Guest would have snuck out on DVD by now (legitimate or otherwise)? At any rate, I love this tribute to/parody of Abbott and Costello even if apparently nobody else does (the same goes for Adam Resnick’s HBO series The High Life). Who do I have to kill/fondle to see a full length episode of Morton & Hayes Meet Mummula?

Why I Like MadTV: Part 2

At times this sketch ventures dangerously close into Mind of Mencia territory, but there’s a lot to like about this parody of Curb Your Enthusiasm. For one thing it really nails certain aspects of the show like the repetition, those moments where Larry David just seems to phase out during a conversation and the deadpan lifelessness of Cheryl Hines. I also like the fact that one of the most critically loathed shows on television had the audacity to take on one of the most critically beloved. As a side note, Bobby Lee (who plays the delivery boy) has appeared on the real Curb Your Enthusiasm.





As a bonus, here’s Larry David appearing, inexplicably, on Hannah Montana with his real life daughters.

The Spy Hit List

I really miss Spy magazine. It was cruel yet classy and still remains one of the smartest, most cutting humor magazines this country has ever seen (sorry Cracked).

Spy’s almost overwhelming popularity throughout the late 80s and early 90s led to a pair of TV specials on NBC. I’ve never actually seen Spy’s How to Be Famous but I’d kill to see a full version of The Spy Hit List again. For now I guess I’ll have to settle for the clips below.


OK, this is a really cheap knock at Pat Buchanan but it doesn’t make it any less funny. The hand gestures really sell it.










This is actually from the How to Be Famous special and it’s weird how much it resembles a TV Funhouse cartoon.