comedy

42 posts

The Quiet Genius of Stephnie Weir

In the fall of 2000, at the start of its sixth season, Madtv added Stephnie Weir to their cast as a featured performer. A Texas native and Chicago transplant, former Improv Olympic and Second City performer, Weir was ready for the big time.

During her six year tenure on the show, Weir created characters like Dot, an average yet hyperactive young girl, whose twin (usually played by Alex Borstein) was overwhelmingly brilliant. The comparison of the brilliant sister and Dot’s upbeat normality offered moments of comedy gold. Another recurring character was Dr. Kylie Johnson, a Harvard grad who seemed to be able to handle any medical situation, from infertility to puberty to breast augmentation. Dr. Kylie’s frequent references to her past party life and subtle yet pointed digs at her patients’ shortcomings made her likable as well as hilarious. Weir’s impersonation of Anna Nicole Smith, another recurring character on the show, allowed her to truly run amok. She took Smith’s drug-fueled public persona and amped it up to Brobdingnagian proportions. Continue reading →

Say Yes to Knope

Knope Knows Best

She’s blonde. She’s pretty. She’s upbeat. She’s sweet. And she may be the most transgressive fictional character on screen right now, big or small.  Her name is Leslie Knope.  And I love her.

Confession: when Parks and Recreation first hit the airwaves in 2009, I didn’t quite get the show—or its central character played by Amy Poehler.  I wanted to like it more than I did.  It came with great auspices (Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, both of The Office), so I watched it, but something didn’t quite work for me. 

I thought Leslie was a little too broad (starting with her joke of a name) and bordered on the silly.  She was so happy.  She didn’t seem all that smart.  She couldn’t “read a room”.  It felt like the creators were making fun of her, a comic technique that always leaves me cold.  (If you don’t love your protagonist, why should I?)  But as the show found its footing and improved (an oft reported ascension), and as the creators and Poehler refined and deepened the character, I started to see Leslie as something utterly fresh and new on television. Continue reading →