Tag Archives: Melissa McCarthy

2013/03/14 · 10:40 am

Girls, Girls, Girls*

Well, if you still needed something to wash out the taste of misogyny and disrespect towards women after the Oscars, then a trio of announcements concerning female-centric projects might just finally cleanse your palate. Basically, it’s Ladies Night and all the girls drink for free. To wit:

1. Comedy Central has, very wisely, picked up a ten-episode order of Broad City, a comedy based on the web series of the same name created by and starring the brilliant Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson (full disclosure: they are close personal friends and two beautiful, strong, hilarious, independent women). Loosely based on their own lives, it’s the anti-Sex and the City that Girls** isn’t. Here is the Season 2 finale, a love letter to NYC that features Amy Poehler, who is executive producing the series (and is another beautiful, strong, hilarious, independent woman):

More: K. Bell and the future Belle of the Ball…

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Filed under Brilliance, Flashback!, Freak Out Control, Good News!, Mars Investigations, The Big Screen, Virulent, Yasmine Bleeth

Tagged as Abbi Jacobson, Amy Poehler, Arrested Development, Bill Murray, Broad City, Family Guy, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Girls, Ilana Glazer, Kickstarter, Kristen Bell, Melissa McCarthy, Motley Crue, Oscars, Party Down, Sex and the City, St. Vincent de Van Nuys, Star Wars, The Heat, Veronica Mars, Veronica Mars Movie

2013/03/07 · 2:01 pm

A Jumped the Snark “Shorty” – Predicting the 2014 Oscars

We’re unveiling a new feature on this blog today: Jumped the Snark Shorties, very brief thoughts and commentary on various topics and issues. Could be a follow-up to a previous post, an ad-hoc op-ed, or a random non-sequtiur. Opinions that are too short and partially formed to necessitate a full-length analysis, but too long for a tweet. Today we revisit our post from last week, our response to response to the Oscars and the outrage fired towards Seth MacFarlane.

With all the bitter criticism and outcry following Seth MacFarlane’s Academy Awards hosting turn, it’s only natural to wonder who will take the stage next year. Likewise, it’s safe to assume that the Producers will be walking on glass with their next selection, aiming to pull in a host that can pull in the laughs (and ratings) while omitting the more the more offensive elements, effectively compensating for this year’s (alleged) disaster.

Our prediction: Sandra Bullock & Melissa McCarthy

Why? Coming off the upcoming The Heat these will be two very bankable, very likable, very current commodities. And, unlike Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, these are movie stars, and, perhaps more importantly, actresses more than comedians. Their comedic reputation and integrity won’t be at risk; they’ll be more likely to be tame, to be good soldiers, and more amenable to it than the former SNL standouts, neither of whom, it should be noted, have yet to truly break out on the big screen.

But Jumped the Snark, won’t the “Body Cops” be all over that with Melissa McCarthy’s size?

No, the Body Cops themselves are handcuffed after this year’s show, nobody would dare say anything remotely misogynistic or negative towards women; it would instead be a celebration of the fairer sex, in all their shapes and forms. And, privately, the producers would feel comfortable tapping an overweight woman because they paired her with a thin, classic beauty, and they’ll pat themselves on the back for being so progressive.

Follow-up question: Is it a requirement that a human hosts the Oscars? I feel like everyone would approve of Kermit the Frog.

While we would, of course, love a Muppet up there on that stage, but our understand is that non-humans can present, but not host. It’s like how non-native citizens can be Governor, but not President. And now that we say that we do like the sound of “Governor Kermit.” We’ve certainly done worse.

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Filed under Muppets, Saturday Night Live, Shorties, The Big Screen

Tagged as 2013, 2014, Academy Awards, Amy Poehler, Body Cops, Kermit, Melissa McCarthy, Muppets, Oscars, Sandra Bullock, Seth MacFarlane, Tina Fey

2013/02/26 · 8:26 pm

In Defense of Seth MacFarlane: Comedy is in the Eye of the Beholder & Peeling Back The Onion

First, some context: we are not especially devoted Seth MacFarlane fans. For a time we watched Family Guy semi-regularly and certainly were a part of that groundswell that helped resurrect the show from its premature grave. But do we consider ourselves MacFarlane evangelists or advocates? Not at all. We still haven’t seen Ted, and are not exceptionally eager to do so. We rarely watch American Dad and we can’t say for sure that we’ve ever caught an episode of The Cleveland Show. We were, however, impressed with his performance hosting the SNL premiere, and it demonstrated that not only could he do funny voices and write an off-color (and oft-humorous) joke, but he could also perform, and perform live, which is not always second nature for a writer-producer-voice actor. Did that mean we were thrilled to learn he was tapped to host this year’s Oscars? No, not really. We thought it was somewhat a knee-jerk, ill-advised decision (probably due, paradoxically, to his mess-up when presenting at the 2012 Emmys). But we knew, at least, that he could hold his own on stage, singing, dancing, cracking wise, and thinking on his feet. Was he going to offend some people? Probably. But that would come with the territory. Wouldn’t that be by design? If you wanted someone with only a love of musical theater and a flair for singing and dancing, then wouldn’t you just turn to Billy Crystal for a record 74th time? So, with Seth MacFarlane, that’s the package, that’s the deal (a faustian bargain, depending on your point of view): some dick and fart jokes and some mildly anti-Semitic and racist humor mixed with some sprinkles of old Broadway.

So were we surprised that MacFarlarne’s hosting turn this past Sunday night was met with a mix of disappointment and outright scorn? No, not at all. That was to be expected. But, after seeing the show, we were taken aback at the amount of criticism leveled at MacFarlane because, frankly, for someone who trades in abortion jokes and greased up deaf guys, we found his material relatively mild. It was almost as if we were watching a different show, different from the one that so much of the (tweeting) public found so repugnant, so misogynistic and racist and base. And, to our surprise, we found ourselves in MacFarlane’s corner. Not because we found his turn especially remarkable. But because it wasn’t that bad. And, more importantly, it wasn’t that vile.

Read on: 9 things that we didn’t find so sexist, and a rotten Onion…

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Filed under Analysis, Fashion Show at Lunch, In defense of:, Lists, Other people's stuff, The Big Screen

Tagged as Academy Awards, American Dad, Billy Crystal, Boobs, Bruce Vilanch, Channing Tatum, Chris Brown, Cleveland Show, Django Unchained, Everybody Loves Raymond, Family Guy, George Clooney, Horrible Bosses, Jack Nicholson, Javier Bardem, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Lopez, Kate McKinnon, Katy Perry, Kim Kardashian, Kristen Stewart, Les Mis, Lincoln, Magic Mike, Melissa McCarthy, Michael Scott, Oscars, Penelope Cruz, Quvenzhané Wallis, Rex Reed, Rihanna, Ryan Lotche, Salma Hayek, Seth MacFarlane, SNL, Sofia Vergara, The Onion, Twitter, Zero Dark Thirty

2011/02/03 · 1:28 pm

‘Bridesmaids’ Trailer: Let the Debate About Whether Or Not This Is the First Truly Funny Film For Women By Women Begin

We’ll likely never be able to agree on an answer to that question. Some will say yes. Some will say no. Some will say it’s truly funny, but not the first. Some will say it’s a manipulative attempt to xerox The Hangover using female toner. Some will argue it finally let’s women in on the fun. Some will suggest that it shows that women can only be considered funny when they’re acting like men. Some will label it fresh, groundbreaking. Some will call it conventional, reactionary. Some will hail it, praise it. Other will denounce it, chastise it. And that will probably all take place before opening weekend.

What we do know is that Bridesmaids looks really good. We’ve made no secret of generally abhorring Kristen Wiig’s characters on SNL (in fact, we’d have to say our favorite Wiig character is the one she plays during the goodnights), but she’s been terrific in movies so far (stole her scenes in Knocked Up, was great in Adventureland and was arguably the best part of MacGruber), is phenomenally talented, and not unkind on the eyes. We’ve also been saying for some time now that it’s time for her to make the permanent jump to the big screen, and it looks like Bridesmaids is going to accelerate the process. Although this is an ensemble, Wiig co-wrote the film and is the star, so if the flick is a hit we might be looking at Hollywood’s newest female star, one of the few women capable of carrying a comedy on her lithe shoulders.

Also, judging from the trailer, it seems like this could be Melissa McCarthy’s breakout role, getting many of the best, most outrageous lines. Looks like we might have to go back and revise her entry in our Jenny McCarthy Show post!

But with the shock wave that this trailer sent through the blogosphere we have to wonder: have we already entered the Bridesmaids blacklash phase? Or are we already into the backlash to the backlash?

Oh, and this movie just means more work for the Judd Apatow chart.

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Filed under Good Humor, Judd Apatow, Saturday Night Live, The Big Screen, Yasmine Bleeth

Tagged as Adventureland, Bridesmaids, Judd Apatow, Knocked Up, Kristen Wiig, MacGruber, Melissa McCarthy, SNL, The Hangover