The second part of the project «Comedians' Favorite Comedies». This time, five stand-up comedians shared their series recommendations for every taste.
Last month we launched the project «Comedians' Favorite Comedies», where we decided to ask people from the world of humor which comedy films and series they like. Some will find in these selections something to turn on tonight to relax, while others will see a reason to rewatch a beloved favorite. But all these people will be united by one desire – to laugh, be comfortable, and drive away sad thoughts, so we are happy to share with you the second part with new guests.
Before we begin, we'd like to urge you to subscribe to our Telegram channel «After the Credits» (here's the link). There we post posters, trailers, and various interesting and funny news from the world of cinema.
Konstantin Butakov — stand-up comedian, resident of the show «Stand Up» on TNT
It is generally accepted that there is one undisputed leader in the sitcom category — that's «Friends». But I would like to highlight another series, and it's called «Modern Family». I would call it «'Breaking Bad' in the world of humor», because the show also gains in quality with each new season. The characters reveal themselves from unexpected and somewhat deeper sides, the jokes become funnier and funnier, and so on for 11 seasons straight!
Even just the description of the series' premise gives an understanding of how many characters and personalities were initially laid out by the authors «for development». An elderly businessman named Jay — a representative of the «old school of business» (when American goods should be made in America). He divorces his wife and at a bachelor party meets a waitress from Colombia who is half his age and also has a son from her first marriage.
Jay's adult daughter is married to a realtor who dreamed of becoming a magician and danced on a cheerleading squad. They have three children: a «beautiful daughter», a «nerdy daughter», and a dim but energetic son. The businessman also has an adult son who, with his partner, decides to adopt a girl from Vietnam. And so before the viewers are three examples of families in the modern world, around which the plot comically revolves.
It all starts funny, develops even funnier, and ends brilliantly. A rare example where serious issues can be touched upon (conflict between fathers and children, fatigue after many years of living together, career failures, hypocrisy in using the «social agenda», etc.), but it is done with humor, interestingly, and in a positive light.
Konstantin Butakov has a personal Telegram channel where the comedian shares thoughts, jokes, and links to performances (click and subscribe).
Naika Kazieva — stand-up comedian, participant of the show «Women's Stand-up» on TNT
The series I would like to recommend is the British series «Sinners». Besides the professional deformation of a comedian, I also have my acting deformation. Not only do I evaluate jokes, but I also act instead of the artists. But there are films and series where you can relax and fully surrender to cool humor and the excellent work of the entire team, simply enjoying what you see! I can say that this is a magnificent sitcom that brought together many maestros of British cinema and television in one project.
— Do you think I could pass for a fifty-year-old?
— I'm not even sure you could pass for alive... (c)
«Sinners» is a very funny series where many crude jokes are intertwined with subtle English humor. In some moments, you can just crawl under the table from wild uncontrollable laughter. The episodes are only twenty minutes long, so they are very dynamic and do not overload the viewers at all, making the comedy easy and pleasant to watch. Also worth noting are the interesting, slightly quirky, but immensely charming and lively characters.
Here's a snippet of dialogue to whet your appetite:
Ash: I want a love like theirs someday.
Freddie: Where is that miserable piece of shit?
Stuart (entering with shopping): I'm here, you walking corpse! (c)
In short, this show will be an amazing discovery for you: an actor sitcom with the funniest elderly characters, sharp dialogues, and magnificent acting from all the faces who starred in this project.
— In case you kick the bucket while I'm not home, I'm saying 'Goodbye' now. (c)
Naika Kazieva actively runs her Telegram channel and shares content with her subscribers, so join their ranks and follow her posts (here's the link to go).
Igor Tarletsky — stand-up comedian, resident of the show «Stand Up» on TNT
«CIA agent John Tavner tries to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power» — that's what the synopsis of the series «Patriot» looks like on Kinopoisk. It's quite hard to immediately understand that this is a very funny comedy. When I first turned on the show, I expected to see a dark spy thriller. From the comedy side, I could hope at most for some weak irony like: «Not only spies wear masks...». But then I saw a scene where the main character comes to a musical open mic, where he beautifully sings with a guitar and talks about how he failed his last mission by killing the wrong person.
It felt like I was watching Tarkovsky's «Stalker» and in the middle of another dramatic silence, gags from «Rick and Morty» started, which fit super organically. Despite this, I continued watching the series as a very serious drama for all two seasons and every 10 minutes was surprised by unexpectedly funny scenes. By the way, the project features the bald guy from «Lost» (Editor's note — referring to actor Terry O'Quinn). And honestly, it's always striking that after an extremely successful series of several seasons, you never see these actors anywhere else, and then you accidentally stumble upon their faces in an obscure show that seems like a spy thriller but also a comedy.
Recently, Igor Tarletsky released a cool and funny solo concert «I'll Dance in a Red Dress», so we recommend you click here and watch it.
Karina Salikhova — stand-up comedienne, participant of the show «Women's Stand-up» on TNT
Generally, I'm not a fan of watching series with a large number of seasons and episodes, as there is always a risk of falling into viewing and not returning. So I would recommend a project whose first season has only ten episodes, and it's called «Poker Face» (Editor's note — we, by the way, also recommended it). The series attracted me with one funny detail: the main character, played by Natasha Lyonne, has her own «gimmick-superpower» — she can instantly tell if a person is lying to her or not.
On the streaming service Peacock, the first season of the series «Poker Face», created by Rian Johnson, has concluded. The director of «Knives Out» again laughs at the detective genre, but in this
Open material
Actually, it's not exactly a comedy, but rather a dramedy and also an inverted detective. At the beginning of each episode, we are shown both the killer's face and the murder itself, and then throughout the episode we watch how the main character, using her «built-in lie detector», gets to the bottom of things, getting into funny and dangerous situations along the way. In short, this is my definite recommendation!
Karina Salikhova also has her own Telegram channel called «Standup Bun», which you can subscribe to via this special link. But if that's not enough and you want to see Karina live, you can visit StandUp Cafe in Moscow on January 25 and attend the show «Life or Not Life», where the comedienne, together with co-host Sasha Stepantsov, figure out whether to trust advice from the internet about building everyday life and relationships.
Ruslan Khalitov — stand-up comedian
When I was asked to name my favorite comedy film or series, I instinctively started going through options in my head that should have been either uproariously funny or breaking the foundations of modern comedy in a post/meta key. All this was supposed to show my taste and experience as a comedian. But then I focused on the word «favorite» and realized that I had known the answer all along: «Scrubs» in the voiceover by Evgeny Rybov (the so-called «MTV Translation»).
I think this series largely shaped me (at some point I calculated and realized that I watched it entirely 5 times). When I was in high school, I frantically looked for role models that resonated with me and whose habits and behavior I could copy (everyone did that, right?). I also got part of my musical preferences from here.
I also like the approach to humor in «Scrubs». There are many absurdist costume sketches (in a series about doctors? what?) mixed with irony and classic gags built on character interaction. Although the project also allows itself to be sad. And it's also a series from the «pre-iPhone» era, which lately gives me a nostalgic heart squeeze (it will never be that good again).
I sometimes rewatch «Scrubs» and yes, I agree that now it's not as hilarious, but it would be strange if at 30+ I laughed at the same things. However, I can't say that the show has lost its relevance. Rather, it remains a series about the era that shaped me, which is why I love it and, as a result, ignore all its flaws.
Ruslan Khalitov posts his performances and podcasts on his YouTube channel «Ruslan Khalitov's Channel» (click here), shares snippets of life and videos on his Telegram channel with the same name (click here), and you can find out about the comedian's upcoming performances on his website (click here).
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