Body, ten, face......... ten.........
December 17, 2012 11:49 AM Subscribe
From the comedic duo Key & Peele, mentioned twice before on MetaFilter, comes Pizza Order, the funniest sketch I've seen in years. Their new season has had some terrific moments – Dubstep, I said "Bitch", Slow Brotion, and School Bully, amongst others – but Pizza Order is something special.
Don't forget Bling Benzy & Da Struggle the best parody of the failures of modern hip hop basically ever (very NSFW).
posted by Potomac Avenue at 11:59 AM on December 17, 2012 [18 favorites]
posted by Potomac Avenue at 11:59 AM on December 17, 2012 [18 favorites]
God I love this one. Starts off weird and only goes twists and turns weirder by the moment but never stops being funny.
posted by Navelgazer at 12:07 PM on December 17, 2012
posted by Navelgazer at 12:07 PM on December 17, 2012
By the way, I still can't tell if "Slow Brotion" is meant to be a Matrix parody or not.
posted by Rory Marinich at 12:08 PM on December 17, 2012
posted by Rory Marinich at 12:08 PM on December 17, 2012
The great thing about K & P is that they allow the humor to arise out of the premise rather than try to build the funny into what they do. Obama in his college years, two front door attendants, two guys trying to one-up each other with their cap fashion. They really play out their story as funny guys rather than act out the funny.
posted by P.o.B. at 12:10 PM on December 17, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by P.o.B. at 12:10 PM on December 17, 2012 [2 favorites]
Key & Peele is not for the impatient -- I think every sketch I've seen has gotten so much better by the end, even if I thought I figured it out. It's like the opposite of the thing Saturday Night Live has a reputation for; not only can they end one, but watching the whole thing through is really, really important to getting the joke.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 12:12 PM on December 17, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by MCMikeNamara at 12:12 PM on December 17, 2012 [3 favorites]
(Or I guess what everybody else has already said.)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 12:12 PM on December 17, 2012
posted by MCMikeNamara at 12:12 PM on December 17, 2012
The day before Substitute Teacher hit Facebook, my wife had a substitute teacher who spent the first fifteen minutes of a 45 minute class telling them all how he wasn't going to take any crap at all from them. She showed this video to them on her return.
posted by fatbird at 12:19 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by fatbird at 12:19 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]
Can't link to it from work, but oh my god, that sketch where they're playing an LMFAO-type "party band" and slowly realize they can't leave the song... If the aliens only get that skit, I think they'll realize that we're worth sparing.
posted by Etrigan at 12:24 PM on December 17, 2012 [4 favorites]
posted by Etrigan at 12:24 PM on December 17, 2012 [4 favorites]
Party party party party...
posted by P.o.B. at 12:26 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by P.o.B. at 12:26 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]
A colleague is now known as "A-a-ron" as a result of the Substitute Teacher sketch.
posted by John Shaft at 12:27 PM on December 17, 2012 [4 favorites]
posted by John Shaft at 12:27 PM on December 17, 2012 [4 favorites]
This is the most amazing thing ever
Inner-City Wizard School
A documentary looking at the conditions of Vincent Clortho Public Wizard School, the worst-performing wizard school in the country. From the sketch comedy tv show Key & Peele. Wednesday nights at 10:30pm on Comedy Central.
posted by Blasdelb at 12:29 PM on December 17, 2012 [40 favorites]
Inner-City Wizard School
A documentary looking at the conditions of Vincent Clortho Public Wizard School, the worst-performing wizard school in the country. From the sketch comedy tv show Key & Peele. Wednesday nights at 10:30pm on Comedy Central.
posted by Blasdelb at 12:29 PM on December 17, 2012 [40 favorites]
The sketches stand in marked contrast to their on-stage banter in front of a studio audience, which feel uncomfortable to me: scripted, while trying to give the impression of improvisation. The duo is much better at organic development within sketches, which, in their best, take a known premise and keep pushing it further and further to the point of discomfort. A few of my favorites:
I'm Retired
Obama's Anger Translator
LMFAO's Non-Stop Party
posted by Bora Horza Gobuchul at 12:29 PM on December 17, 2012 [3 favorites]
I'm Retired
Obama's Anger Translator
LMFAO's Non-Stop Party
posted by Bora Horza Gobuchul at 12:29 PM on December 17, 2012 [3 favorites]
By far my favorite Key & Peele sketch is this one about hats with the tag left on them.
posted by cell divide at 12:29 PM on December 17, 2012 [6 favorites]
posted by cell divide at 12:29 PM on December 17, 2012 [6 favorites]
LIAM NEESONS!
posted by Harvey Jerkwater at 12:40 PM on December 17, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by Harvey Jerkwater at 12:40 PM on December 17, 2012 [3 favorites]
Inner-City Wizard School
A documentary looking at the conditions of Vincent Clortho Public Wizard School, the worst-performing wizard school in the country. From the sketch comedy tv show Key & Peele. Wednesday nights at 10:30pm on Comedy Central.
Oh my fucking god. This is hilarious. The best detail? On the long list of "Wizarding schools ranked by academic excellence", Hogwarts is #1, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang (from book 4 of the series) are ranked #4 and #5 respectively, and The Salem Witches Institute – an easy joke – is rated #3. But school #2? That's Mahoutokoro, a Japanese wizarding school Rowling invented that's never mentioned in the books. It's only ever mentioned in Pottermore, the recent online expansion to the Harry Potter world.
That right there is one nerdy goddamn joke.
posted by Rory Marinich at 12:43 PM on December 17, 2012 [55 favorites]
A documentary looking at the conditions of Vincent Clortho Public Wizard School, the worst-performing wizard school in the country. From the sketch comedy tv show Key & Peele. Wednesday nights at 10:30pm on Comedy Central.
Oh my fucking god. This is hilarious. The best detail? On the long list of "Wizarding schools ranked by academic excellence", Hogwarts is #1, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang (from book 4 of the series) are ranked #4 and #5 respectively, and The Salem Witches Institute – an easy joke – is rated #3. But school #2? That's Mahoutokoro, a Japanese wizarding school Rowling invented that's never mentioned in the books. It's only ever mentioned in Pottermore, the recent online expansion to the Harry Potter world.
That right there is one nerdy goddamn joke.
posted by Rory Marinich at 12:43 PM on December 17, 2012 [55 favorites]
Key and Peele are seriously seriously my heroes; they are fucking AMAZING. I've shown that Substitute Teacher sketch to everyone at my urban middle school and there's a kid whose last name I now pronounce (to myself) as Balakay.
I also do afterschool two days a week and for my activity we do drama. There are two kids in my group I absolutely LOVE; they're very sweet and funny and they get my sense of humor*. I wanted to show them some Key and Peele stuff so I decided to go with What if Names Were Farts because it doesn't have any inappropriate themes or language and while it's far from my favorite these are two sixth grade boys we're talking about. I told the kids that this was my favorite comedy team and started showing them the sketch. They thought it was funny but the first thing that happened was one of my students going "Oh, wow, they're black!". I'm really glad I could share something with my kids that showed them some of the possibilities that are open to them (I would not be surprised at all if these two students actually do win a comedy award someday). I will also say that I don't think the fart sketch is funny but I DO think it's HILARIOUS that a sketch about farting was legitimately inspiring to someone.
*For example, I will routinely tell my husband "I hate children". The other day he was with me in school for the winter concert with these two kids and I asked him "You know what I hate?" He said "I know the usual answer but there are kids around..." an I was like "No, it's okay! Paul (student), what do I hate?" and Paul looks up with his adorably pudgy face and goes "Uh...children?". It was awesome.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 12:45 PM on December 17, 2012 [9 favorites]
I also do afterschool two days a week and for my activity we do drama. There are two kids in my group I absolutely LOVE; they're very sweet and funny and they get my sense of humor*. I wanted to show them some Key and Peele stuff so I decided to go with What if Names Were Farts because it doesn't have any inappropriate themes or language and while it's far from my favorite these are two sixth grade boys we're talking about. I told the kids that this was my favorite comedy team and started showing them the sketch. They thought it was funny but the first thing that happened was one of my students going "Oh, wow, they're black!". I'm really glad I could share something with my kids that showed them some of the possibilities that are open to them (I would not be surprised at all if these two students actually do win a comedy award someday). I will also say that I don't think the fart sketch is funny but I DO think it's HILARIOUS that a sketch about farting was legitimately inspiring to someone.
*For example, I will routinely tell my husband "I hate children". The other day he was with me in school for the winter concert with these two kids and I asked him "You know what I hate?" He said "I know the usual answer but there are kids around..." an I was like "No, it's okay! Paul (student), what do I hate?" and Paul looks up with his adorably pudgy face and goes "Uh...children?". It was awesome.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 12:45 PM on December 17, 2012 [9 favorites]
By far my favorite Key & Peele sketch is this one about hats with the tag left on them.
This is my favorite too, though one of my favorite parts of it are catching the increasingly ridiculous conversations the guy is having with his buddies when the other one rolls up with his new hat:
"...In what Universe is the Family Circus better than Dilbert?"
"...What you shoulda seen is 'Rain People' with James Caan, and Shirley Knight..."
posted by windbox at 12:49 PM on December 17, 2012 [8 favorites]
This is my favorite too, though one of my favorite parts of it are catching the increasingly ridiculous conversations the guy is having with his buddies when the other one rolls up with his new hat:
"...In what Universe is the Family Circus better than Dilbert?"
"...What you shoulda seen is 'Rain People' with James Caan, and Shirley Knight..."
posted by windbox at 12:49 PM on December 17, 2012 [8 favorites]
Da Struggle feat. Bling Benzy is my jam, yo.
posted by kafziel at 1:01 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by kafziel at 1:01 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]
There was one short K&P skit where a guy took a picture of his girlfriend/wife sleeping. When he turned around a second later, she had awoken and had a shotgun to his head. I completely lost it when I saw this one. But now I can't seem to find the clip online ... anyone at least remember which episode this was in?
posted by stubie at 1:05 PM on December 17, 2012
posted by stubie at 1:05 PM on December 17, 2012
That right there is one nerdy goddamn joke.
Worth pointing out that in the on-stage bit before they play that sketch, Peele admits he's never read or seen anything Harry Potter, so he didn't actually get most of the jokes in the sketch.
posted by shakespeherian at 1:06 PM on December 17, 2012
Worth pointing out that in the on-stage bit before they play that sketch, Peele admits he's never read or seen anything Harry Potter, so he didn't actually get most of the jokes in the sketch.
posted by shakespeherian at 1:06 PM on December 17, 2012
Explanation from Peter Atencio (director on the series) why the doll was named Claire. When the script was written it was supposed to be Lost paraphernalia in his room, but they could not get the rights from ABC.
posted by Gary at 1:20 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Gary at 1:20 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]
There was one short K&P skit where a guy took a picture of his girlfriend/wife sleeping.
Here's a totally crappy version of it.
posted by orme at 1:36 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]
Here's a totally crappy version of it.
posted by orme at 1:36 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]
You guys are all assholes, because my internet connection is so slow it takes 15 minutes to load a 5 minute video, and now instead of going to sleep tonight, that's what I'll be doing.
I was introduced to them via Obama's Anger translator (linked above), and other than Doin' it with my Bro (also linked above) the main recommendation I've gotten is Auction Block.
Enjoy, assholes.
posted by solotoro at 1:38 PM on December 17, 2012 [3 favorites]
I was introduced to them via Obama's Anger translator (linked above), and other than Doin' it with my Bro (also linked above) the main recommendation I've gotten is Auction Block.
Enjoy, assholes.
posted by solotoro at 1:38 PM on December 17, 2012 [3 favorites]
That right there is one nerdy goddamn joke.
But there's more. The name of the school, Vincent Clortho, is the actual name of the Keymaster from Ghostbusters.
posted by lefty lucky cat at 2:04 PM on December 17, 2012 [19 favorites]
But there's more. The name of the school, Vincent Clortho, is the actual name of the Keymaster from Ghostbusters.
posted by lefty lucky cat at 2:04 PM on December 17, 2012 [19 favorites]
Sometimes as you get old you think all the great comedians are past their prime and that comedy is dead. And then guys like this show up and it is seriously on.
posted by GuyZero at 2:09 PM on December 17, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by GuyZero at 2:09 PM on December 17, 2012 [2 favorites]
Also, the best K&P sketch is East/West College Bowl. Holy shit, I nearly peed. So. Dry.
posted by GuyZero at 2:10 PM on December 17, 2012 [17 favorites]
posted by GuyZero at 2:10 PM on December 17, 2012 [17 favorites]
That right there is one nerdy goddamn joke.
See also the name of the high school. One assumes their Quidditch team is the Keymasters.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 2:23 PM on December 17, 2012 [2 favorites]
See also the name of the high school. One assumes their Quidditch team is the Keymasters.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 2:23 PM on December 17, 2012 [2 favorites]
Can't link to it from work, but oh my god, that sketch where they're playing an LMFAO-type "party band" and slowly realize they can't leave the song... If the aliens only get that skit, I think they'll realize that we're worth sparing.
LMFAO's Non-Stop Party
Wow, I'd never seen this one. If you had told me five minutes ago that there was a comedic skit to be made that represented what it's like to be addicted to crystal meth, I would have told you that was impossible. But here we are.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 2:35 PM on December 17, 2012 [4 favorites]
LMFAO's Non-Stop Party
Wow, I'd never seen this one. If you had told me five minutes ago that there was a comedic skit to be made that represented what it's like to be addicted to crystal meth, I would have told you that was impossible. But here we are.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 2:35 PM on December 17, 2012 [4 favorites]
L’Carpetron Dookmarriot!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 3:30 PM on December 17, 2012 [6 favorites]
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 3:30 PM on December 17, 2012 [6 favorites]
Also, the best K&P sketch is East/West College Bowl. Holy shit, I nearly peed. So. Dry.
That is my current go-to YouTube for when I need a laugh. They were interviewed on Marc Maron's WTF podcast and I felt like I learned a lot more about where they were coming from.
scripted, while trying to give the impression of improvisation.
They said that they tried to play it a lot more safe in the first season and the second season is a lot more unscripted and riffing. I haven't seen as much of the second season but that's been my impression, they've been able to loosen up more because they're worried less about being cancelled.
the artist formerly known as Mousecop!
posted by jessamyn at 3:42 PM on December 17, 2012 [8 favorites]
That is my current go-to YouTube for when I need a laugh. They were interviewed on Marc Maron's WTF podcast and I felt like I learned a lot more about where they were coming from.
scripted, while trying to give the impression of improvisation.
They said that they tried to play it a lot more safe in the first season and the second season is a lot more unscripted and riffing. I haven't seen as much of the second season but that's been my impression, they've been able to loosen up more because they're worried less about being cancelled.
the artist formerly known as Mousecop!
posted by jessamyn at 3:42 PM on December 17, 2012 [8 favorites]
Vincent Clortho, is the actual name of the Keymaster from Ghostbusters.
This isn't part of the universally shared cultural knowledge on Metafilter?
I ... I thought I knew you!
posted by zippy at 3:52 PM on December 17, 2012
This isn't part of the universally shared cultural knowledge on Metafilter?
I ... I thought I knew you!
posted by zippy at 3:52 PM on December 17, 2012
Also: EEEEE EEEEEEE
posted by zippy at 3:54 PM on December 17, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by zippy at 3:54 PM on December 17, 2012 [2 favorites]
Dan Smith, BYU.
posted by Toekneesan at 3:59 PM on December 17, 2012 [7 favorites]
posted by Toekneesan at 3:59 PM on December 17, 2012 [7 favorites]
I laughed at that until I recalled that Mormons are also freestyle baby namers.
posted by found missing at 4:07 PM on December 17, 2012
posted by found missing at 4:07 PM on December 17, 2012
I love a lot of Key & Peele stuff, but this was terrible. Essentially one long cruel joke about mister fat isolated nerdy guy. There is so much excellent Key & Peele humor and *that's* your favorite? What is wrong with you as a human being?
posted by edheil at 4:13 PM on December 17, 2012
posted by edheil at 4:13 PM on December 17, 2012
Nerds are off limits. You've gone too far. What is wrong with you as a human being.
posted by found missing at 4:23 PM on December 17, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by found missing at 4:23 PM on December 17, 2012 [2 favorites]
Essentially one long cruel joke about mister fat isolated nerdy guy.
That is not the joke.
posted by zippy at 4:24 PM on December 17, 2012 [8 favorites]
That is not the joke.
posted by zippy at 4:24 PM on December 17, 2012 [8 favorites]
The funniest part is that one of my kids is named [construction noise].
posted by GuyZero at 4:32 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by GuyZero at 4:32 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]
The downside of video game sensors
posted by billyfleetwood at 4:38 PM on December 17, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by billyfleetwood at 4:38 PM on December 17, 2012 [2 favorites]
It's not the nerd-mocking I have a problem with, it's the fat hate.
posted by edheil at 5:26 PM on December 17, 2012
posted by edheil at 5:26 PM on December 17, 2012
The great thing about K & P is that they allow the humor to arise out of the premise rather than try to build the funny into what they do.
Most of the writers on Key and Peele comes from the Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) school of comedy. I took some writing classes there, and one of my teachers wrote for the first season of K&P. He explained their writing process like this:
The comedy buzzword at UCB is the game, which is the premise/pattern of a sketch. Key and Peele's writing process is the writers pitch games - usually just an observation like "the more tags you have on a hat makes you cooler." And then each writer would pick one game for that day, and write a sketch that heightened that game into oblivion - until the sketch hit its absolute apex. And end right there.
Because of this focus on ending at the apex, a UCB-style sketch doesn't usually have an arc; it ends at the most extreme point of the game. The valet sketch ends with the two guys getting as excited as possible, the substitute teacher one ends at the teacher's apex of exasperation, the hat sketch ends at the hat's apex of origin. Maybe you could have heightened the hat sketch even more by having another beat with a whole field of raw materials on one of the guys head, but that's probably not as funny as what they did.
You can contrast this with classic SNL style sketch, which was born of Second City comedy and derives more humor from relationships and recurring characters. Classic SNL sketches would sometimes have a "game" but they usually tended to have more of a focus on arc and a story. Thus, they tend to be longer, while Key and Peel sketches tend to be about the length of a pop song.
posted by joechip at 5:30 PM on December 17, 2012 [44 favorites]
Most of the writers on Key and Peele comes from the Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) school of comedy. I took some writing classes there, and one of my teachers wrote for the first season of K&P. He explained their writing process like this:
The comedy buzzword at UCB is the game, which is the premise/pattern of a sketch. Key and Peele's writing process is the writers pitch games - usually just an observation like "the more tags you have on a hat makes you cooler." And then each writer would pick one game for that day, and write a sketch that heightened that game into oblivion - until the sketch hit its absolute apex. And end right there.
Because of this focus on ending at the apex, a UCB-style sketch doesn't usually have an arc; it ends at the most extreme point of the game. The valet sketch ends with the two guys getting as excited as possible, the substitute teacher one ends at the teacher's apex of exasperation, the hat sketch ends at the hat's apex of origin. Maybe you could have heightened the hat sketch even more by having another beat with a whole field of raw materials on one of the guys head, but that's probably not as funny as what they did.
You can contrast this with classic SNL style sketch, which was born of Second City comedy and derives more humor from relationships and recurring characters. Classic SNL sketches would sometimes have a "game" but they usually tended to have more of a focus on arc and a story. Thus, they tend to be longer, while Key and Peel sketches tend to be about the length of a pop song.
posted by joechip at 5:30 PM on December 17, 2012 [44 favorites]
It's not the nerd-mocking I have a problem with, it's the fat hate.
As far as I can tell, that's not the point and is in fact subverted by this sketch. They turned the fat nerdy guy into the straight man, give or take.
posted by JauntyFedora at 5:43 PM on December 17, 2012 [6 favorites]
As far as I can tell, that's not the point and is in fact subverted by this sketch. They turned the fat nerdy guy into the straight man, give or take.
posted by JauntyFedora at 5:43 PM on December 17, 2012 [6 favorites]
The suburban zombie sketch looks a lot like the town one of my friends lived in during high school.
(And damn you (in the best way possible) Metafilter for making me watch Key and Peele sketches for the past hour).
posted by drezdn at 6:23 PM on December 17, 2012
(And damn you (in the best way possible) Metafilter for making me watch Key and Peele sketches for the past hour).
posted by drezdn at 6:23 PM on December 17, 2012
The comedy buzzword at UCB is the game
Which explains why Keegan-Michael Key went on about "the game" and how Aristotle identified the "seven games" when they were on the Nerdist. I assumed he meant "plots" in a sort of streety way (which I guess he does).
(He then went on to conflate Aristophanes and Aristotle but hells yeah I'll forgive him).
posted by John Shaft at 6:28 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]
Which explains why Keegan-Michael Key went on about "the game" and how Aristotle identified the "seven games" when they were on the Nerdist. I assumed he meant "plots" in a sort of streety way (which I guess he does).
(He then went on to conflate Aristophanes and Aristotle but hells yeah I'll forgive him).
posted by John Shaft at 6:28 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]
I absolutely love the "what if we had farts instead of names?" sketch. I hate myself for loving it so, but even that hate has turned into love at this point. I have watched it probably two dozen times, and it's only getting funnier.
Also, it's funny that we've gotten this far without mentioning the "Tea Party Sweetheart" sketch, but yeah. That one's awesome too.
posted by koeselitz at 6:30 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]
Also, it's funny that we've gotten this far without mentioning the "Tea Party Sweetheart" sketch, but yeah. That one's awesome too.
posted by koeselitz at 6:30 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]
I love the Bully video. But when I want to challenge my ability to remain composed in the face of insanity, I pull up Ice T Rescue Puppy.
posted by vverse23 at 6:44 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by vverse23 at 6:44 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]
Ha! I love that one. "I just wanna keep this area clean..."
posted by koeselitz at 7:05 PM on December 17, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by koeselitz at 7:05 PM on December 17, 2012 [2 favorites]
I can't find a decent clip online, but the "Human Centipede Reunion" is as disgusting as it is funny, and it ends on a perfect note.
posted by gladly at 7:24 PM on December 17, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by gladly at 7:24 PM on December 17, 2012 [2 favorites]
I love a lot of Key & Peele stuff, but this was terrible. Essentially one long cruel joke about mister fat isolated nerdy guy. There is so much excellent Key & Peele humor and *that's* your favorite? What is wrong with you as a human being?
i'm sorry, i've just been having a bad day, they killed claire
posted by Rory Marinich at 7:35 PM on December 17, 2012 [2 favorites]
i'm sorry, i've just been having a bad day, they killed claire
posted by Rory Marinich at 7:35 PM on December 17, 2012 [2 favorites]
From when they were on Mad TV, Ty and Gray at the Casino
posted by drezdn at 7:43 PM on December 17, 2012
posted by drezdn at 7:43 PM on December 17, 2012
Came in here to recommend the WTF podcast as well.
And, in honor of the season, my favorite East/West Bowl name:
Xmus Jaxon Flaxon Waxon
posted by Sweetie Darling at 7:50 PM on December 17, 2012 [3 favorites]
And, in honor of the season, my favorite East/West Bowl name:
Xmus Jaxon Flaxon Waxon
posted by Sweetie Darling at 7:50 PM on December 17, 2012 [3 favorites]
Just came here to say:
Swirvithan L'Goodling-Splatt, Saskatchewan University
posted by rollbiz at 7:55 PM on December 17, 2012 [5 favorites]
Swirvithan L'Goodling-Splatt, Saskatchewan University
posted by rollbiz at 7:55 PM on December 17, 2012 [5 favorites]
Do you want to go to war, Balakey? Because I'm for real.
posted by Dr. Zira at 8:07 PM on December 17, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by Dr. Zira at 8:07 PM on December 17, 2012 [3 favorites]
i'm sorry, i've just been having a bad day, they killed claire
Chinese it is.
posted by shakespeherian at 8:10 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]
Chinese it is.
posted by shakespeherian at 8:10 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]
A clip I just found and loved: Power Falcons Save the Earth From Space!
As for why Pizza Order became my favorite recent thing in comedy: it's all about the character building, and about how the two characters continue to grow stranger and stranger as the four minutes go on, more and more lost in these weird idealized fantasies. I mean, at first we think the orderer is just pretending to have a party because he wants to feel like less of a loser, but it becomes quickly obvious that this isn't just some quick whipped-up excuse to order three pineapple, pepperoni/bacon/ham, and Cheesy Crust pies: he's got a whole social order figured out here! He never once acts as if he's using these characters as an excuse; in fact, when he's asked about the party, he sounds snide and dismissive, as if he couldn't possibly give a shit about Carlos's polite questions.
Carlos, meanwhile, fixates immediately on Claire's name, using every detail he's given of her to construct an entirely different kind of fantasy. I love the quick look he gives the pizza place before asking to go on the phone with her, like he's taking a daring risk to establish this one possible moment of connection with somebody else. His abashment when the orderer says he fucked Claire leads to this funny little moment where he seems willing to politely stop pursuing the whole Claire thing, but then the orderer tells him it's fine, there's nothing there anymore, in fact now that Claire's fat he's completely incapable of seeing her as a legitimate sexual fantasy. Unlike Liv, who is perfectly-scripted perfection, completely untouched by his lusty action figures Hugo and Bobba! Then there's another great twist in how the orderer decides that the reason Claire rejects Carlos is because of the latter's poverty. It's so... elitist! It's great!
And Carlos's whole monologue about his belief in destiny, his love of Claire's "simplicity", is perfect in how it mirrors the orderer's own weird constructed fantasies. There's your straightforward "honest" romantic narrative in a cliche movie, acted out entirely in Carlos's head (though the orderer recognizes the narrative to the point of saying the right thing at the very end of it). Whereas the orderer totally detaches these well-known cinematic figures from their stories and turns them into a conventional "popularity" narrative wherein he gets to throw parties and have sex and reject women for not meeting his standards, in Carlos we have the opposite, a guy who takes people he thinks are real and turns them into Objects to be Pursued movie-style.
I dunno, I think there's a real pathos in the two characters' desires, in how each one lives in a different kind of fantasy that involves interpreting media in two different ways. That the one is a nerd-stereotype isn't the joke; the joke is how accurately K&P lampoon the stereotypical nerd process of trying to reconstruct a social order wherein they get to be at the top of the pyramid, using fantasies and movies to provide a world wherein their supremacy somehow makes sense. The emulation of that snobby disdainful "Tch, what a loser!" attitude to the point where the nerd is better at condescension than anybody else is tragihilariously accurate. And meanwhile we have a second type of "loser", whose obsession is with connection and romance but whose process is a similar hopeless deconstruction that has no semblance to reality. The punch line for me is rooted in how the things these two characters yearn for are denied them by their very attempts to emulate having them.
All of which leads to the hilarity of the orderer killing off Claire, which from his own media orientation is a Thing That Happens All The Time in movies without being a big deal, and which is used frequently just to tie up loose-hanging plots (James Bond anybody?), and from Carlos's reaction to Claire's death being exactly as melodramatic as it would be in a movie where two star-crossed lovers are parted by one's death. Which is a longer and probably unnecessary way of saying that it's fantastically funny how abruptly the orderer kills off this role-play, how devastated Carlos is by the loss of this imaginary "simple" girl, and how funny it is that it's the antisocial pizza-loving guy who's ultimately looking down at the other dude, completely certain that he's the normal one in this interaction – and how plausible it is that he's right.
There's more to unpack there and I haven't thought much about this since I only first saw the clip last night, but tl;dr there's something in how sympathetic both characters are and in how both are such believable products of our media culture that completely sells both the half-dozen plot twists over the course of the sketch and uses them to make the punch line feel truly climactic rather than merely terminal. And to tl;dr the tl;dr every time I watch it I start gut laughing even though I know what's coming and that is why I say it is so good man.
[/beanplate]
posted by Rory Marinich at 8:13 PM on December 17, 2012 [26 favorites]
As for why Pizza Order became my favorite recent thing in comedy: it's all about the character building, and about how the two characters continue to grow stranger and stranger as the four minutes go on, more and more lost in these weird idealized fantasies. I mean, at first we think the orderer is just pretending to have a party because he wants to feel like less of a loser, but it becomes quickly obvious that this isn't just some quick whipped-up excuse to order three pineapple, pepperoni/bacon/ham, and Cheesy Crust pies: he's got a whole social order figured out here! He never once acts as if he's using these characters as an excuse; in fact, when he's asked about the party, he sounds snide and dismissive, as if he couldn't possibly give a shit about Carlos's polite questions.
Carlos, meanwhile, fixates immediately on Claire's name, using every detail he's given of her to construct an entirely different kind of fantasy. I love the quick look he gives the pizza place before asking to go on the phone with her, like he's taking a daring risk to establish this one possible moment of connection with somebody else. His abashment when the orderer says he fucked Claire leads to this funny little moment where he seems willing to politely stop pursuing the whole Claire thing, but then the orderer tells him it's fine, there's nothing there anymore, in fact now that Claire's fat he's completely incapable of seeing her as a legitimate sexual fantasy. Unlike Liv, who is perfectly-scripted perfection, completely untouched by his lusty action figures Hugo and Bobba! Then there's another great twist in how the orderer decides that the reason Claire rejects Carlos is because of the latter's poverty. It's so... elitist! It's great!
And Carlos's whole monologue about his belief in destiny, his love of Claire's "simplicity", is perfect in how it mirrors the orderer's own weird constructed fantasies. There's your straightforward "honest" romantic narrative in a cliche movie, acted out entirely in Carlos's head (though the orderer recognizes the narrative to the point of saying the right thing at the very end of it). Whereas the orderer totally detaches these well-known cinematic figures from their stories and turns them into a conventional "popularity" narrative wherein he gets to throw parties and have sex and reject women for not meeting his standards, in Carlos we have the opposite, a guy who takes people he thinks are real and turns them into Objects to be Pursued movie-style.
I dunno, I think there's a real pathos in the two characters' desires, in how each one lives in a different kind of fantasy that involves interpreting media in two different ways. That the one is a nerd-stereotype isn't the joke; the joke is how accurately K&P lampoon the stereotypical nerd process of trying to reconstruct a social order wherein they get to be at the top of the pyramid, using fantasies and movies to provide a world wherein their supremacy somehow makes sense. The emulation of that snobby disdainful "Tch, what a loser!" attitude to the point where the nerd is better at condescension than anybody else is tragihilariously accurate. And meanwhile we have a second type of "loser", whose obsession is with connection and romance but whose process is a similar hopeless deconstruction that has no semblance to reality. The punch line for me is rooted in how the things these two characters yearn for are denied them by their very attempts to emulate having them.
All of which leads to the hilarity of the orderer killing off Claire, which from his own media orientation is a Thing That Happens All The Time in movies without being a big deal, and which is used frequently just to tie up loose-hanging plots (James Bond anybody?), and from Carlos's reaction to Claire's death being exactly as melodramatic as it would be in a movie where two star-crossed lovers are parted by one's death. Which is a longer and probably unnecessary way of saying that it's fantastically funny how abruptly the orderer kills off this role-play, how devastated Carlos is by the loss of this imaginary "simple" girl, and how funny it is that it's the antisocial pizza-loving guy who's ultimately looking down at the other dude, completely certain that he's the normal one in this interaction – and how plausible it is that he's right.
There's more to unpack there and I haven't thought much about this since I only first saw the clip last night, but tl;dr there's something in how sympathetic both characters are and in how both are such believable products of our media culture that completely sells both the half-dozen plot twists over the course of the sketch and uses them to make the punch line feel truly climactic rather than merely terminal. And to tl;dr the tl;dr every time I watch it I start gut laughing even though I know what's coming and that is why I say it is so good man.
[/beanplate]
posted by Rory Marinich at 8:13 PM on December 17, 2012 [26 favorites]
Rory what I really don't understand is how you only saw this last night when I was talking up this season like two months ago.
posted by shakespeherian at 8:18 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by shakespeherian at 8:18 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]
I like how in the East/West Bowl sketch the players have silly names.
posted by GuyZero at 8:18 PM on December 17, 2012 [4 favorites]
posted by GuyZero at 8:18 PM on December 17, 2012 [4 favorites]
I like how in the East/West Bowl sketch the players have silly names.
It's probably the best sketch of the ones I've watched today. Funny beats having lots of things to unpack when it comes to sketch comedy, IMO.
posted by Bookhouse at 8:23 PM on December 17, 2012
It's probably the best sketch of the ones I've watched today. Funny beats having lots of things to unpack when it comes to sketch comedy, IMO.
posted by Bookhouse at 8:23 PM on December 17, 2012
Yeah it should go without saying that "unpacking things" follows "I thought this thing was really friggin' hilarious", I promise I am not too much of a drag at parties.
posted by Rory Marinich at 8:25 PM on December 17, 2012
posted by Rory Marinich at 8:25 PM on December 17, 2012
Oh my god, "School Bully" is hilariously devastating.
posted by malapropist at 8:27 PM on December 17, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by malapropist at 8:27 PM on December 17, 2012 [2 favorites]
I am so late to the Key & Peele game, but I just "discovered" them two weeks ago -- well, beyond Obama's Luther anyway -- and oh wow, they are pretty damn funny. I haven't seen that many of their sketches so far (looking forward to the highlights in this post though!), but my favorite so far is Soul Food.
It reminds me of how I totally alienated all the other black people in my fancy schmancy college because I *refused* to play this game. I went to a couple "Black Student Club"-type meetings freshman year, and they'd all be, "Yo, I'm so ghetto, look at my sneakers!" or "Yeah, I'd be down for chitlins and grits at my gra-ma-ma's every Christmas!" And then I'd be like, "Dude, your father is a third generation lawyer from Iowa and your mom is a doctor from Ghana. Just no. Not ghetto, and you didn't see a chitlin (or, a chitterling, even) until you were 16 and you drove to the black neighborhood just to buy them."
And it would just ruin it for everybody. But thankfully, now I have more of a sense of humor and oh man, is that "Soul Food" sketch hilarious, because, being totally honest, when I am trying to fit in, I totally do that too (yeah, at 18, I was unable to look in a mirror).
posted by lesli212 at 8:31 PM on December 17, 2012 [5 favorites]
It reminds me of how I totally alienated all the other black people in my fancy schmancy college because I *refused* to play this game. I went to a couple "Black Student Club"-type meetings freshman year, and they'd all be, "Yo, I'm so ghetto, look at my sneakers!" or "Yeah, I'd be down for chitlins and grits at my gra-ma-ma's every Christmas!" And then I'd be like, "Dude, your father is a third generation lawyer from Iowa and your mom is a doctor from Ghana. Just no. Not ghetto, and you didn't see a chitlin (or, a chitterling, even) until you were 16 and you drove to the black neighborhood just to buy them."
And it would just ruin it for everybody. But thankfully, now I have more of a sense of humor and oh man, is that "Soul Food" sketch hilarious, because, being totally honest, when I am trying to fit in, I totally do that too (yeah, at 18, I was unable to look in a mirror).
posted by lesli212 at 8:31 PM on December 17, 2012 [5 favorites]
The Phone Call is the best sketch probably. I'll let others explain why.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:42 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:42 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]
I think Phone Call was the first sketch of the first episode? Way to set a bar, guys.
posted by shakespeherian at 8:47 PM on December 17, 2012
posted by shakespeherian at 8:47 PM on December 17, 2012
Thank you for explaining.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:50 PM on December 17, 2012
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:50 PM on December 17, 2012
That Dubstep one is brilliant too though.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:52 PM on December 17, 2012
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:52 PM on December 17, 2012
Of course, Rory. What you wrote was interesting and I wasn't trying to dismiss it. Sorry if it came off that way.
posted by Bookhouse at 9:06 PM on December 17, 2012
posted by Bookhouse at 9:06 PM on December 17, 2012
Key & Peele is not for the impatient -- I think every sketch I've seen has gotten so much better by the end
Except for Flicker, which starts absolutely brilliantly and then gets increasingly silly.
posted by Decani at 9:08 PM on December 17, 2012
Except for Flicker, which starts absolutely brilliantly and then gets increasingly silly.
posted by Decani at 9:08 PM on December 17, 2012
Oh man, "Soul Food" is so, so good. "DONKEY TEETH!"
posted by koeselitz at 9:08 PM on December 17, 2012
posted by koeselitz at 9:08 PM on December 17, 2012
I'm still convinced one of them (my money's on Peele) is an active D&Der, or at least somehow in fandom. The Kanye sketch gets a lot of critical hits on gaming culture, and Pizza Order also seems to hit a lot of deep notes for comic fandom. Not only do they get fandom, they also seem to love it.
posted by jiawen at 9:16 PM on December 17, 2012 [5 favorites]
posted by jiawen at 9:16 PM on December 17, 2012 [5 favorites]
I, too, love Key & Peele.
posted by StrikeTheViol at 9:37 PM on December 17, 2012
posted by StrikeTheViol at 9:37 PM on December 17, 2012
STORK ANKLES
posted by Rhaomi at 10:04 PM on December 17, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by Rhaomi at 10:04 PM on December 17, 2012 [2 favorites]
The Ultimate Fighting Match Preview was good.
posted by squinty at 10:55 PM on December 17, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by squinty at 10:55 PM on December 17, 2012 [3 favorites]
I wonder if we could get them to do the East-West game with Metafilter nicks. Heh.
posted by salishsea at 1:48 AM on December 18, 2012
posted by salishsea at 1:48 AM on December 18, 2012
L’Carpetron Dookmarriot!
My wife laughed so hard at that sketch that I snagged my ipad, rewound the DVR, and filmed her watching it again. She did not pull a shotgun on me, thankfully... and I can still make her laugh by just saying, "Ozmotaz Buckshank."
posted by DigDoug at 5:20 AM on December 18, 2012 [1 favorite]
My wife laughed so hard at that sketch that I snagged my ipad, rewound the DVR, and filmed her watching it again. She did not pull a shotgun on me, thankfully... and I can still make her laugh by just saying, "Ozmotaz Buckshank."
posted by DigDoug at 5:20 AM on December 18, 2012 [1 favorite]
I have spent a lot of time watching UFC in the past two years and that made me laugh.
posted by ChuraChura at 8:30 AM on December 18, 2012
posted by ChuraChura at 8:30 AM on December 18, 2012
The sketches stand in marked contrast to their on-stage banter in front of a studio audience, which feel uncomfortable to me: scripted, while trying to give the impression of improvisation.
I will not disagree that they're generally weaker than the sketches and often the (comparatively) low point of the show, but there are still gems in the pile -- the whole "fake martial arts/I just collapsed your trachea" bit, and that one where Key talks about how he watches movies on airplanes ("Excuse me, pardon me, just need to get to the aisle here, OH DAMN DID HE JUST DO THAT, excuse me...") just kill me.
posted by Etrigan at 9:22 AM on December 18, 2012
I will not disagree that they're generally weaker than the sketches and often the (comparatively) low point of the show, but there are still gems in the pile -- the whole "fake martial arts/I just collapsed your trachea" bit, and that one where Key talks about how he watches movies on airplanes ("Excuse me, pardon me, just need to get to the aisle here, OH DAMN DID HE JUST DO THAT, excuse me...") just kill me.
posted by Etrigan at 9:22 AM on December 18, 2012
I won't spoil it in case you're not caught up through the second season, but there's a final very unscripted moment during the banter that closes the show and the season. It winds up being very funny and sweet. The AV Club reviewer mentions it in his review if you're curious.
posted by gladly at 12:49 PM on December 18, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by gladly at 12:49 PM on December 18, 2012 [1 favorite]
I hadn't seen most of these. Needless to say, I just set the DVR. I watch this show now.
Love the quick reference to "I Said Bitch" at the end of "Obama's Anger Translator."
posted by kostia at 5:45 PM on December 18, 2012
Love the quick reference to "I Said Bitch" at the end of "Obama's Anger Translator."
posted by kostia at 5:45 PM on December 18, 2012
I've watched about 50 sketches on youtube now and I still don't know which is Key and which is Peele.
posted by moonmilk at 8:26 AM on December 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by moonmilk at 8:26 AM on December 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
Key is the one who's half-black and half-white. Peele is the other way around.
Buuut seriously... Key is the tall one who plays Luther. Peele is the short one who plays Obama. Not that it really matters.
posted by Etrigan at 8:29 AM on December 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
Buuut seriously... Key is the tall one who plays Luther. Peele is the short one who plays Obama. Not that it really matters.
posted by Etrigan at 8:29 AM on December 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
And it's funny because Key's full name is Keegan-Michael Key. So he is like Key2
posted by jessamyn at 8:30 AM on December 19, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by jessamyn at 8:30 AM on December 19, 2012 [2 favorites]
The first time I noticed who Jordan Peele was was when he was on Childrens Hospital. Then I watched all of Key & Peele and went back and watched Childrens Hospital again and it turns out Keegan-Michael Key is in it too.
posted by shakespeherian at 8:32 AM on December 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by shakespeherian at 8:32 AM on December 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
I discovered these guys thanks to a previous fpp about them, and I've been watching the shows as they come around on comedy central. Really good stuff.
I think my favorite is still the rap battle where Obama pulls up in his presidential limo. It's short, absurd, and (imao) hilarious.
posted by rmd1023 at 12:51 PM on December 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
I think my favorite is still the rap battle where Obama pulls up in his presidential limo. It's short, absurd, and (imao) hilarious.
posted by rmd1023 at 12:51 PM on December 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
"Auction Block" and "The Phone Call" are absolutely priceless; like Rory Marinich I just adore the ones that are fundamentally about self-deception.
posted by brainwane at 3:47 PM on December 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by brainwane at 3:47 PM on December 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
The Ms. recently reminded me that we first met Mr. Key during that dreadful month that our then five and six-year-olds fell in love with The Planet's Funniest Animals on Animal Planet.
posted by Toekneesan at 5:47 PM on December 19, 2012
posted by Toekneesan at 5:47 PM on December 19, 2012
Good Lord, Toekneesan, thank you! I must have a child about the same age as yours, then, because you've just solved the mystery of where I'd seen him before. I just attributed it to a glitch in the Matrix.
posted by Dr. Zira at 5:52 PM on December 20, 2012
posted by Dr. Zira at 5:52 PM on December 20, 2012
> They were interviewed on Marc Maron's WTF podcast and I felt like I learned a lot more about where they were coming from
They don't come across well in that. Some parts were interesting (their childhoods, their college studies) but ooof -- there's a lot of slurs that I'd just rather not hear tossed around so casually.
posted by The corpse in the library at 11:12 AM on December 21, 2012
They don't come across well in that. Some parts were interesting (their childhoods, their college studies) but ooof -- there's a lot of slurs that I'd just rather not hear tossed around so casually.
posted by The corpse in the library at 11:12 AM on December 21, 2012
Slurs like which kind? I seem to have eliminated that from my mind entirely in my recall of the podcast.
posted by jessamyn at 11:31 AM on December 21, 2012
posted by jessamyn at 11:31 AM on December 21, 2012
Off the top of my head, "gay" and "retarded." Maybe ironically. Ha ha.
posted by The corpse in the library at 1:42 PM on December 21, 2012
posted by The corpse in the library at 1:42 PM on December 21, 2012
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posted by phaedon at 11:55 AM on December 17, 2012 [3 favorites]