I cried and cried in my Mad Men dress.
October 30, 2014 6:51 AM   Subscribe

 
Wow, that's seriously working right up to the birth. Very impressive.
posted by alasdair at 6:58 AM on October 30, 2014


"Jon Hamm held me by the shoulders and looked at me and said, “I know this is very sad, but this is a really important show for me, so I’m going to need you to get your shit together.”

Nice one
posted by C.A.S. at 7:00 AM on October 30, 2014 [14 favorites]


The ideal is giving women enough leave and freedom to stop working when they need to, and enough respect to allow them to continue working when they want to.

Amy Poehler is awe-inspiring. A real-life Lesley Knope.
posted by explosion at 7:01 AM on October 30, 2014 [1 favorite]


The anticipation of Tina playing Palin was so fun to witness, and she explains it well in her book Fifty Shades of Grey.
posted by Think_Long at 7:06 AM on October 30, 2014 [12 favorites]


"Jon Hamm held me by the shoulders and looked at me and said, 'I know this is very sad, but this is a really important show for me, so I’m going to need you to get your shit together.'"

C.A.S. it would be helpful for you to provide the line after that one, unless you're trying to derail the folks who don't RTFA...

"This made me laugh so hard I think I peed. Going from crying to laughing that fast and hard happens maybe five times in your life and that extreme right turn is the reason why we are alive. I believe it extends our life by many years."
posted by FreezBoy at 7:07 AM on October 30, 2014 [31 favorites]


My strongest memory of pregnant Amy Poehler is of her flirtily dancing for Josh Brolin in a honkytonk: "I'm no angel."
posted by doctornecessiter at 7:10 AM on October 30, 2014 [12 favorites]


Freezboy: Why? I feel like only including that opening line portrays the shock and hypocrisy of hearing that line when you're going through something that she was.

Even if it was a joke, it's a bit unsettling. I personally don't think it's derailing at all. The folks who read the article can "get" the punchline. Otherwise, a point was made. A lot of women hear that line in their lives.
posted by mysticreferee at 7:12 AM on October 30, 2014



Even if it was a joke, it's a bit unsettling. I personally don't think it's derailing at all. The folks who read the article can "get" the punchline. Otherwise, a point was made. A lot of women hear that line in their lives


Well, it's the difference between Moral: Jon Hamm is a fucking asshole and Moral: Jon Hamm is a charming motherfucker whose dry sense of humour successfully cheered me up at a particularly low moment in my life.
posted by Diablevert at 7:20 AM on October 30, 2014 [108 favorites]


Jon Hamm is her friend, and friends say things like that to each other.

Amy Poehler is comedian. She understands how jokes work.
posted by themanwho at 7:24 AM on October 30, 2014 [45 favorites]


Yeah, leaving out the context is misleading and weird. They are both professional actor-comedians. It's in a context.
posted by c'mon sea legs at 7:26 AM on October 30, 2014 [3 favorites]


Why does Jon Hamm need a spokesperson? If someone is really that shocked that their "hero" can be such an asshole, I think they would read the article and sigh a sigh of relief.

The moral (of that article, really) is that anybody can say those things. That there's a fine line between being truly sexist and winking, dry humor. Amy Poehler is lucky that her friend has dry humor.

Many women are not so lucky. They never got the punchline they were waiting for.
posted by mysticreferee at 7:28 AM on October 30, 2014


i don't say this about many people but amy poehler is perfect.
posted by kerning at 7:33 AM on October 30, 2014 [6 favorites]


Holy shit. I'm not gonna spoil the article but I totally didn't see THAT coming.

Great article. She's amazing. A while back I found out she used to work at an ice cream place my family used to frequent. I like to think at some point when I was younger, Amy Poehler served me a banana split.

And it was perfect.
posted by bondcliff at 7:38 AM on October 30, 2014


You almost got me to respond again. Fool me once, etc.

Anyway, Poehler's been my hero ever since she refused to engage that reporter from Vanity Fair who tried to get her to shit-talk Lorne Michaels.
posted by themanwho at 7:39 AM on October 30, 2014 [1 favorite]




thank god we're making this about Jon Hamm that's really super
posted by boo_radley at 7:50 AM on October 30, 2014 [37 favorites]


I saw this post this morning and then got into my car and what was on but a replay of Poehler's interview with Howard Stern from earlier this week. I don't think it is possible for a human being to be more delightful.
posted by The Gooch at 7:59 AM on October 30, 2014


Huh. I wouldn't think Hamm's joke would be the jumping off point for concern trolling, but here we are.
posted by adamp88 at 7:59 AM on October 30, 2014 [18 favorites]


She told the Jon Hamm story on Seth Meyers show the other night and it was hilarious.
posted by Optamystic at 8:00 AM on October 30, 2014 [2 favorites]


This one almost slipped by me:

The anticipation of Tina playing Palin was so fun to witness, and she explains it well in her book Fifty Shades of Grey.

Also, wow, what a different atmosphere on the show backstage than what Poehler might have endured a decade and change earlier, when it was dominated by manchildren.
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:01 AM on October 30, 2014 [1 favorite]


What a delightful story about a thoroughly delightful person. Thank you for sharing that.
posted by blob at 8:21 AM on October 30, 2014


While I love this story, this is still my favorite Amy Poehler story, from Tina Fey's Bossypants:
Amy was in the middle of some such nonsense with Seth Meyers across the table, and she did something vulgar as a joke. I can't remember what it was exactly, except it was dirty and loud and "unladylike."

Jimmy Fallon, who was arguably the star of the show at the time, turned to her and in a faux-squeamish voice said: "Stop that! It's not cute! I don't like it."

Amy dropped what she was doing, went black in the eyes for a second, and wheeled around on him. "I don't fucking care if you like it." Jimmy was visibly startled. Amy went right back to enjoying her ridiculous bit.
posted by carrienation at 8:27 AM on October 30, 2014 [39 favorites]


Also, wow, what a different atmosphere on the show backstage than what Poehler might have endured a decade and change earlier, when it was dominated by manchildren.

As indicated by carrienation above, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are what made SNL about moer than manchildren.
posted by maryr at 8:36 AM on October 30, 2014 [4 favorites]


Amy Poehler is an international treasure, and I've been so excited for this book to come out. In twenty or thirty years, we'll be talking about how post-2000s alternative comedy was almost entirely shaped and defined by both her comedic sensibility, and her strength and positivity.

As someone who struggles to get out of bed most days, let alone do anything productive, I am so inspired by the sheer volume of work she's able to do, in addition to sharing the task of raising two human beings. As explosion said, she's a real-life Leslie Knope, and she's incredible.

(W/r/t Hamm, he's been a presence in the LA comedy scene since before his Mad Men fame, and it's incredibly likely that everyone working with him on that night understood his deadpan sense of humor. Poehler certainly did, as evidenced by how many times she's happily and proudly related this story as a pivotal part of one of the most important events of her life.)
posted by aedison at 8:40 AM on October 30, 2014 [12 favorites]


I can't link bc I'm at work, but her reddit AMA was BEAUTIFUL. The very top comment was a young woman talking about how Parks and Rec lifted her out of depression, and Amy Poehler was her role model, and Amy's response was so warm and wonderful and okay yes it made me cry. She has that power over me.
posted by a fiendish thingy at 8:55 AM on October 30, 2014 [2 favorites]


I can't link bc I'm at work, but her reddit AMA was BEAUTIFUL. The very top comment was a young woman talking about how Parks and Rec lifted her out of depression, and Amy Poehler was her role model, and Amy's response was so warm and wonderful and okay yes it made me cry. She has that power over me.

Here you go!
posted by kbanas at 9:00 AM on October 30, 2014 [3 favorites]


Amy Poehler is an international treasure, and I've been so excited for this book to come out.
Except I know so much about her I think I will have already heard most of the anecdotes in this book.

My strongest memory of pregnant Amy Poehler is of her flirtily dancing for Josh Brolin in a honkytonk: "I'm no angel."

And that this and the Palin rap were from the same show - done a week before she gave birth!

(btw ditto on Fey's life. She spent the day of the first SNL Palin appearance filming 30 Rock scenes with Oprah. Now that's a busy little time too.)
posted by NorthernLite at 9:18 AM on October 30, 2014 [3 favorites]


Amy was on Charlie Rose earlier this week. Here's a clip of her talking about doing improv.
posted by Thorzdad at 9:20 AM on October 30, 2014 [2 favorites]


I personally think her finest pregnant SNL moment was the Sarah Palin rap.

(She also did hilarious freestyle raps on two different episodes of the Comedy Bang Bang podcast.)
posted by Atom Eyes at 9:22 AM on October 30, 2014 [4 favorites]


"I don't fucking care if you like it."

I think a handful of bloggers and websites ran with this after that book came out, but it has become a mantra for me and a reminder that there's a lot of things men think about how women should act and think and do and be, and I don't fucking care if they like it or me.

And as someone who occasionally melts down, the thing I most desperately need in that moment is NOT for anyone to be nice to me. In fact, I will sob "stop being nice to meeeeeee!" to well-meaning comfort-givers, because I need you to give me an air bubble. Throw me a joke, give me something else to do, anything but be nice to me. While Hamm's joke was a risk, it was a calculated one. (The man taught eighth grade drama, I suspect he knows a thing or two about meltdowns.)
posted by Lyn Never at 9:44 AM on October 30, 2014 [18 favorites]


Jon Hamm held me by the shoulders and looked at me and said,

"BANJO!!!"
posted by dirigibleman at 10:15 AM on October 30, 2014 [2 favorites]


The very top comment was a young woman talking about how Parks and Rec lifted her out of depression, and Amy Poehler was her role model, and Amy's response was so warm and wonderful and okay yes it made me cry. She has that power over me.

Here's the post a fiendish thingy was talking about. It was far down the page even though it had 4000+ karma. Reddit's "best" comment sorting algorithm doesn't always makes sense.
posted by ALongDecember at 10:16 AM on October 30, 2014 [2 favorites]


Huh. I wouldn't think Hamm's joke would be the jumping off point for concern trolling, but here we are.

Yeah. I sort of assume most people know that Jon Hamm is 1) not an asshole 2) funny 3) not so self-important as to actually mean something like that 4) a personal friend

Thus, I left out the context. Didn't want to ManSplain and ruin the joke.
posted by C.A.S. at 10:47 AM on October 30, 2014 [1 favorite]


I'm a huge fan of that style of "say what the most monstrously self-absorbed person in the world would say" humor, but I think you might have to be Jon Hamm to carry it off.
posted by anazgnos at 11:06 AM on October 30, 2014 [5 favorites]


I was happy to hear that Dr. G was comfortable with beautiful and famous vaginas. I don’t consider myself beautiful or famous, but my vagina certainly is. Everyone knows this.

I love Amy Poehler.
posted by Phire at 12:12 PM on October 30, 2014


Yeah. I sort of assume most people know that Jon Hamm is 1) not an asshole 2) funny 3) not so self-important as to actually mean something like that 4) a personal friend

OK so 100%, non-trolling legit here:

Your assumption is something people would have to own a television to know. Or live in the US. Or actually watch SNL. But I assure you, you could live in a cave where images of pop culture delivered to you hand carved on rocks one by one and know who Amy Poehler is and that she is wonderful.
posted by DarlingBri at 1:48 PM on October 30, 2014


Your assumption is something people would have to own a television to know. Or live in the US. Or actually watch SNL

Or, listen to numerous leading comedy podcasts, which are available worldwide for free, or watch web videos like those of Funny or Die, which are available worldwide for free, or read Observer profile/interviews, which are available worldwide for free. For instance, I don't live in the US.

I agree with you about Amy Poehler being wonderful. I would bet, given that Parks And Rec doesn't have that great an international broadcast distribution, that some of the world doesn't know this yet, though. Hopefully soon
posted by C.A.S. at 2:15 PM on October 30, 2014


Amy Poehler is literally one of the few enjoyable things I remember about that election cycle.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 2:28 PM on October 30, 2014


Boy, if we can't deadpan (or quote deadpan) in an Amy Poehler thread, where can we?
posted by dhartung at 2:32 PM on October 30, 2014


she kinda reminds me of Amy Sedaris. Only, sane?
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 2:33 PM on October 30, 2014 [3 favorites]


you could live in a cave where images of pop culture delivered to you hand carved on rocks one by one and know who Amy Poehler is and that she is wonderful

I am this person and I endorse this statement.

Having said that, I didn't realise that she was this wonderful, so I'm very happy to have seen this post/read TFA.
posted by you must supply a verb at 2:47 PM on October 30, 2014


All of you missed out, she did her best work at Chadwicks.


(And I just suffered in silence at that place and have no idea if she was ever my server)
posted by sammyo at 3:04 PM on October 30, 2014


All of you missed out, she did her best work at Chadwicks.

That's the place! Man, I loved those banana splits.

Based on this article and this thread I bought her book. So far I'm digging it.
posted by bondcliff at 4:26 PM on October 30, 2014


I still can't reason out how anyone could conceivably say that women aren't/can't be funny.

It's so demonstrably and repeatedly false, I'd think you'd be better off saying that people haven't walked on the moon. Or that people can't fly in a plane. Have these people never seen an episode of I Love Lucy, 30 rock, Taxi, Cheers, MASH, All in the Family, Mary Tyler Moore, or NewsRadio? Really?
posted by Sphinx at 5:09 PM on October 30, 2014 [2 favorites]


I would also like to chime in to express my love for Amy Poehler. Indeed, I love her so much that this was my Halloween costume a year ago. (I handmade the skirt of Pawnee newspaper articles and pictures of waffles, though I cannot say I am a beautiful tropical fish.)
posted by ilana at 9:46 PM on October 30, 2014 [5 favorites]


I don't watch much American comedy -- mostly because I don't find it very funny. SNL seems to be the least funny of the lot.

But earlier this year, I discovered Parks and Recreations. I'm not sure that that's funny either, but I really do love the show. It reminds me of some nostalgic 1950's golden age comedy, where everything is right with the world at the end of each episode.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 4:01 AM on October 31, 2014


Make sure you skip the first season, then decide.
posted by maryr at 8:48 AM on October 31, 2014 [2 favorites]


The first season gets better on re-watch just for how much the characters changed by shows end.
posted by Mick at 9:08 AM on October 31, 2014 [1 favorite]


Parks and Recs began clearly in the "uncomfortable mockumentary in the vein of The Office meets Election" and clearly pivoted first season to the warmer, more traditional sitcom mode towards its protagonist.

I think its much better for it. I don't think it would have made 7 seasons or found its audience if it hadn't, and like "King of the Hill", it manages to laugh at and laugh with, while maintaining affection/respect for its characters.
posted by C.A.S. at 1:29 PM on October 31, 2014 [2 favorites]


To me the key thing is the change from "ha, ha, small town politics" to "Lesley Knope is awesome and doesn't sleep"
posted by maryr at 9:15 PM on October 31, 2014


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