Tag Archives: women in comedy

NY Times Reporter Asks Whitney Cummings About Sleeping Her Way To The Top

Jessica WakemanSeptember 19, 2011 //

Whitney Cummings scored prime real estate this weekend on the interview page of The New York Times Magazine. As a Whitney fan and someone who is really excited for “Whitney” and “2 Broke Girls,” her two new shows, I was super-psyched. Then I read the rude, douchey, and sexist questions by interviewer Andrew Goldman and wanted to throw a hot latte at him. Instead of asking about comedy or acting, Goldman nailed her with at least three questions about being attractive and the perception that pretty girls must sleep their way to the top:

AG: On those Comedy Central roasts, your fellow comedians liked to joke about how you slept your way to fame. How accurate is that criticism?

WC: If sleeping with people worked, I would be doing it. Do you know an example of anyone who’s ever slept with a producer or whatever that has gotten them anywhere?

Great answer to a rude question, Whitney. Alas, the Q&A then worsened. Keep reading »

Chelsea Handler Looks Like A “Playmate,” Says NY Times

Jessica WakemanMay 23, 2011 //

“Below the neck, Ms. Handler is arranged along old-fashioned lines. Writers have described her as a California surfer type, but the truth is closer to the fantasy. In person, without makeup, her body has the pre-silicone lushness of a ’60s Playmate.”

WTF? Regardless of your opinion on the comedienne Chelsea Handler (I love her, mostly), writer Cathy Hornyn’s third paragraph of her profile in Sunday’s New York Times is aggravating as all get out. Yeah, Handler is attractive. But what’s the point of describing her body? Is the author trying to imply it’s helped Handler in her success? (Whether it did or not is debatable.) Even if one does think Handler’s attractiveness is salient to the article, it really pisses me off that Hornyn referred to her subject as “Playmate”-like before even mentioning her successes as an author and TV show host. Would an attractive male comedian’s body be mentioned in the third paragraph of a NYT profile — or at all? [Personally, I thought the entire profile was snide. -- Editor] [NY Times] Keep reading »

“Bridesmaids” Kicks Ass And Takes Names At The Box Office

Jessica WakemanMay 16, 2011 //

We can do it, ladies! The Kristen Wiig/Maya Rudolph comedy “Bridesmaids” blew the roof off all expectations, raking in $24.4 million at the box office on opening weekend — the most important barometer in all of Hollywood. While “Thor” came in #1 at the box office this weekend, “Bridesmaids” followed at #2. People who care about lady-issues, such as why only a handful of women are prominent in comedy and why movies with all-female casts are often denigrated as “chick flicks,” were waiting with bated breath to see if “Bridesmaids” succeeded. The fact that it did — and that everyone agrees it’s smart and uproariously funny — sends a signal to studios to invest in more female-led comedies. According to TheWrap.com, Universal Studios predicted “Bridesmaids” would only rake in dough in the low teens. Wrong! Maybe we could stop wondering if women are funny now? [The Wrap] Keep reading »

Women Can Be Funny Too: “Bridesmaids” And Other Hilarious Female Roles

MoviefoneMay 15, 2011 //

Finally, an outrageous gross-out comedy starring women! Hollywood isn’t exactly known for producing flicks that maximize funny females. Even Bette Midler has lamented the lack of funny women gracing the big screen lately.

That could explain why so many women are eagerly anticipating this week’s release of “Bridesmaids,” which has been described as “The Hangover” starring women. SNL’s Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph lead the cast, with Rose Byrne (“Get Him to the Greek”), Ellie Kemper (“The Office”), Wendi McLendon-Covey (“Reno 911″) and Melissa McCarthy (“Mike & Molly”) rounding out the rest of the bridesmaids.

As they gear up for their friend’s wedding, these bridesmaids don’t just primp, preen, gossip and tut-tut about what their men might be up to at the bachelor party. Instead, they embark on their own crazy adventures, including excessive drinking, cursing, farting, burping and ogling hot men. Read more… Keep reading »

Why Is The Lone Plus-Size Woman In “Bridesmaids” Wearing A Different Dress?

Liz FunkMay 13, 2011 //
Bridesmaids poster

Women across the country will be flocking to “Bridesmaids” this weekend, which is good news for everyone: Jessica has confirmed that the movie is laugh-out-loud funny and high ticket sales during opening weekend will show Hollywood studios that women want to see intelligent movies about funny women and that there is a demand for more movies like this.

One problem: on the “Bridesmaids” movie poster, why is the chubby bridesmaid, played by Melissa McCarthy (of “Mike and Molly”) wearing a much more modest version of the matching bridesmaid dresses? Four of the five bridesmaids wear sleeveless hot pink taffeta mini-dresses that are tight and hit well above their knees. However, Melissa McCarthy is wearing a slightly different dress: her skirt is looser and covers her knees, she’s wearing elbow-length sleeves, and she doesn’t have as much as a hint of cleavage. If the dress wasn’t hot pink and had less ruched taffeta detailing, she could probably wear the dress to a job interview. Keep reading »

Frisky Q&A: Margaret Cho Talks Homicidal Exes And Camel Toe

Jessica WakemanJune 15, 2010 //

Margaret Cho, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. There’s your 1994 show “All-American Girl.” Your stand-up comedy concerts like “I’m The One That I Want” and “Notorious C.H.O.” Your shows “The Cho Show,” and most recently, “Drop Dead Diva.” I could go on, but I don’t want to embarrass you with your own awesomeness.

Whether you caught her in the ’90s or in the aughties, Cho is inescapable — and undeniably funny. This summer, she’s releasing her first album of “comedy music,” Cho Dependent, on which she got to perform with the likes of Fiona Apple and Ani DiFranco. Lucky bitch!

Cho was kind enough to take some time out of her busy schedule to talk to us about stand-up comedy, writing songs about homicidal ex boyfriends and camel toe. Keep reading »

Will Joan Rivers Be The Next Betty White?

Julie KlausnerJune 10, 2010 //

Soon after Betty White hosted “Saturday Night Live,” I remember asking my friend Nate, a fellow “Golden Girls” fanatic, what he thought of all the fuss around White’s meteoric comeback. He rolled his eyes, shrugged, and said, “It’s just weird that everybody’s finally come around to realizing that Betty White is amazing. Where have they been?”

He was right: the recent trend of people catching on to the fact that Betty White is terrific felt patronizing, and not just because most were astonished that an adorable old lady could land a joke better than most “SNL” hosts one-third her age (I’m looking at you, January Jones); it was the belated appreciation of White’s fabulousness that made all of us look even sillier.

And now, there’s Joan Rivers. Keep reading »

Mind Of Man: Funny Women Are A Natural Resource

John DeVoreJune 9, 2010 //
Mind of Man

According to highly scientific polls, 15 percent of women think staring is cheating, 45 percent have tried the “fingernail” diet, and 99 percent rate a sense of humor as the sexiest trait a man can have (the remaining 1 percent picked “sparkle”). When such pop statisticians ask men the same question, they usually respond “boobs.” Judging from this inequality of opinion, one could conclude that women are selfless flowers who find self-awareness attractive and that men are shallow. This is not entirely untrue. That women prize a guy who can laugh at himself and all the unpredictable absurdities that life throws at you is great news to bros with bellies who can belch the melody to “Paparazzi.” I like to think of this as an evolutionary gift; otherwise, the females of the species would have been left having to choose equally matched mates by their ability to fling poop. Keep reading »

Samantha Bee Talks Princesses, Airbrushing And Her Vagina In Part 2 Of Our Frisky Q&A

Jessica WakemanJune 8, 2010 //

Watch your bestseller-list ass, Chelsea Handler. For years, Samantha Bee has been giving brain boners as Most Senior Correspondent on “The Daily Show” and now Canada’s finest import has published her first book, a collection of autobiographical essays titled I Know I Am, But What Are You?.

From saucy recaps of her Barbie dolls’ sex lives to the bittersweet tale of meeting husband, fellow “Daily Show” correspondent Jason Jones, while performing a Sailor Moon musical for children, Bee’s book will have you snorting milk out of your nose (or else something is seriously wrong with you). And because she is awesome, Bee poses on her own book cover in a bumblebee costume. But don’t worry, boys, in the author photo on the back cover she is nude.

Bee agreed to chat with The Frisky, so I called her up armed with list of questions. In part one of our interview, we talked about the expected — being a woman in comedy, her book, and “The Daily Show,” of course. What I did not expect was that she would start our interview by telling me about her vagina. Keep reading »

Vanity Fair Is The Real Debbie Downer

Amelia McDonell-ParryApril 7, 2008 //

One of our favorite Saturday Night Live characters ever was Debbie Downer, played beautifully by Rachel Dratch. New York asked her how she felt about being left out of Vanity Fair‘s “Women in Comedy” story and she replied, “Dude, that was a dark day. I was like, ‘Oh, there’s everyone I worked with.’” Honestly, we didn’t realize Rachel was left out at the time (we were too busy being excited that Amy Sedaris was included!), but now we’re pissed. Is Jezebel right in pointing out that Vanity Fair only considers you funny enough for a feature if you’re traditionally pretty too? Now that is a downer. [New York] Keep reading »

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