A year ago, we reflected on a raunchy, female-dominated, fairly diverse year in comedy and concluded that 2012 would likely bring a similarly strong crop of films. Coming out of 2011’s Bridesmaids-induced box office boost, 2012 promised eagerly awaited new works from Wes Anderson, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Woody Allen; plenty of reboots and sequels (The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, Skyfall, The Amazing Spider Man, MIB3, 21 Jump Street); an end to Twilight; and the birth of The Hunger Games and The Hobbit. Among all the action, young adult, and animated films rolling out each week, comedy fans didn’t have quite as many premieres to look forward [...]
Lost Roles is a weekly column exploring “what might have been” in movie and TV comedy, as we take a different actor, writer, or comedian each week and examine the parts they turned down, wanted but didn’t get, and the projects that fell apart altogether. To close out 2012, we've put together a list of 12 of the most interesting movies, shows, or alternate casting choices that almost happened but didn't – some good, some bad, some just super weird. Read on for the best abandoned projects we've covered in 2012, including an SNL reality show in which comedians would have competed to be cast members on the [...]
It seems like just a year ago that I was writing to all of you recapping 2011's web series, because it was a year…almost exactly.
Now, here we are in the home stretch of 2012, and it's time to think about all the things that the Internet has given us lo these many months — the stars it's birthed, the jokes it's broadcast, the dreams it's made come true. Most of all, it's time for a little holiday relaxation time during which you'd be remiss if you didn't go back and take a second look at the all the funny things so many talented people poured their hearts [...]
It's been the year of looking back to, of all places, the 1980s — of this year's 46 Saturday Night's Children entries, half joined the show between 1980 and 1989. I'm an admirer of all things underdog, so while revisiting heavyweights like Joe Piscopo, Billy Crystal, and Dana Carvey as well as post-SNL superstars like Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Robert Downey Jr., and Ben Stiller was fun, it was the more obscure players like Denny Dillon, Pamela Stephenson, and Robin Duke whose more untold stories (and in Tony Rosato's case, inspiring tale of comedy commitment) I found the most rewarding. I also made sure to include more recent stars like Amy [...]
I watched a lot of bad comedies this year. Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, Take Me Home Tonight, Just Go with It, Zookeeper, Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son…the list goes on and on. But all of the unfunny films of 2011, there was one that was especially unfunny, a movie so bad that I’m still not sure if it actually happened – and I’ve seen it twice. No, I’m not talking about Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star, which was more performance piece than film, and might actually be a brilliant piece of postmodern something-or-other; I’m referring to the year’s worst Happy Madison production, Jack & Jill.
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