We’re almost through the month of May, and you know what that means: it’s college commencement speech season! While some of us had boring academics speak at our college graduations, there are a lot of other people who get to listen to folks like Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Amy Poehler, or Meryl Streep. So if you’re like me and are still annoyed that the creator of Joan of Arcadia was the celebrated guest who spoke while you baked in your black polyester cap and gown, take a short break and listen to these famous (and, generally, hilarious) people give advice to 22-year-olds. … Read More
Ellen Degeneres
27 Awesome Photos of Cultural Icons at Prom
Now that May is here, there’s no ignoring it: our tackiest American teenage rite of passage is approaching. That’s right, it’s prom season. Whether this conjures up cringe-worthy memories or no memories at all for you, not to worry — hosts of your favorite cultural icons have gone through it too, with varying degrees of grace. Click through for a collection of some of the greatest photos of actors, politicians, musicians, and even writers in their prom-night… Read More
Celebrities Reading '50 Shades of Grey' Aloud, Ranked From Worst to Best
By now, it seems like everyone in the world has read 50 Shades of Grey (except the people you actually know). Including celebrities, who particularly can’t seem to get enough of reading the thing out loud. We get it — it’s hilarious and oh so scandalous in a completely safe way. But some celebs do a better job than others, and though “better” here is obviously relative and subjective, we’d say that the quality usually comes down to the commitment. After the jump, watch (if you can bear it) ten videos of celebrities reading from 50 Shades of Grey, ranked from worst to best. Do you agree with our rankings? Want someone else on the list? Let us know in the comments. … Read More
Watch a Supercut of All of the Kissing from ’7 Minutes in Heaven’
We’ve previously sung the praises of SNL scribe Mike O’Brien’s brilliant 7 Minutes in Heaven web series before, but you know what’s even better than watching him awkwardly put the moves on one celebrity? Watching him put the moves on nearly 20 celebrities in succession. Seriously, it’s just so entertaining! Our favorite interview-ending smooch has to be his failed attempt to seduce Christina Ricci by telling her that she’s not “weird or dour.” Or maybe it’s the really strange upper lip licking thing that happens with Seth Meyers — who we believe is technically his boss. Or perhaps that incredibly passionate kiss that he shares with Patricia Clarkson… Given that as far as we know there are no new webisodes in the works, we suppose that we’ll have to get our jollies by with watching this over and over again — and we’re totally OK with that. … Read More
The Morning’s Top 5 Pop Culture Stories
1. The People’s List, a readers’ poll of the best albums of Pitchfork’s first 15 years, is now live here, with a top ten that includes Radiohead three separate times.
2. For reasons that are very unclear to us, Disney has decided that it’s a good idea to reboot The Rocketeer. [via… Read More
James Franco, Backstreet Boys and Jane Lynch To Join the Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has announced the 24 honorees who will be bequeathed a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this year — if, of course, they shell out that $30,000 celebrities are asked to pay to, er, cement the honor. Some of the choices make sense to us — Javier Bardem, Helen Mirren, Jane Lynch all definitely deserve stars, even if the whole thing is a racket that ends up with gum trod into your name — but some seem a little bizarre. After all, if the HCC was going to give the Backstreet Boys and NKOTB stars, why do it in 2012 at the peak of their irrelevance? And you’re only just noticing Janis Joplin now? Click through to check out the complete list of honorees, and let us know what you think in the comments. … Read More
Ellen DeGeneres Wins Mark Twain Prize for American Humor
Between Newsweek‘s proud proclamation that Barack Obama is America’s “first gay president” and Jay-Z rushing to co-sign the president’s support of same-sex marriage, it’s been a big week for the LGBT rights movement in pop culture. And now, in another sign of just how far we’ve come, Ellen DeGeneres — who,… Read More
10 Sitcoms That Actually Moved Women Forward
‘Tis the season to be a woman on TV comedies. If you’ve spent the last few months living in a television-less cave, you might be surprised to discover that we’ve reached a bit of a renaissance of female-driven network sitcoms. (Also, you might be surprised to be back in society! In that case, hello! Hope your time in the cave was okay!) The latest primetime trend is usually a pretty boring and inconsequential thing to discuss, but we’re now at a moment in which a significant portion of the surviving and debatably thriving fall sitcoms have women as their comedic leads (See: New Girl, 2 Broke Girls, Whitney, etc.). If you ask us, that’s a pretty neat thing!
Still, while we love that these funny ladies are dismantling the boys club of primetime TV while simultaneously getting a shot to spice up the comedy scene, we can’t help but wonder if these shows themselves are doing all that we proclaim they are. If you ask us, it’s not even about feminism, per se; it’s more about pushing the envelope by including female-specific perspectives in humor. (A little less banal period jokes, a little more Bridesmaids, you know?) After the jump, we’re taking a look at some of the great females of sitcom history. Consider it our attempt to remind Zooey that fabulous bangs does not an instant comedic legend make. … Read More
The Morning's Top 5 Pop Culture Stories
1. When the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum opens this morning at 10 am, it will be the first time since 2001 that the public will be able to enter the World Trade Center grounds. [via The Daily Beast]
2. Cyndi Lauper messed up the lyrics to the national anthem while performing at… Read More
‘Louie’ and the Best Stand-Ups-Turned-Sitcom-Stars
The first season of Louie, the FX sitcom written and directed by star Louis C.K., hits DVD and Blu-ray today; this innovative, somewhat subversive, and reliably uproarious series takes the notion of the tightly-constructed stand-up sit-com and turns it on its head, with a stream-of-consciousness narrative style and surrealist streak that brands it a true original. Of course, the stages of comedy clubs (and, before that, coffee houses and vaudeville stages) have been television’s most reliable source of comedy stars; Louie is the latest in a very long line of television series created for (and sometimes by) stand-up comedians.
In assembling this list of our favorites, we concentrated only on those who starred in their own series, rather than in a supporting role in someone else’s (so no Andy Kaufman, Patton Oswalt, David Cross, Billy Crystal, or Kathy Griffin); only those whose sitcoms were hits (sorry, Margaret Cho); and only those who were successful stand-ups first (hence, no Larry David — by his own admission). The rest is opinion, and sorry, there’s no convincing us that either Tim Allen’s stand-up act or Home Improvement were funny. With those parameters in mind, our list of the best stand-ups-turned-sitcom stars is after the jump. … Read More
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