comedy

’70s TV Horror/Mystery ‘Kolchak: The Night Stalker’ Keeps Crawling from Its Grave

’70s TV Horror/Mystery ‘Kolchak: The Night Stalker’ Keeps Crawling from Its Grave

Horror-mystery TV series Kolchak: The Night Stalker has a sour take on society that hasn’t dated since the ’70s; hence, its eternal afterlife.

Marvel’s ‘WandaVision’ Echos Our Lasting Pandemic Grief

Marvel’s ‘WandaVision’ Echos Our Lasting Pandemic Grief

Addressing pandemic-induced topics such as loss, grief, and mental illness, Marvel’s ‘WandaVision’ serves as a metaphor for life in the time of COVID.

Character Actor Edward Everett Horton’s Silent Films Provoke Raucous Laughter

Character Actor Edward Everett Horton’s Silent Films Provoke Raucous Laughter

Edward Everett Horton, a comedic bean pole with a voice you know from cartoons, knew how to make silent film audiences laugh–loudly.

What’s So Funny About Tragic Things?

What’s So Funny About Tragic Things?

Scepanski’s Tragedy Plus Time takes a serious look at how comedy and satire in American media make light of dark matters.

The Way They Kiss in ‘Thoroughly Modern Millie’

The Way They Kiss in ‘Thoroughly Modern Millie’

Julie Andrews’ 1960s musical Thoroughly Modern Millie does its anti-authoritarian, anarchic-chaotic thing in a different key.

Seaton’s What’s So Bad About Feeling Good? Thumbs Its Tucan-Size Nose at the Establishment

Seaton’s What’s So Bad About Feeling Good? Thumbs Its Tucan-Size Nose at the Establishment

An airborne virus infects the cogs in the capitalist machine in George Seaton’s What’s So Bad About Feeling Good? and makes people subversively happy.

Nida Manzoor’s Comedy ‘We Are Lady Parts’ Shatters Muslim Stereotypes One Punk Song at a Time

Nida Manzoor’s Comedy ‘We Are Lady Parts’ Shatters Muslim Stereotypes One Punk Song at a Time

Nida Manzoor’s punk rock comedy We Are Lady Parts beautifully captures that the performance and expression of Muslim identity are complex and multifaceted.

‘In the Cards’ Actress Eleanore Pienta on Pushing Back Against Correctness

‘In the Cards’ Actress Eleanore Pienta on Pushing Back Against Correctness

Actress Eleanore Pienta talks with PopMatters about the challenges of indie film work, the appeal of broken characters, and our era of political correctness.

Tribeca 2021: ‘India Sweets and Spices’ Offers Familiarity

Tribeca 2021: ‘India Sweets and Spices’ Offers Familiarity

Geeta Malik’s India Sweets and Spices is peppered with familiarity, from the settings to the snacks, in an enjoyable but incomplete package.

Bo Burnham’s Pandemic Comedy Special ‘Inside’ Is the Krapp’s Last Tape of Our Times

Bo Burnham’s Pandemic Comedy Special ‘Inside’ Is the Krapp’s Last Tape of Our Times

Like Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape, Bo Burnham’s Inside offers rich insights into how our psyches and sense of self get warped by ever-advancing technologies.

Director Emma Seligman on Sex and Insecurity in Her Dark Comedy, ‘Shiva Baby’

Director Emma Seligman on Sex and Insecurity in Her Dark Comedy, ‘Shiva Baby’

Emma Seligman talks with PopMatters about her dark comedy about sex work and anxiety, Shiva Baby.

Frank Perry and Jerry Schatzberg Show Us How to Be a Woman in the ’70s

Frank Perry and Jerry Schatzberg Show Us How to Be a Woman in the ’70s

Frank Perry and Jerry Schatzberg jolted audiences who weren’t used to unsatisfied and belittled housewives starring in a film, or to the concept of such people existing.