drewprops.com » comedy

Penn Jillette’s Biggest Trick

drew — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 04:58:21 +0000

Penn Jillette, I’m calling your ass out on the carpet for perpetrating the biggest hoax of the 21st century because I am so tired of hearing people excitedly explain the premise of your 2005 documentary “The Aristocrats” to their friends. It was funny at the time and I enjoyed seeing all the chatter about the film on television, especially the way that everybody, everywhere had become instant experts on the backstage society of comedians. Having Saget in the film was a masterstroke at convincing the world that the joke was real, I mean, old Bob Saget wouldn’t lie to us… would he?

So, while I know that everyone involved with the project must have had a blast, don’t you think that it’s time for the big lie to be over and for you to admit to the world that “The Aristocrats” was a sham, a hoax, a Blistered Ethel (an old Vaudeville term that I just made up)? What really gets me is that although I know that I shouldn’t be surprised at their gullibility, I can’t get over how stupid people are. How trusting. Guess we’re conditioned to believe documentaries, I used to repeat the “facts” I hear on TV all the time.

Now I just make up stuff. It’s a lot more fun.

You and I both know that the joke was never the “secret handshake” of Vaudevillians. Can you seriously picture any one of the Seven Little Foys ever telling that joke (or acting it out)? Don’t answer that. Just stand there and let me applaud you and the 100 prankish comedians who assisted you in this bit of theatrical chicanery. This will forever remain one of your best tricks, masterfully executed on all of the idiots I keep running into at parties.

Oh, and I want back the money that I paid to see the movie (since it was about a fake inside-joke). If not my money then something of equal value, like a beer. Preferably without giant centipedes swimming in it.

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I Left About That Time

drew — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 01:46:39 +0000

My Dad once told me a long, fascinating story from his youth that kept building and building, every twist and turn made the story more fantastic. Just when I thought the tale couldn’t get any wilder it surged above and beyond my grasp, building toward a final payoff that I knew must certainly be the most wonderful thing I would ever hear. Finally, unable to contain myself any longer, I asked him what happened next. He replied, “Well, I left about that time.”

The rug being pulled out from under me sounded exactly like a slide whistle in a cartoon.

This was my introduction to the notorious phrase “I left about that time”, a punchline that my Mom’s father would occasionally slip in on his kids as he entertained them on their farm in rural 1930’s South Georgia. I always assumed that this phrase was unique to my Grandfather’s personal sense of comedy but have started to suspect that it may in fact have had a wider cultural usage; perhaps a popular catchphrase belonging to the generation of Americans born around the beginning of the 20th century.

There’s so much to ponder.

For instance: Did the phrase originate with a radio program? A popular phonograph? A play? A comic strip? A politician’s speaking gaffe? Was it from the 19th or 20th century? Could it pre-date the Civil War? Is it unique to the Southeastern United States?

In the last year or so I recall hearing someone else refer to the phrase and I intended to ask where they’d heard it used before but, you know, I left about that time.

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Making of The Lady From Sockholm

drew — Fri, 03 Jun 2005 07:00:29 +0000

Last week I had the distinct pleasure of meeting with local Atlanta filmmaker Lynn Lamousin to discuss her recent project “The Lady from Sockholm”, which is set to make its World Premiere this month at the 2005 Atlanta Film Festival. Plan to be in your seats by 5pm at the Rialto Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday, June 12th for a movie that’s sure to put you in stitches.

Lynn Lamousin is a writer, a designer and an enormous fan of cinema. I first met her last year as I turned in my own screenplay “Love and the Dragon” as a submission for the 2004 Southeastern Media Award. A month or so later I learned that Lynn and I were among the five finalists for that prize. I got to know her a bit more during the week of that festival, slipping off with her to catch a dorky movie about people obsessed with playing Scrabble. Lynn went on to win the Southeastern that year, the second screenplay award she’d won since ‘Sockholm’ won the Screenplay Competition Award of Excellence at Slamdance.

It’s inspirational to see filmmakers who put their heads down, move ahead and MAKE something instead of just sitting around talking about it. Anyone who knows Lynn knows that she is a huge supporter of Atlanta’s independent film community, especially the not-for-profit organization IMAGE. I expect for Lynn to have a TREMENDOUS turnout at the Atlanta Film Festival and hope that you will join me in support of ‘The Lady from Sockholm’.

CORRECTIONS: While we were doing this interview Lynn’s cats were tussling around the foot of her comfy couch and even though I do have a mesmerizing presence, Lynn nonetheless became distracted by the caterwauling and mistakenly referred to Assistant Puppet Builder Carol Daniel by an incorrect last name. Sorry about that Carol! And my apologies go out to the Co-Directors of the film, Eddy Von Mueller and Evan Lieberman – I’m still learning this machine and did not mean to cut the section of the interview where Lynn acknowledged your hard work and talent. Good job on the film guys!

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