The Timekiller: State of the Web Comedy Union

Watching George Bush stumble his way through his final State of the Union speech the other day gave me an idea – once a month, I’m going to write up my own State of the Web Comedy Union report and share it with you here on Whip It Out Comedy.

My qualifications for this are basically that I spend a lot of time watching comedy videos online and dealing with my fellow web comedy peers. I also have opinions. And, since I run this site, I’ve got a place to state them.

Anyway, here’s my inaugural State of the Web Comedy Union report – if you have any of your own thoughts on the current state of comedy online (or off for that matter), I encourage you to leave them in the comments and share your opinions with the rest of us.

Big News: Funny or Die Hits The Road
Funny or Die will become the first comedy video website to launch its own live national tour, and they’re doing so in a major way with a ridiculously good lineup that includes Zach Galifianakis, Nick Swardson, and Demetri Martin as well as Funny or Die frontman Will Ferrell. We’ve heard the tour is selling out big college arenas – something that’s sure to bode well for Funny or Die as well as hopefully set the table for other comedy websites to expand into future live adventures.

Little News: The Strike Strikes Out
Even as the writers strike continues to drag on, it hasn’t had nearly the effect on online comedy content that a lot of people predicted it would. Sure, there have been some striking writers trying to get themselves some cash to start up their own online ventures, and there have been some seriously mediocre propaganda vids from the WGA, but the strike of 2007/2008 certainly hasn’t led to a golden age of web comedy videos quite yet.

Trend I Love: The Fame Game
It’s clear that celebrities are getting the message that there’s no better PR move for them at the moment than to show up in a comedy video. Matt Damon’s the latest big name to surface in a video – singing, dancing, and rapping about how Sarah Silverman is fucking him – and it’s impossible to watch the video and not think better of Damon for doing it. Even Jerry O’Connell’s picked up on the trend. Ok, so maybe not all of these star-studded videos are going to be winners, but in general this trend is probably going to lead to a lot more good than bad.

Trend I Hate: Bad Impressions
I'm pretty sure that if you are going to make a comedy video in which you are doing an impression of somebody, you'd better be able to do the impression really well, or at the very least give people more bang for their buck. I've seen way too many videos lately of people combining their terrible George Bush jokes with their terrible impressions of the terrible President. Please stop.

Welcome To The Neighborhood: 60 Frames and UCB Comedy
Two major web comedy hopefuls launched this past month. First, 60Frames.com launched with a six web series featuring strong production values and some hit or miss comedy values. Then, the kings of alt comedy over at the UCB Theater, launched their own online home at UCBComedy.com featuring an interesting mix of live show footage from their NY and LA theaters in addition to plenty of funny and oddball videos from the talented stable of UCB performers.

Video That Deserves More Views:
I Miss Moranis. It’s catchy, quirky, and features Rick Moranis’ best work since Little Giants.

Video That Got More Views Than It Deserves:
Fuck Planet Earth. This video's mildly amusing, but is the simple idea of animals cursing really funny enough that it warrants millions of views and a message board thread tracking its viralness? I don’t get it, but apparently the rest of the world does.

Just Wondering:
Why don’t comedy clubs have better websites? Comedy clubs are these amazing resources for talent with comics coming through them constantly and hanging out all the time, but yet almost every comedy club website is horrible and features virtually no original content. Doesn’t it seem like a no-brainer to tape some content with comics who are hanging out in your club all the time anyway and throw it online? Give comedy fans in your area a reason to check out your website (and in the process discover what upcoming shows are going on)? For that matter, shouldn’t the club sites make it easier for individual shows or comics to use video to promote their upcoming shows? Some club websites try to do a little of this, but it seems like they could be doing a lot more. Just wondering…

Josh Spector is the "mastermind" behind Whip It Out Comedy. His column runs every Monday, assuming he remembers to write it. He has recently written about driving a porn star carpool and strikes that would be way more entertaining than the writers strike. He can be pestered at whipitoutcomedy@yahoo.com.