Okay, someone will have to explain this to me. Here, you have Zach Galifianakis, Jennifer Aniston & Tila Tequila -- three A list Hollywood celebrities. You have a website that gets tens or hundreds of thousands of hits each day, a sub 2000 Alexa rank, and a Google page rank of 8. You even have professional staff that works on these movies. And STILL your movies suck. How is that possible, Funny or Die? How is that even remotely possible?
Well, if you don't believe me, just take a look at this next video.
I mean, at no point during this video did I laugh. It seemed like it was a bad (very bad) cross between improv on the side of Zach and some sort of bad acting on Jennifer and Tila's part.
I just don't understand why they can't make these videos funny.
Every so often, I go onto Funny or Die and give them a chance. And, almost every time, the videos end up sucking.
Sometimes I wonder why I even go on the Funny or Die website anymore. I go there looking for cool videos to post on my blog and, with few exceptions, leave disappointed.
A perfect example of this comes from the next entry. Here, Funny or Die posted something claiming to be "The Carrie Prejean Sex Tape". So, I decided to watch the video, hoping this time I wouldn't be disappointed.
Okay, so the thing I don't understand about the Funny or Die site is this: they have money, lots of viewers, professional script writers, and star power that amateur producers on Youtube could only have wet dreams about at night. Yet, they still can't manage to make anything better than the video above?
I mean, it's not just the blatant appeal to sex and sexism, the pandering to Perez Hilton and the whole Hollywood slapping traditional morals with a wet tuna thing, or even the inane magic marker drawings on the video at the end. It's the fact that, consistently, the videos on this site just aren't funny. A lot could be forgiven if I laughed, even once, when I watched videos like this one on the Funny or Die site. For some reason, it just doesn't happen, with very few exceptions.
Okay, I have to give Funny or Die credit here. I actually did laugh twice during this video, which is twice more than I think I've ever laughed at any Funny or Die video.
I think that they should have Natalie do a few more sketches with Zach Galifianakis (of The Hangover fame). The onscreen comedic chemistry between the two is really good -- a testament to the acting ability of the duo.
In the Funny or Die world of sucky sketch comedy and pandering to celebrities, this sketch actually struck me as genuine and cool. Maybe Funny or Die is turning a new leaf. No Strings Attached
A while back on this blog, I wrote an entry about how the internet comedy series Funny or Die actually sucks and isn't very funny. However, I had a friend email me a link to some of their new videos so that I could do an updated review of the series. My updated opinion: Funny or Die is still hit or miss, with mostly misses and a very few mildly amusing hits. So, yeah, it still sucks. Scroll down for my review of the three new videos:
In this sequal to When Harry Met Sally, a studio exec takes Billy Crystal's idea of making a sequel to the classical romantic comedy and turns it into a vampire movie renamed When Harry Bit Sally, Even though the idea is brilliant and Billy Crystal is one of my favorite all time comedians, the execution on the video seemed a little off. I thought the jokes were a bit forced (like the one where Crystal suddenly gets excited over a bloody handkerchief used for a circumcision) to somewhat gross (as when Crystal spits blood onto the window of a car without rolling it down). It felt like every other Funny or Die short I've ever seen -- good idea, lots of promise, poor execution, and poor comedic timing. It's still worth watching once, but it's not the type of video I'd post on Facebook or email to a friend.
I actually found myself laughing a few times during this short, which is rare when I watch Funny or Die videos. The premise in this video is that Ralph Maccio (The Karate Kid) has to remake himself as a Hollywood bad boy to restart his movie career. The video has a few funny moments, like where he wants to make a sex tape with "no cuddling" at the end. Also, the scene where he is paying the hooker 50 bucks for a hug is pretty good. Even so, I still get this overall sense of pandering to stars from this video, just like every other Funny or Die video out there. I would also rate this one as a watch once video, with maybe a Facebook post if you have lots of Karate Kid fans in your family.
3. David Mamet's "Lost Masterpieces of Pornography"
Here is yet another video from Funny or Die that should have been funny, could have been funny, but wasn't. It had all of the elements: pretty girl, old guys, pornography lost since 1938 -- I guess those are all funny, right? The problem with this video is, like other Funny or Die videos, it just doesn't take itself seriously. The ideas are all right, the acting talent is there, but the execution is just off somehow.
I don't understand why Funny of Die isn't funny, I really don't. But, for some inexplicable reason, it isn't funny. So, yes, Funny or Die still sucks, unfortunately.
First off, the scene where the guy get robbed and killed in his own house. I've posted videos of people getting hurt on my blog before, and I've even posted vids of insurgents getting wasted by U.S. troops. I have no problem with violence in general. However, in this particular case, it comes off as much creepier. There is just something disturbing, even to me, about seeing a guy get shot in his pajamas. Of course, a lot of the reason why they show this is because it's a white guy getting shot by another white guy, which makes it perfectly okay. If it were, say, a black man shooting/getting shot by a white guy, that would be racist.
Second, the solution shown in the video is dorky. I was really hoping for some sort of "Bazookanator" or instant death ray gun to help protect the home owner. I would have even settled for a vampire dog. But, the eye hole thing is a piece that gets way too much usage in comedy shorts. Back in the days of Looney Toons, maybe it was fresh. But, after 80 years of seeing it, not so much.
Finally, Adam West is best seen and not heard. He's cool in Family Guy because his voice is so weird. But, on screen, he looks like some sort of pedophile grandpa. I guess if someone was really drunk or stoned, it might appeal to them. But, I'm sober and not so much.
Maybe I'm just nit picking here. But, I don't find these videos funny. What do you think?
![Carrie Prejean Interview [Explicit]](http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B003BN6CO6&tag=futur0fe-20)
