Uppercut Comedy
Breaking down what's necessary to be a great awards show host, highlighting a beautiful comedy about death, depression and homosexuality and introducing a literal life saver for young girls.
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Awards season is upon us.
Like weeds pushing up through the cracks in the pavement it brings life to the cold, grey, miserable start of each year. A life which could not be further from my own and one that I view through my phone whilst lying in stained tracksuit bottoms on my sofa. Eating hummus. Always hummus.
I love the outfits, the acceptance speeches, the new movies I need to add to my never ending ‘to watch’ list and I’m always super intrigued as to who is hosting. Such a big gig and one that should never be taken lightly.
I feel nervous when I watch the opening monologues. I want them to do well. I really do. I’ve been there. When you’re standing in front of a room full of people, and your job is to make them laugh, when that actually happens it’s euphoric. It’s one of the wildest feelings in the world. It gives you a boost and a confidence you don’t know how to harness any other way. When you’re controlling how a room feels with the words that come out of your mouth it is an extremely powerful thing.
When they’re not laughing, when the room is quiet and the tension is palpable, you want to be anywhere but up on that stage. The feeling this time is stomach dropping. You begin to panic about how you’re going to change the mood. How will you get them back on your side? Have you blown it for good? Do you keep plowing on or do you cut your loses and change tact?
I saw all this fear and panic in Jo Koy as he was hosting the Golden Globes.
I say I saw it, parts of his set where so painful I had to cover my face. With a situation like that, one that make me cringe so hard, I will often leave a room. Physically get up and move somewhere else. That or mute the sound. I can’t put myself through it. My gut ties itself into knots and my arsehole tightens so much I wonder if I’ll ever be able to go to the toilet again.
Oh man it was painful. He started off well but then he went to take down Barbie, the biggest movie at the box office last year {and for years} and diminished it. His jokes about it were cheap. He also did an impression of Robert De Niro to Robert De Niro {HOW MANY TIMES DO WE HAVE TO TELL YOU??? JUST DON’T DO IT} and then when he was drowning in a sea of titters and groans he took a swipe at his writers
Some I wrote, some other people wrote….Yo, I got the gig 10 days ago. You want a perfect monologue, yo, shut up. You’re kidding me, right? Slow down. I wrote some of these and they’re the ones you’re laughing at.
That was when my arsehole disappeared completely and I feared for my digestive system for the rest of my life.
Don’t throw the unsung heros under the bus! Yo, that’s really low.
The trouble is the line between comedy that shocks and is funny as opposed to comedy that shocks and is offensive is so fine. Finer than a piece of thread. Finer than Ryan Gosling with no shirt on….And we all know now how fine that is.
If your normal stand up routine is edgy comedy that’s fine {pun intended} but when you're asked to host an awards show you need to tailor your material. The audience is not there solely to see you. They may not be familiar with your material at all and they certainly didn’t queue for hours to get into the live recording of your Netflix special.
It’s similar to doing a wedding speech. Read the room. More often than not there's an extremely varied crowd. The old and the young. The awkward and the outgoing. Great Auntie Joan doesn’t laugh at the same things that best mate Paul does. Just as Harrison Ford doesn’t laugh at the same things Taylor Swift does. {I mean they could do but it’s unlikely}
You need to punch up with your comedy. Get the room on your side with your positivity. Make the room feel relaxed because when people are relaxed they're laughing.
Granted the audience at an awards ceremony are a precious bunch. It’s full of people who probably don’t often hear the word no and no doubt haven’t made their own beds since they were waiters at TGI Fridays auditioning in their spare time. The egos that fill those rooms are delicate and unfortunately, whether you agree with it or not, to get them laughing you need to get them on your side.
But that’s exactly what Chelsea Handler did at the Critics Choice awards a week after her ex boyfriend, Jo Koy, crashed and burned at the Golden Globes.
It was her second time hosting and she was amazing because she punched up. She was positive AND funny. She wasn’t snide but she also wasn’t a sycophant. She took aim at the topics that are always ripe for ribbing ~ The big establishments that fuck us all over, misogyny in Hollywood, politicians, old actors who become fathers in their 80s.
She was clever and she succeeded. It was a joy to watch. I felt so proud of her. She even took a swipe at Koy for blaming his writers which received a huge laugh. I felt safe watching her and thankfully my arsehole did too. It was a lesson in telling jokes, being funny and finding humour that caters to all.
Punch up. Use it in the everyday. It shows intelligence and more often than not includes everyone.
The BAFTA’s air next Sunday and the Oscars three weeks after that. Let’s see if the hosts of those two awards shows {That well known comedian David Tennant and Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel} have what it takes to read the room and lead with an uppercut.
I don’t know about you but I’m hoping for a knockout.
PS. If you want a masterclass, as opposed to a lesson, in great hosting watch any of the three times Amy Poehler and Tina Fey hosted the Golden Globes {Click here}
Positive, Intelligent, Funny, Geniuses…
London | June 2014
The Contents of My Consumption
~ Watching 📺~
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