Last week I went to see A Streetcar Named Desire with Natasha Richardson and John C. Reilly at Studio 54. Tennesse Williams has long been my favorite playwright, but I’ve been incredibly unlucky when it comes to seeing good productions of his great plays. In this case, Studio 54 is just too big a space and Reilly (as much as I love him in almost everything) is totally miscast as Stanley. From the moment of his first entrance, bellowing “Stella” as loud as he can, something felt off, and the rest of the play, while it had its moments, was a pretty big bore.
What would have made the show tremendously better might have been if Stella had left the stage and been replaced by … Stella. The new show premiering tonight on Comedy Central at 10:30 PM from former members of The State — Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter and David Wain — is absolutely hysterical. I’ve heard some people have had trouble describing exactly what Stella is. I don’t — it’s The Three Stooges for the 21st Century. The Comedy Central web site calls them a “modern day Marx Brothers,” which fits as well, but I still think the Stooges comparison makes more sense, even though there’s less of the physical slapstick. Black, Showalter and Wain have created a world of absurdity in which everyone, not just the three of them, doesn’t view anything as absurd. But that’s what makes it funny. The other people in this world see the two Michaels and a David as fools, yet are still oblivious to the stupidity of all the situations. Meanwhile, our three “heroes” manage to approach every moment with a placid innocence and straight-forwardness that is utterly honest.
There are many laugh-out-loud moments in Stella. (My favorite involves a Co-op board interview that turns into the audition sequence at the end of Flashdance.) My only regret in seeing the first episode early is that I have to wait that much longer to see the next episode. Stella may be “Dumb comedy dressed up in a suit,” but it’s smart dumb comedy. I’ve been having this conversation with several friends recently who think that I’m sometimes too critical of certain films, especially “dumb ones.” They think I don’t like dumb comedy, but I really do. I just like it when it’s smart, and no that’s not a contradiction. South Park is smart dumb comedy. I wasn’t a fan of Dude, Where’s My Car? because it was simply dumb. But Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle was absolutely hilarious — and plenty dumb. Yet it managed to be dumb while being clever. There is a difference, and while I can only base it on one episode (and nothing more as I never saw the live Stella shows), Stella seems to know where that line is and stays on the right side of it.
With Stella following the very funny Reno 911! — another show from a different group of former members of The State — Comedy Central’s 10 PM hour on Tuesday definitely has become the place to go if you want the funny!
Out of Focus 
I agree–Stella rocks. But I was a huge fan of The State when it was on MTV, and I was crushed when it was cancelled. I’ve been waiting ever since for those guys to show up again–although I haven’t liked what most of the cast has done since The State. Didn’t dig Viva Variety or Reno 911, or Wet Hot American Summer. I’m happy to see Stella come out, though, because it seems great so far.
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