James Morosini’s I Love My Dad, which won both the audience and Grand Jury Award at the 2022 SXSW Film Festival, is a masterclass in cringe comedy. Morosini stars as Franklin, a troubled young man fresh off a suicide attempt. His father, Chuck, played with an incautious tenacity by Patton Oswalt, has been desperately trying to get a hold of him. We are first introduced to Chuck via a series of pathetic voice messages to his son. Chuck is a deadbeat. He might mean well, but the man seems to lack even the most basic skills of parenting. Rule numero uno: show up. Establishing his boundaries, Franklin blocks his father across the social media board. And that’s when the fun (a relative term) begins. Totally misunderstanding an anecdote told to him by a coworker (played by Lil Rel Howery), ...
Patton Oswalt has announced We All Scream, his fourth Netflix comedy special and first serving as director. It premieres September 20th. Oswalt’s first special since 2020’s I Love Everything takes material from the 2021-22 “Who’s Ready to Laugh?” tour and was filmed at the Paramount Theatre in Denver, Colorado. According to a statement, it covers “what happens to our bodies as we get older, who [Oswalt] could have been had he just followed the list he created during the lockdown, the Baby Boomer’s last temper tantrum, and much more.” In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he expanded on these themes “We all remember before the pandemic, going, ‘If I could just get a month to myself to get my life together,’” he explained. “And then the un...
Patton Oswalt ended 2021 with a surprise performance alongside his longtime friend Dave Chappelle, and he began 2022 by justifying that decision. In an Instagram post on Sunday, January 2nd, Oswalt defended his friendship with Chappelle, apologized for not considering “the hurt this would cause,” and said he and his old pal, “100% disagree about transgender rights & representation.” Oswalt closed out the year with a performance at McCaw Hall in Seattle, while Chappelle did the same at the nearby Climate Pledge Arena. As Oswalt wrote in a January 1st post, he “Finished me set at @mccawhall and got a text from @davechappelle. Come over to the arena he’s performing in next door and do a guest set. Why not? I waved good-bye to this hell-year with a genius I started comedy with 34 years ago...
Editor’s Note: The following review is part of our coverage of the 2021 South by Southwest Film Festival. Stay tuned for further reviews straight outta Austin — well, virtually, of course. Below, Clint Worthington reviews Philip Gelatta and Morgan Galen King’s animated fantasy horror. The Pitch: In a mysterious fantasy world, an enchanted flower known as The Bloom holds the secret to many dark and powerful magicks. The tale of the Bloom, and its effect on the many inhabitants of this strange land, is told by a nearly-naked swamp witch named Tzod (Lucy Lawless) to the flower’s enigmatic Guardian (Richard E. Grant) atop a snow-capped mountain. Among her many tales are heroes and villains, religious zealots and diligent scholars, and buckets of blood and shattered bone along th...
Consequence of Sound and The Modern School of Film are proud to announce Assembly is back for a second season. On November 10th, host Robert Milazzo’s documentary podcast series will go behind the scenes with comic David Cross. Recorded in 2019, Milazzo follows Cross as he shapes his new stand-up act through a set of intimate gigs in Brooklyn, New York. Along the way, long-time collaborators, friends, and family all lend their perspectives on Cross’ life and work. No kidding. Milazzo has assembled one star-studded supporting cast. Along for the ride are Amber Tamblyn, Bob Odenkirk, H. Jon Benjamin, Janeane Garofalo, Patton Oswalt, Sarah Silverman, Sam Seder, and Julian Casablancas of The Strokes. “David was part of just about every great memory of comedy I have,” Garofalo says. “Assembly ...
The trend of nostalgic virtual reunions is being cranked up to 11, as the cast of This Is Spinal Tap is set to reunite for a benefit livestream supporting the Pennsylvania Democrats. Set to take place October 14th, the event will see Spinal Tap themselves — Christopher Guest (Nigel Tufnel), Michael McKean (David St. Hubbins), and Harry Shearer (Derek Smalls) — coming together with Rob Reiner (Marty DiBergi). Comedian Patton Oswalt will serve as the evening’s moderator. The event is being put on by the same folks behind the recent Princess Bride table read, which also featured Reiner and Oswalt. That partial reunion (Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Carol Kane, and Billy Crystal also took part) raised $4.25 million for Wisconsin Democrats. The Spinal Tap gang will hope to hit similar numbers for t...
Almost 33 years after the release of The Princess Bride, surviving members of the original cast reconvened on Sunday night for a virtual table read of William Goldman’s classic script. The live event was moderated by Patton Oswalt, who said, “This movie obviously meant a lot to my generation. This was the suburban mallrats’ intro to Monty Python, surrealism, and satire. So thank you, [director] Rob Reiner, thank you, [producer] Norman Lear, and the entire cast for bringing this to life.” Reiner, who stepped into the shoes of the late Peter Falk to play the grandfather, emphasized the broader picture before the event began: “We’re here basically to get Donald Trump out of the White House. That’s the main goal.” To that point, proceeds benefited the Democratic Party of Wiscons...
After years of fans asking the cast of The Princess Bride to reunite, they can finally respond truthfully with, “As you wish.” Next weekend, the beloved actors will come together for a virtual table read to help raise money for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. The fundraiser, dubbed “A Virtual Princess Bride Reunion”, will be a one-night-only event featuring Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Chris Sarandon, Mandy Patinkin, Wallace Shawn, Carol Kane, director Rob Reiner, and other “special guests.” There will also be a Q&A portion moderated by Patton Oswalt. The Princess Bride table read will take place on September 13th at 6:00 p.m. CT. Viewers must RSVP via Act Blue in order to watch it. “Anything you donate will be used to ensure that Trump loses Wisconsin, and thereby the White House,” th...
Amazon Prime has announced the Season 2 premiere of The Boys. The superhero deconstruction from Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and Eric Kripke returns September 4th with three new episodes. Future episodes will then be released weekly through October 9th. The release date was announced during a virtual reunion of the show’s cast hosted by Patton Oswalt, who joins the new season as Tek Knight, a superhero who can only fly in space. The teaser clip features a boardroom pitch to The Seven that hopes to excite them with phrases like, “rousing music,” and “Haaaaaaans Zimmeeer.” Check that out at the 45:25 mark in the video below. You’ll notice another new face in that clip: Aya Cash, who joins The Seven as new member Stormfront. Earlier in the livestream, her character was ...
As promised, Bob Odenkirk and David Cross reunited on Wednesday night for the Mr. Show Zoomtacular Annual Business Call Event for Charity. In addition to raising funds and eliciting some good ol’ fashioned yucks, the two strung together what has to be the most star-studded rendition of “Weird Al” Yankovic’s Michael Jackson parody “Eat It”. Joining the two co-stars in the unexpected sing-along were Bryan Cranston, Sarah Silverman, a very bearded Jack Black, Patton Oswalt, Fred Armisen, Al Franken, Paul Scheer, Heidi Gardner, Rachel Bloom, Alison Pill, Amber Tamblyn, John Hodgman, Tony Hale, and Odenkirk’s Better Call Saul co-stars in Rhea Seehorn, Michael McKean, and Michael Mando. Of course, the legend himself “Weird Al” also tagged along. Dubbed “We’re All In This Together”...
Who said good things can’t come from celebrities joining together in song? During the Mr. Show Zoomtacular Annual Business Call Event for Charity, a bunch of comedians and actors covered “Weird Al” Yankovic’s breakthrough hit “Eat It,” which, duh, spoofed Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.” Participants included Mr. Show’s David Cross and Bob Odenkirk (and his Better Call Saul co-stars Rhea Seehorn, Michael McKean, and Michael Mando), Bryan Cranston, Sarah Silverman, Patton Oswalt, Fred Armisen, Heid Gardner, Jack Black, Paul Scheer, and former Sen. Al Franken among many, many more. Of course, Yankovic was thrilled with what he saw from the clip, which was titled “We’re All in This Together.” He appeared in it as well. “Truly there’s no problem that can’t be overcome when you get a bunch of ...