About 60% of the jokes land in “Yearly Departed,” an Amazon special premiering Wednesday, Dec. 30, that gathers top female comics (plus the actress who plays Mrs. Maisel) to eulogize 2020, a year that mercifully ends this week.
But the special’s appeal goes beyond the laughs. Its individual eulogies — saying goodbye to some long-running aspect of life that 2020 squashed — share a relatability factor. “Yearly Departed” also benefits from being freshly made content that reflects the moment.
Relatability — fuel for the career of “Yearly Departed” comic Tiffany Haddish — is gold in 2020 because we all experienced this hideous year together. Or at least half of us were together in despising the other half.
Either way, millions of people can sympathize with Haddish’s mock-tearful goodbye to casual sex in “Yearly Departed.” Haddish sells this routine with characteristic enthusiasm and frankness (the special is rated TV-MA) and by mentioning a novel kind of pandemic “pod” that gives new meaning to shared resources.
The audience probably also will nod in appreciation at “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” star Rachel Brosnahan’s bit about bidding permanent farewell to pants, which proved optional in 2020. An executive producer here, along with starring in Amazon’s “Maisel” series and Amazon Original film “I’m Your Woman,” Brosnahan is an honorary Bezos at this point. She’s also a pretty effective stand-up, turning down the Midge oomph only slightly in “Yearly Departed.”
Review: Rachel Brosnahan stars as a gangster’s wife on the run in ‘I’m Your Woman’
Brosnahan’s remarks clearly are meant for the female comics in the room and not Jeffrey Toobin. The just-us-gals spirit of this project, directed by Linda Mendoza (“Tiffany Haddish Presents: They Ready”), extends to its can-I-get-an-amen call-and-response format.
The only hitch in the format is that individual reaction shots of the comics as they supposedly sit in the audience to watch their peers rarely match the action at the podium. They clearly were shot at a different time. But rather than come off as canned, these moments endear. The makers of “Yearly Departed” apparently did their best to create a sense of spontaneity despite COVID-19 filming protocols.
The special’s obvious if sometimes awkward newness is an asset. So much of the entertainment we consumed during the past several months has been bittersweet, because it was made pre-pandemic. Scenes of crowded concerts and bars serve as their own kind of eulogy. “Yearly Departed,” by contrast, seems hopeful.
Phoebe Robinson (HBO’s “2 Dope Queens”) gets in a few good lines while emceeing this farewell to what she calls a “56-month-long” year. Comic Patti Harrison’s (“Shrill”) routine is the least weighty in the special, but she nails the delivery. Sarah Silverman and Natasha Leggero, usually among the bigger controversy-stirrers in a room, offer what for them is muted commentary.
Others are more pointed. Ziwe (YouTube’s “Baited With Ziwe”) skewers the corporate lip service that has accompanied 2020’s racial reckoning. Natasha Rothwell (brilliant as Kelli on HBO’s “Insecure”) eulogizes television cops, who have enjoyed years of being presented as heroic crime solvers. “How cute,” Rothwell says sweetly.
The humor in “Yearly Departed” never approaches the intensity of the real-life hellscape of 2020. Timing is everything here, too. It’s been nearly 20 years since Sept. 11, 2001, yet it still seems “too soon” for jokes related to that tragedy. Any attempt to truly “roast” 2020 while it’s still happening would come off as obscene.
M“Yearly Departed”: Comedy special. Directed by Linda Mendoza. Begins streaming Wednesday, Dec. 30, on Amazon Prime.
The Link LonkDecember 30, 2020 at 09:03PM
https://ift.tt/34Weo4J
Review: ‘Yearly Departed’ offers a funny, endearing souvenir of a terrible year - SF Chronicle Datebook
https://ift.tt/3eOfySK
Funny
No comments:
Post a Comment