Badass Writers of the Week: Broken Lizard

By Sean Tuohy

They came. They saw. They made us piss ourselves with laughter.

From bored state troopers to beer-guzzling athletics, Broken Lizard has proven themselves as true humor gods. Now, following the announcement of the long-awaited sequel to the beloved ”Super Troopers,” the fellas of Broken Lizard are ready to mustache ride again (You can contribute to the film’s crowdfunding page here)!

Steve Lemme, Kevin Heffernan, Jay Chandrasekhar, Erik Stolhanske, and Paul Soter formed Broken Lizard while attending Colgate College. Their first film together was the ultra-low budget “Puddle Cruiser,” which they filmed on campus. Following that film, the troupe took Manhattan much like Jason Voorhees.

The troupe’s second feature, “Super Troopers,” is an off-the-wall, goofy comedy featuring five Vermont state troopers hell bent on shenanigans (as well as Linda Carter still looking damn good). To promote the film, Broken Lizard took a bus across the country to interact with fans. The film became a smash cult hit and carried the fellas on to their next films.

The guys proved two things: You can make a funny slasher movie, and drinking insane amounts of beer is safe. Wait, that second statement may be incorrect. With “Club Dread,” Broken Lizard mixed shrill screams and laughter. 

Pe-ne-lope!

They also brought beer drinking to a new level with “Beerfest.” Let’s face it, we have all tried to drink as much as these guys did in that movie, but ended up with a busted bladder.

Broken Lizard is now coming back with “Super Troopers 2.” We’ve all be waiting for it, but as the troupe says, “the time is right meow.” And the best part is, their fans get to be an integral part of the film! Donate so that the Vermont highways are once again safe for comedy, and we can all find out what Farva is doing in the trunk.  

You should also check out our past interviews and podcasts with Steve Lemme, Kevin Heffernan, and Erik Stolhanske:

You Can’t Have a Fist Fight Alone: 12 Questions With Kevin Heffernan and Steve Lemme of Broken Lizard

BADASS WRITERS OF THE WEEK ARCHIVE

Badass Writer of the Week: Joan Rivers

Joan Rivers

By Daniel Ford  

I saw Joan Rivers live at Foxwoods Casino last year with Stephanie Schaefer.

I wasn’t supposed to go. Stephanie only had two tickets and she was taking her mother. I was tasked with palling around with her grandmother while she played the slots. I was looking forward to a few free drinks and some conversation about the good old days when an elderly couple shoved an envelope in my hand.

“You want to see Joan Rivers?” The old man said.

“How much are you selling them for?” I asked.

“Take em,” he said.

So I did. Stephanie’s grandmother reluctantly agreed to be my date and we settled in for Rivers’ act.

Holy cow did that woman put on a show.

For an 80-something-year-old, Rivers had no fear of physical comedy or offending every race, gender, and sexual preference known to man. I laughed my ass off the entire time.

Sadly, the trailblazing comedian died Sept. 4, 2014 at the age of 81. Here at Writer’s Bone, we could think of no better way to honor her than naming her Badass Writer of the Week and discussing some of the highlights of her career (Stephanie Schaefer is going to handle Rivers’ "Fashion Police" era for obvious reasons).

“I’m Wearing 1965 Hair”

Joan Rivers got her break on Johnny Carson’s “The Tonight Show.” She was named Carson’s permanent guest host in 1983. She made people fall out of their chairs with her biting humor and quick wit. She did all of this in an era defined by white men treating women (and most of the rest of humanity) like a public toilet. Rivers told them to shut the fuck up. And did it while make them soil themselves from laughing too hard.

Rivers would eventually “betray” Carson by launching her own late night show in 1986. He never spoke to her again. The rift would in large part define her narrative for the rest of her career, but from the above clip, one can see she was every bit his equal and would have never settled for being his second banana. Rivers explained why she thought Carson got so upset in an article she wrote for The Hollywood Reporter:

“I think he really felt because I was a woman that I just was his. That I wouldn’t leave him. I know this sounds very warped. But I don’t understand otherwise what was going on. For years, I thought that maybe he liked me better than the others. But I think it was a question of, “I found you, and you’re my property.” He didn’t like that as a woman, I went up against him.”

Predictably, Carson’s show wiped the floor with her. But a glass ceiling had been shattered and Joan Rivers proved women were every bit as funny and conniving as their male counterparts.

“It Doesn’t Get Better. You Get Better”

It doesn’t get more honest than this. Louie CK has a wonderful ability to get pitch-perfect performances from his guest stars on “Louie.” Joan Rivers was no exception.

“It’s a calling," she says, "We make people happy.” There’s a beat there where you realize how miserable comedians can become despite bringing joy to others. Her monologue is both inspiring and soul-crushing. 

And then Louie totally ruins the moment by trying to make out with Rivers. She’s appalled at first, gives it a second thought, and then shrugs. “Why not. But don’t tell anyone. No one likes a necrophiliac.”

Can you imagine any other comedian delivering that line?

“It Looks Like She Just B$%^ the Grinch” 

By Stephanie Schaefer

I’ll admit that over the past few years while most 20-somethings were out taking shots on a Friday night, I was more often than not sitting on my couch laughing out loud from the witty, hilarious, and usually off-color jokes of an 80-year-old.

Rivers gained a whole new generation of fans (#JoanRangers)—myself included—when her television show “Fashion Police,” which critiqued red carpet looks, premiered on E! in 2010.

No matter how rough a week I was having, up until last week I could count on Rivers to make me laugh with her sassy sayings and fearlessness to say what everyone else was thinking (or wish they were clever enough to think of).

RIP Joan Rivers. You were one of a kind and you will be missed.

“If there is a secret to being a comedian, it’s just loving what you do. It is my drug of choice. I don’t need real drugs. I don’t need liquor. It’s the joy that I get performing. That is my rush. I get it nowhere else.”—Joan Rivers, The Hollywood Reporter, 2012

BADASS WRITERS OF THE WEEK ARCHIVE

Badass Writer of the Week: Conan O'Brien

Conan O'Brien

By Sean Tuohy and Daniel Ford

Tall, lanky, self-deprecating, and the red-haired beacon of late night, Conan O'Brien is a household name for his whacky off-the-wall TBS comedy show.

O’Brien has been making late night stoners pee their pants and given college co-eds something to be pretentious about for nearly 20 years, but started out as a humble comedy writer. He was born in Boston to a lawyer and a doctor and went to Harvard like any good lad with a proper, erudite upbringing. But instead of rubbing elbows and earning gentleman Cs, the red-headed prankster made a name for himself by pulling off several high-profile pranks, including stealing Burt Ward's Robin costume, and becoming the head writer for National Lampoon.

After college, O'Brien received his first writing gig on a little show that’s about to celebrate its 40th anniversary. It was at “Saturday Night Live” that O'Brien's love for comedy and writing came together. O'Brien was even showcased in a couple of skits early on in his career. He was naked in one of them!

His work on “SNL” landed him a job on a new cartoon show. Oh, you want to know which show? “The Simpsons.” Yeah, the show that FXX is currently broadcasting all 552 (!) episodes of and that is showing no signs of being culturally irrelevant anytime soon. It was with everyone’s favorite yellow-skinned family that O’Brien would stamp his presence on pop culture forever.

"Marge vs. the Monorail" premiered during the show’s fourth season and featured with a slick con man selling the town of Springfield on the idea of building a monorail. How did he do this? Singing and dancing! Who wrote it? Sean did. Wait, that’s not the right answer. That’s what Sean tells his dinner guests. It was Conan O’Brien of course!

And the rest is history....

What? It's not. Shit. Okay, well, um, I guess we'll skip through the rest of this. O'Brien became the host of the "Late Night" after David Lettermen left for CBS to torture Jay Leno. He did this job for 16 years (Oh, yeah, Louis CK worked on the show as a writer. Even more badassery for your buck!)

He then became the host of "The Tonight Show" until Jay Leno pulled a reverse Fredo and convinced NBC his chin could continue dryly reading jokes for another billion years, and sent our fair-skinned badass packing.

Smart and talented people don’t stay down long though. O’Brien licked his wounds, formed Team Coco, started a new late night show on TBS, and won Twitter.

I hope I never discover a genie when I’m really hungry, tired, or unhappy with my cell phone reception.

— Conan O'Brien (@ConanOBrien) August 27, 2014

"Nothing like that's ever been attempted before, and probably never will be again." - #Conan#Scrapisodehttp://t.co/yA8D8hdyFI

— Team Coco (@TeamCoco) August 22, 2014

There! Done!

BADASS WRITERS OF THE WEEK ARCHIVE