Friday night I caught two shows at the UCB, the first one being the return of NeoTokyo Girl Crush 2040. Basically a live-action Anime, it features everything that you know and love about Japanese animation: girls in sailor scout outfits who fight for justice, J Pop, demon rape, a cute little creature that love sniffing panties, idol contests, incest, weapons that glitter, tentacles, and homosexuality.
The revival was just as much fun as the original, and I even thought it was better in most aspects (which isn’t always the case for a UCB show) despite the absence of giant fighting robots this time around. The new show simply did a better job of celebrating its subject matter, and even the changes to the cast were all good. But the real star of the show last time as back and in full affect: Jackie Clarke, a brilliant comedic actress who’s easily one of the top performers at the theatre.
She played a vile mistress who must have consensual sex with an American school teacher in order to open up a gateway to a dimension inhabited by demons (which is a fairly common plot device, as anyone who’s watched any amount of Anime already knows). Jackie was simply a riot (as always) and I’m sure I can watch her for hours and never get bored.
And truth be told, I’ve had a crush on Jackie ever since I first saw her as a spunky gymnast/wrestler in the show Pildriver (though anyone who knows me is well aware for my affinity for girls who perform sketch comedy).
Next was Sleepwalk With Me, a one man show starring Mike Birbiglia. I’ve been a fan of Mike’s ever since I first starting seeing Littleman, which then lead to trips into Brooklyn where he hosted evenings of comedy and music held at a small clothing boutique (can’t remember the exact name and location, but I do recall the Spanish food in the area being top notch). Hence why I was looking forward to the performance, but must admit it was a mild disappointment, though I really shouldn’t criticize since it was a work in progress. Even still, I went away more depressed than entertained…
Right afterwards I saw Anchorman, and I can’t recall a time when I laughed so hard at a movie. I seriously was not expecting such a piece of absurd brilliance. It was like one ultra long SNL sketch, but not once did the joke get old. There were so many funny moments, but at risk of spoiling the film, I’ll simply say, one scene did feature half corndog chucking, which I love seeing in any film (and there has been at least one other).
