Decided that today, just to shake things up and have a little fun, I would turn my blog into my own little movie festival and show off some fun clips I have lying around. Some are recently acquired and others are stuff I have had around for ages.

But it’s all really good, I swear!

Like, check out this amazing clip from extremely early Muppets history.

It’s from Sam and Friends, Jim Henson’s early live-action television show, and as you can see, it already has his trademark brand of warm and wacky humour. Obviously, Henson was the kind of guy who only needed two puppets (both voiced by him) and a telestrater to play with in order to create something adorable, hilarious, and jazzy. I am just floored by the sheer amount of creativity that went into this piece, and yet, it obviously has no budget at all.

It just goes to show that you don’t need a lot of tricks and toys if you have the magic in you. A really creative mind and a strong desire to make good stuff goes a long way towards making amazing stuff.

Like, check out this magnificent piece of comedy done only with video editing and a microphone :

Forgive the flangey quality of the voiceover, but this clip is somewhat ancient now and was presumably made on more primitive technology than what all you slick kids with your iPads and HD video camera and whatnot all take for granted.

Yup. I am old. Fuck.

Anyhow, to me, it’s an Internet classic. We’ve all had out brains assaulted by incomprehensible and inane movie trailers that mix the same stupid corny phrases about “out of control thrill rides” or being “perfect for the whole family” with so many jump cuts and cheesy editing tricks that by the end of it, you have absolutely no idea what the movie is about. If someone asked, all you could say was “Um…. I think that was Paul Rudd… and um… there’s a dog? And at one point, something explodes. ”

Obviously, the people making those trailers think that what is important is to create a sort of impression of excitement and quality without providing you with any actual information. Information only gets in the way of the emotional manipulation.

Well screw that. If a trailer is that vague, I just assume the movie will be just as incoherent and retarded and immediately discount the movie forever.

Obviously, a culture target as completely full of crap as the movie trailer was (and is) ripe for parody.

Just like George Lucas.

And, of course, the French.

I have to admit, the premise didn’t grab me. The word “existential” has been used as a blanket phrase for “lazy attempts at surreal humour by pseudo-intellectuals” for too long for me to trust it.

But I was pleasantly surprised. I didn’t exactly laugh out loud, but I still thought it was quite amusing, and a lot of fun to see good old Jean Paul Sartre’s self-fascinated existentialist drivel juxtaposed with classic scenes from the original Star Wars.

I have to admit that, as much of an unpleasant asshole as Sartre was, and how hopelessly self-indulgent and myopic a lot of his writings seem now, he did have a real talent for articulating depression. I certainly can relate to the sentiments in some of the phrases from this clip, and certainly feel like, for instance, I am adrift in a sea of infinite possibilities sometimes.

I just don’t go around acting like saying so is some amazing revelation.

Sarte was emo WAY before everyone else. But then again…. he was French.

Finally, here’s another personal fave from the anals of Internet comedy. Warning, this film contains a Tarantino type level of swearing.

The way I see it, you either think that film is hilarious and brilliant, like I do, or think it is stupid, repetitive, inane, and juvenile, like, it seems, most of the people I share this clip with.

Personally, I think it’s genius. From the creative way they did the opening credits to the very intelligent choice to take what is essentially a long conversation between two people and have it occur over many locations and situations in order to make the film more visually interesting, to the perfect timing and flow… everything about this film is high quality and hilarious.

But I admit, it’s comedy geek humour. You probably have to be a hyper verbal comedy nerd like myself to really get into it.

And, you know, be comfortable with long conversations about butt sex.