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Looking for some quality comedy entertainment to check out?
Who better to turn to for under-the-radar recommendations than comedians?
More than most late-night shows,Late Night With Seth Meyershas real longevity in the writers room.
When people get hired there, they stay there.
Ben Warheit tends to get weird with his desk pieces.
Hes hadan ongoing campaignto play Billy Joel inthat biopic that cant use Joels name or songs.
He made Meyersindulge the liehe told his parents about hosting the show.
And he wrote a heart-wrenching monologue about the fair-weather friendship of the McRib.
A unique mind such as his must have unique recommendations for comedy.
And boy howdy, he sure did.
Warheit wanted to talk about a 2013 KFC campaign, I Ate the Bones.
I ate the bones!
Warheit talked about KFC, finding comedy in joy, and provoking his father through art.
You have to be incredibly lucky to get a break.
When Katie Rich wrote that commercial, it must have been very shortly after that she gotSNL.
There was at least a year or so where I tweeted I ate the bones almost exclusively.
Its so simple: This guy thought he ate the bones.
And hes freaking out about it.
That was around the same time that a lot of commercials were trying to go in a funny direction.
You still see people trying to do that same style now.
We havent really moved on.
But for me, it was always I Ate the Bones.
I think that was the pinnacle.
Also, I dont know why they dont still offer that.
They havent had it since 2013.
I went with Popeyes, and I just got the regular because I dont want to do tenders sometimes.
Its not the same feel.
Do you have a particular allegiance to any fried-chicken sandwich in New York?Not really.
I remember when the Popeyes fried-chicken sandwich came out.
It was insanity, right?
Nobody could get one.
That was the place that I was able to get it: at the North Korean border.
And how was it?It was fucking awesome.
I mean, it was a little different.
I think they had different sauce choices there.
People often will debate the merits of whether commercials can ever be good art because theyre literally commerce-driven.
But youre saying, No, this is a good sketch.
Do you think a commercial can be art?Yes.
I thinkMad Menshowed us you’re free to elevate advertising to an art form.
Its not about this object; its about the deeper meaning.
What is it Don says about the Carousel?
Its a time machine.
Its not for showing you pictures; its taking you back to where you were happy.
Every time Im home, my parents always have MSNBC on 24/7.
Theyll eat in front of the TV, and thats just how it goes.
Ill be watching something with them, and the only thing that my dad laughs at are commercials.
My dad doesnt have a favorite movie.
He doesnt know any actors.
And you know what?
I appreciate that theyre trying to get people like my dad, who cares about nothing but Michigan sports.
My mom is more interested in creative pursuits.
When I was growing up, I was a theater kid.
They would come to any show I was in.
But I cant really relate to my dad.
I cant be like, What do you think of that performance?
Last time I was home, we watchedBoyhood.
And Im like, What did you think, Dad?
And hes like, About what?
I wasnt really paying attention.
Hes a scientist, and he cares a lot about his science stuff.
Does he ever get mad if science is depicted poorly in a movie?No, thats the thing.
You should be right.
I love my dad, but those are not things on his radar that he cares about.
In fact, I think its maybe more so.
I tend to think that things that are more universal arent really brought to attention on a day-to-day level.
I remember working on that with Seth.
I was like, Okay, this is your show.
So well have to do that.
But when I was rewatching it, I was like,This is kind of sentimental.
But its really hard to not come across as sappy when youre trying to do something like that.
People get a little bit uncomfortable with sentimentality in comedy.
When Im writing a sketch, Im more concerned with fun.
I think fun gets you to funny.
If youre having fun out there, itll be funny.
We started with a bunch of strong personalities.Conner OMalleysat right next to me, andMichelle Wolfsat right behind me.
Hes taking a big swing.
Its understandable that its a major through-line of comedy right now.
I cant say that thenepo-baby phenomenondoesnt really make me angry.
At least with this commercial, its Jim Belushis son Robert.
I got attached as the writer to create ananimatedBlues Brotherspitch.
Shut the fuck up.I got to work very closely with Judy Belushi, Johns widow.
AndAnne Beatts, who was one of the foundingSNLwriters.
Queen.And Dan Aykroyd was also part of it but was not really present in development.
He was just there for the pitches.
Judy was sort of the driving force.
Shes a writer in her own right; shes really funny, and shes really creative.
I gotta say, I respect Dan Aykroyd as a liquor salesman way more than these other Johnny-come-latelys.
He had a bar in Toronto; he had a bar while he was doingSNL.
If anything, liquor is the job and comedy is the hobby.Hes a natural salesman.
We would go to these meetings, and wherever we were, he never took off his sunglasses.
He was like, I know what my brand is.
I know what people want.
And the second he would walk into the room, he doesnt say anything.
He walks in, takes a marker, and just starts writing numbers on a whiteboard.
He was like a fucking shark, a consummate salesman.
This interview has gone in a direction that I could never have predicted and Im so happy.
Would you want to bring back cultural patronage?
