Sketch Comedy

What's not to love about three Latino/Chicano men who put our ethnocentric foibles on comic display in order to celebrate diversity while poking fun at divisiveness? Only one little thing. Culture Clash is actually kind of dull. It's not that the trio is untalented. As each performer plays myriad characters of various genders, races, and religions, their acting is so good you have to strain to figure out which of the three is in front of you. And when their material hits home, you can see what all the hype is about.

A good example of Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim's uniquely manic comedy comes early in their first movie, "Tim & Eric's Billion Dollar Movie. " Tim and Eric, given $1 billion by studio executives to make a movie, have turned in a three-minute disaster. Faced with financial ruin, they must fire their spiritual guru who penned the poem that inspired the film, Jim Joe Kelly (Zach Galifianakis). We've seen such a scene in many movies before, the angry split between close collaborators.

The new sketch comedy series "Key & Peele" premieres tonight on Comedy Central at 10:30. But if you're in need of a good laugh right now, go to YouTube and check out any of the President Obama "anger translator" sketches. In them, Jordan Peele, hitting just the right notes vocally as Obama, explains calmly that some folks mistakenly believe he never gets angry. So, he's hired Luther (Keegan-Michael Key) to translate some talking points for him. If you couldn't help cracking up at Luther's escalating outrage at everything from the lack of mayonnaise on...

The new sketch comedy series "Key & Peele" premieres tonight on Comedy Central at 10:30. But if you're in need of a good laugh right now, go to YouTube and check out any of the President Obama "anger translator" sketches. In them, Jordan Peele, hitting just the right notes vocally as Obama, explains calmly that some folks mistakenly believe he never gets angry. So, he's hired Luther (Keegan-Michael Key) to translate some talking points for him. If you couldn't help cracking up at Luther's escalating outrage at everything from the lack of mayonnaise on...

LOWELL -- Ann Randolph has done sketch comedy with the acclaimed Los Angeles group the Groundlings and with her own troupe, Unsafe Sketch. She has also worked for 10 years in a shelter for homeless women who are mentally ill. Those pieces of her life come together -- along with an online dating service, a spoiled friend who worked in a leper colony, and an inexplicably alluring accordionist -- in her sometimes moving, sometimes hilarious, and wildly...

Once, not so very long ago, there were sketch comedy shows. And there were sitcoms about life behind the scenes at sketch comedy shows. But these days, it’s nearly impossible to make a comedy without meta-commentary. And so we have “Michael and Michael Have Issues,’’ the new Comedy Central show that stars Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter as two guys named Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter, who star in a Comedy Central show called “Michael and Michael Have Issues.’’ This isn’t innovation, in itself; stars from Chris Isaak to Sarah Silverman to Tori...

(Courtesy Kelly MacFarland) Kelly MacFarland hosts The Awesome ’80s Show. By Jeremy C. Fox, Town Correspondent Kelly MacFarland was cool in junior high school. She wore red parachute pants, took breakdancing lessons, and went by the name “Special K.” “Oh yeah , it’s a Breakin’ reference,” MacFarland said proudly, referring to the 1984 film about a struggling jazz dancer who finds success when she joins forces with a pair of breakdancers.

BOSTON IMPROV FESTIVAL Presented by: ImprovBoston At: ImprovBoston, 40 Prospect St., and the Durrell Theater at the Cambridge Family YMCA, 820 Massachusetts Ave., both in Cambridge, Sept. 6-11. Tickets: $5-18 depending on the show. 617-576-1253, www.bostonimprovfest.com "I will be honest. The worst part about our festival is that it's called the Boston Improv Festival," says Jeremiah Jordan. Now in its third year, the event is not just an improvisational comedy fest, says Jordan, who's producing the event for...

"Chappelle's Show" has spoiled me, probably forever. Any time I watch comedy that tackles race head-on, I can't help but compare it to Comedy Central's brilliant, short-lived sketch show, which brought us the concept of the sports-style "Racial Draft" for celebrities and explained just what it is that makes white people dance. Little on TV since has been as consistently truthful or as devastatingly funny. But "Chappelle's Show" is dead, we have to move on, and you can't fault Comedy Central for trying again.

There is something organic about Rick Canavan's act, a quality that comes from his comfortable demeanor and wealth of personal material. No topic is off-limits for the Medway native. Prior relationships. Growing up with psoriasis. His love of comic books. From playing alongside national headliners to hosting his own monthly show, Canavan has become a familiar face in just six years on the circuit. Last month, he auditioned for the prestigious Just for Laughs festival in Montreal.

There is something organic about Rick Canavan's act, a quality that comes from his comfortable demeanor and wealth of personal material. No topic is off-limits for the Medway native. Prior relationships. Growing up with psoriasis. His love of comic books. From playing alongside national headliners to hosting his own monthly show, Canavan has become a familiar face in just six years on the circuit. Last month, he auditioned for the prestigious Just for Laughs festival in Montreal.

BOSTON IMPROV FESTIVAL Presented by: ImprovBoston At: ImprovBoston, 40 Prospect St., and the Durrell Theater at the Cambridge Family YMCA, 820 Massachusetts Ave., both in Cambridge, Sept. 6-11. Tickets: $5-18 depending on the show. 617-576-1253, www.bostonimprovfest.com "I will be honest. The worst part about our festival is that it's called the Boston Improv Festival," says Jeremiah Jordan. Now in its third year, the event is not just an improvisational comedy fest, says Jordan, who's producing the event for ImprovBoston, where he's a regular...

(Courtesy Kelly MacFarland) Kelly MacFarland hosts The Awesome ’80s Show. By Jeremy C. Fox, Town Correspondent Kelly MacFarland was cool in junior high school. She wore red parachute pants, took breakdancing lessons, and went by the name “Special K.” “Oh yeah , it’s a Breakin’ reference,” MacFarland said proudly, referring to the 1984 film about a struggling jazz dancer who finds success when she joins forces with a pair of breakdancers.

Once, not so very long ago, there were sketch comedy shows. And there were sitcoms about life behind the scenes at sketch comedy shows. But these days, it’s nearly impossible to make a comedy without meta-commentary. And so we have “Michael and Michael Have Issues,’’ the new Comedy Central show that stars Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter as two guys named Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter, who star in a Comedy Central show called “Michael and Michael Have Issues.’’ This isn’t innovation, in itself; stars from Chris Isaak to...

"Chappelle's Show" has spoiled me, probably forever. Any time I watch comedy that tackles race head-on, I can't help but compare it to Comedy Central's brilliant, short-lived sketch show, which brought us the concept of the sports-style "Racial Draft" for celebrities and explained just what it is that makes white people dance. Little on TV since has been as consistently truthful or as devastatingly funny. But "Chappelle's Show" is dead, we have to move on, and you can't fault Comedy Central for trying again.

LOWELL -- Ann Randolph has done sketch comedy with the acclaimed Los Angeles group the Groundlings and with her own troupe, Unsafe Sketch. She has also worked for 10 years in a shelter for homeless women who are mentally ill. Those pieces of her life come together -- along with an online dating service, a spoiled friend who worked in a leper colony, and an inexplicably alluring accordionist -- in her sometimes moving, sometimes hilarious, and wildly...

A good example of Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim's uniquely manic comedy comes early in their first movie, "Tim & Eric's Billion Dollar Movie. " Tim and Eric, given $1 billion by studio executives to make a movie, have turned in a three-minute disaster. Faced with financial ruin, they must fire their spiritual guru who penned the poem that inspired the film, Jim Joe Kelly (Zach Galifianakis). We've seen such a scene in many movies before, the angry split between close collaborators.

Old Colony Music will present a family-friendly concert in St. Chrysostom's Episcopal Church on March 10. The act will feature the band Animal Farm, which blends music, sketch comedy, games, and character-acting into an energetic and engaging performance for children of all ages. All proceeds go to the Old Colony Music Scholarship Fund, which helps families attend music classes and provides instrument lessons for children. Tickets are $3, with infants admitted free. Tickets can be purchased online at www.oldcolonymusic.com, by calling 508-838-9815, or at the door.

What's not to love about three Latino/Chicano men who put our ethnocentric foibles on comic display in order to celebrate diversity while poking fun at divisiveness? Only one little thing. Culture Clash is actually kind of dull. It's not that the trio is untalented. As each performer plays myriad characters of various genders, races, and religions, their acting is so good you have to strain to figure out which of the three is in front of you. And when their material hits home, you can see what all the hype is about.