{"id":553,"date":"2017-02-02T23:41:17","date_gmt":"2017-02-02T23:41:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/commarts.pleather.us\/2017\/02\/02\/john-early-and-kate-berlants-555-just-raised-the-bar-for-every-short-form-comedy-ever\/"},"modified":"2017-02-02T23:41:17","modified_gmt":"2017-02-02T23:41:17","slug":"john-early-and-kate-berlants-555-just-raised-the-bar-for-every-short-form-comedy-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/m2\/2017\/02\/02\/john-early-and-kate-berlants-555-just-raised-the-bar-for-every-short-form-comedy-ever\/","title":{"rendered":"John Early and Kate Berlant\u2019s \u2018555\u2019 Just Raised the Bar for Every Short Form Comedy Ever"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alternative comedy darlings John Early<\/a> and Kate Berlant<\/a> share\u00a0a chemistry both onstage and off that would make even the most confident of best friends jealous. Though their styles differ, the frequent collaborators\u00a0share an easy confidence with physical\u00a0comedy, delightfully unexpected pop culture references, and a healthy dose\u00a0of the bizarre.<\/p>\n

All of these talents are put to good use in “555,” their new anthology\u00a0series with Vimeo<\/a> Originals. Under the direction of Andrew DeYoung, Early and Berlant exhibit\u00a0yet another skill not every\u00a0comedian can claim: A flair\u00a0for highly visual and cinematic storytelling.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:\u00a0John Early & Kate Berlant Arrive in Vimeo Series \u2018555\u2019 \u2014 Watch the New Trailer<\/a><\/p>\n

Early earned praise for\u00a0his portrayal of self-obsessed gay hipster Elliott in TBS’s “Search Party,” but by then he was\u00a0already\u00a0stealing\u00a0scenes in “Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp” and “Neighbors 2.” His film career is picking up: He has small parts in Miguel Arteta’s “Beatriz at Dinner” and “Fun Mom Dinner,” which both played the Sundance Film Festival this year. That Berlant has fewer high profile IMDB credits says more\u00a0about the lack of roles for women than it does about her talent. A beloved stand-up at the forefront of experimental comedy, she is as quick with a line as Kathy Griffin, but as bizarre as Maria Bamford.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

John Early and Kate Berlant in “555”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Vimeo<\/p>\n

This unique outlook\u00a0was on full display\u00a0during a recent live show, where the duo did stand-up in between airing episodes of the series.\u00a0“You know it’s a dark time when ‘La La Land’ can’t help,” she quipped, referring to the political climate. She\u00a0finished it off with: “I can’t wait for ‘Moonlight’ to be steamrolled by Emma Stone’s clavicle.”<\/p>\n

READ MORE:\u00a0\u2018Search Party\u2019 Review: A Millennial Mystery Exploring the Highs and Lows of Generation Me<\/a><\/p>\n

There are five episodes of “555,” each featuring\u00a0Early and Berlant as different showbiz caricatures: aspiring pop stars, a clueless stage mom and her shy son, over-earnest acting students, extras playing aliens, and ambitious agents. As in their individual episodes of Netflix’s “The Characters,” (two of the show’s best, along with Natasha Rothwell’s), the series acts as a showcase for\u00a0the duo’s impressive arsenal of lovable eccentrics. Unlike “The Characters,” Vimeo gave Early and Berlant complete creative control of “555;”\u00a0and the result is a stylish debut\u00a0that plays more like a collection\u00a0of short surrealist films than a comedic web series.<\/p>\n

“Our comedy is mostly behavioral, but we also love film,” Early told IndieWire, surrounded by empty\u00a0edamame shells in a brightly lit Vimeo conference room. “We love performances that are framed in something that\u2019s been considered and lush. Also, tone is very important for us. We don\u2019t just want our behavior to exist in a vacuum. If you\u2019re gonna make a film, make a goddamn film! Make it fun to look at, and we want you to feel something when you\u2019re watching it.”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

John Early in “555”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Vimeo<\/p>\n

Though their stand-up features plenty of\u00a0one-liners, the humor in “555” is closer to something one might find on British television; uncomfortable, specific, and unafraid of silence. “[American TV] is\u00a0always like: Joke, joke, joke,” Berlant added. “Are people really making jokes in their every day life that much? We think the funniest moments are just behavioral tics; jokes about presentation of self.”<\/p>\n

Behavioral tics are certainly their bread and butter.\u00a0Early does\u00a0more with a slowly closed eyelid than most can\u00a0with a rehearsed\u00a0punchline.<\/p>\n

But what sets\u00a0“555” apart is that it is\u00a0also sad, dark, and beautiful.\u00a0At times, the sets\u00a0look like something out of Anna Biller’s “The Love Witch,” with a healthy dose\u00a0of John Waters and Wes Anderson\u00a0thrown in for good measure. “I would argue too that TV now is getting very auteur-y,” said Early. Berlant added: “There is an\u00a0interest in things looking good. But just looking good isn\u2019t enough anymore, or people aren\u2019t easily seduced just by visuals.”<\/p>\n

The visuals in “555,” while impressive, are just gravy on top of the genuinely hilarious satire. But there is another aspect that sets it\u00a0apart\u00a0from other comedies: The subtle\u00a0dread\u00a0simmering just below the funny. The characters are yearning\u00a0for validation, afraid of human connection, and emotionally stunted\u00a0by\u00a0their\u00a0blind ambition. In an intimate moment shared in an all-mauve\u00a0bedroom, Early’s character questions his chosen path: “If you give all of yourself; your head, your heart, your mind, your soul, your spirit, you are indirectly addressing climate change.”<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Kristen Johnson guest stars as a passionate acting coach in “555.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Vimeo<\/p>\n

In their stand-up as well, Early and Berlant are not afraid to go dark, or as Early says, “brown.” The Joe’s Pub\u00a0show ended on a raucous and elaborate bit where they imagined the most satisfying ways they could\u00a0kill the current president and his cronies. Berlant mused that Education Secretary nominee Betsy DeVos needed a “beautifully seasoned cast iron” to the back of the head, and Early went easy on Melania, suggesting\u00a0“a live burial in linen.”<\/p>\n

Unlike some “auteurs,” they are not afraid to admit that the series was “about 90\u00a0percent improvised.” After so many years onstage together, they know where the magic happens. “It\u2019s a combination of laziness and just that we are at our best when we\u2019re improvising with each other,” said Early. “It\u2019s like performance; it\u2019s stressful to get onstage and you\u2019re like, ‘OH GOD,’ and then somehow you hopefully arise to the occasion,”\u00a0Berlant said.<\/p>\n

She waited a beat before adding, “That’s my parenting style, too.” Then she made fun of herself for always needing to make a joke. Ever her biggest fan, Early laughed in encouragement.\u00a0“We could throw in some jokes to the\u00a0interviews,” he said. “We\u2019ve been, like, deeply earnest.”<\/p>\n

“555” debuted on Vimeo All five episodes of “555” are\u00a0available on\u00a0Vimeo<\/a> for $3.99.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Stay on top of the latest in film and TV breaking\u00a0news! Sign up for the Email Newsletter here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Source: IndieWire Digital TV<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alternative comedy darlings John Early and Kate Berlant share\u00a0a chemistry both onstage and off that would make even the most confident…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":245,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[45],"class_list":["post-553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-careering"],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paqOTj-8V","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/m2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/m2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/m2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/m2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/245"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/m2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/m2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/553\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/m2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/m2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/m2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}