You guys, Amy Poehler started her Good Hang podcast/YouTube show THIS YEAR. She started it in March! And it’s already such a big deal, with so many celebrities stopping by to chat as part of their promotional tours. Amy is regularly doing some of the best sit-down interviews with these celebrities too. It’s probably because Amy is, imo, a huge deal herself, and she has a natural curiosity and charisma which draws people in. All of which to say, this week’s episode was an interview with Oscar-winner Olivia Colman, as part of Olivia’s promotion for The Roses. Amy also spoke to Benedict Cumberbatch via video-conference, and part of their conversation is making news:
Amy Poehler called out the Oscars on her “Good Hang” podcast for always ignoring comedy movies when it comes time to give out awards. Poehler’s latest episode featured Olivia Colman as a guest as part of the latter’s press tour for the Searchlight Pictures comedy “The Roses.” Colman stars opposite Benedict Cumberbatch, who called in to the “Good Hang” episode to chat briefly with Poehler.
“If you can do comedy, you can do anything. I really do believe that,” Cumberbatch proclaimed.
“Of course. You don’t have to tell me, babe!” replied Poehler, who is a bona fide comedy icon thanks to “SNL,” “Parks and Recreation,” her stints hosting the Golden Globes with Tina Fey and more.
“Every single year at the Oscars, everybody [in comedy] gets blanked and all the serious people get up and accept and accept,” Poehler said. “It’s some hot bullsh-t! Because comedy is not easy. And I got to tell you, both you and Olivia can do both.”
I agree with her, it is some hot bullsh-t. Now, do I think every funny comedy deserves awards? Not really, but there needs to be more recognition, in general, about how hard it is for actors to actually BE funny on screen, to be light and to bring an audience along with the joke. I also think “funny” actors are sort of looked down upon for making it look so easy – think about people like Eddie Murphy, Paul Rudd or Seth Rogen, or deft comediennes like Regina Hall, Melissa McCarthy or Sandra Bullock. They don’t get half the respect they deserve because they make it look so easy!!
This whole video was charming. Amy is very good at this (so is Olivia).
Photos courtesy of Good Hang’s YouTube video.
I am admittedly a curmudgeon and this has nothing to do with lovely Amy, but why are so many podcasts now taped with video??
I love good hang! Amy is just a delight and when she gets someone on she really knows, you’ll laugh for the entire time.
I also agree about the comedies at award shows, comedy is really hard and to make it look effortless is even harder.
Love this podcast. I listen to the Cole Escola episode when I need a pick me up. It brings me joy!
Amy is totally right! It’s so disrespectful to the comedy genre and comedians that the Academy doesn’t recognize them. I was rewatching Bridesmaids and Kristen Wiig and she definitely deserved an Oscar nomination.
She’s absolutely right. I’m old enough to remember the outrage when Marisa Tomei (rightly) won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for My Cousin Vinny, a comedy. She was brilliant in that movie and it still holds up. She was up against heavy weights who were in dramatic movies like Vanessa Redgrave and Judy Davis and part of the outcry was because My Cousin Vinny was a funny movie, and Mona Lisa Vito was a character in a comedy as opposed to heavier dramatic parts