Another week, another podcast for me to review. This time out I’m looking at a podcast that riles me up something fierce, I may have some vitriolic things to say in the review. Or I may not, my own thoughts confuse me plenty, just so ya know!
*Read on past my initial verdict for an addendum*
(To keep it short, for reasons beyond my control The Reelists is shutting down, and that means my Podcast Review feature is making its way to Bill’s Movie Emporium. I’m starting over from the beginning, so the first three or four I post here will be reposts from The Reelists. Don’t worry, I’ll let you know when we get to new podcast reviews.)
The Gist
The title of this podcast should give away the gist all by itself, Comedy Film Nerds. The hosts, Graham Elwood and Chris Mancini, are a pair of supposed (sorry, the snark had to come out early in this review) comedians and filmmakers who also consider themselves film nerds. Every week they welcome a guest to the show, and discuss the newest releases in the theaters as well as what’s new on DVD/Blu-Ray and the occasional tangent about film in general. Comedy Film Nerds has been around for about a year and a half.
Episodes Listened To
#56: with Doug Benson
#57: with Paul Gilmartin
#58: with Kyle Kinane
My Thoughts
Right off the bat I feel the need to be brutally honest with you, I hate, hate, hate, hate this podcast. Comedy Film Nerds brings about the kind of hatred that I have never felt for a podcast, and I doubt I will ever feel again. (That last part is probably a lie, I know who I am, and I have the ability to hate popular culture a lot when my fancy takes me there). I listened to Comedy Film Nerds from the beginning, and I said the same mantra over and over again in my head with each passing episode, “They’ve just started out, they’re getting their feet under them, they will get better.” One episode passed, then another, then five more, then another one after that, and you know what, Comedy Film Nerds never got any better. That’s when I gave up on the podcast, with a few exceptions that I will get to in a second.
It’s not fair for me to say the three episodes I listened to this time around were a second chance. The truth is I never fully stopped listening to Comedy Film Nerds, they have too many guests on who I love for me to ever completely give up on the podcast. I take any opportunity I can to hear what Jimmy Pardo has to say, he’s my favorite comedian of all time, or he may be, I haven’t quite made the decision yet. The point is that Comedy Film Nerds does bring in a lot of great guests, guests who make a show that is usually the equivalent of auditory rape worth listening to. That’s why I carry so much hate for Comedy Film Nerds, I wish I could just toss the podcast away and be done with it, but every once in a while I have to listen to whatever hilarious personality they have on as a guest.
My problems with Comedy Film Nerds are simple, and they all rest with the hosts. For a pair of comedians, neither Mr. Mancini or Mr. Elwood are the least bit funny. Mancini isn’t the worst offender, he’s not funny, but he’s not trying to crack fifty unfunny jokes a second like his co-host. Elwood is an abomination upon the world of film and comedy, I know it’s hyperbole of the worst order but listening to him truly makes my ears feel like they are gushing blood. He’s terribly unfunny, uses a stupid accent every minute, and worst of all he has no idea what he’s talking about when it comes to film. He never offers an opinion of his own, every time has has something to say it goes a little like this,
Elwood: Bridesmaids is a good film because, uh, like, uh…
Guest: The way the jokes are layered is amazing, they really play off of female expectations.
Elwood: Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about, you know, it’s a good movie because, uh, like, uh, you know…
Repeat that ad nauseum for an hour and you get the valuable input Graham Elwood brings to the world of film. I don’t hesitate to call him an idiot who has no idea what he’s talking about, I can’t even say whether I agree or disagree with his opinions because he never offers an opinion of his own. Chris Mancini at least tries, but he also falls back on referencing what others had to say about a film far too often. Still, he at least has an opinion, and that makes him leagues better than Elwood.
Then there’s the issue of the plugs, or shout outs as Comedy Film Nerds likes to call them. I understand that in this day and age of social media the hosts, and guests, of any podcast will have plenty of enterprises to plug. Most podcasts realize that people don’t download or stream their episode to hear a full five to ten minutes of plugs. That, my friends, is what Comedy Film Nerds does, they will spend anywhere from five to ten minutes plugging, or shouting out, all of the various projects they are involved in. It’s not just annoying, it’s a waste of my time and could be fixed with some simple economical trimming. All Comedy Film Nerds has to do is plug a little less and then their plugs wouldn’t be a big issue. Instead Comedy Film Nerds has taken the opposite approach, they have steadily increased the time they spend on their plugs, or shout outs, and my annoyance level has increased in concordance.
I know I unleashed a lot of emphatic vitriol towards Comedy Film Nerds, but it is a podcast that pisses me off to no end. If only they would stop having worthwhile guests on I could erase the show from my life forever. Alas, that isn’t likely to happen and that’s why my recommendation to the readers would be to judiciously pick and choose episodes to listen to based on the guest. Otherwise there is no reason to listen to Comedy Film Nerds, your ears don’t need to be maliciously raped and forced to listen to two of the least funny men on the planet. Guest It Up people, to take any other course of action is to hate yourself, and there’s no reason to hate yourself. Unless you are Graham Elwood or Chris Mancini and you host Comedy Film Nerds, then hate all you want, because you deserve it.
The Bottom Line
Guest It Up
Cheers,
Bill
Addendum
I should have gotten around to this earlier, but to be honest I dislike this podcast so much that I avoid writing, talking about, or listening to it at all costs. That right there sums up the reason for this addendum, I can no longer stand the hosts in even a Guest It Up only way. I may love to hear the comedy of Jimmy Pardo or Paul F. Tompkins, but I’m no longer willing to deal with the two hosts of this terrible podcast to hear the occasional appearance of someone I do like. Obviously my new verdict is for everyone to unsubscribe from Comedy Film Nerds, save yourselves from the crap that is this podcast.
The New Bottom Line
Unsubscribe
Cheers,
Bill
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