This is a must in TO-DO-LIST for 2011/2012

I loved stand-up comedy that have witty contents and up to the local current issues. I found those joked materials made me understand others view of the subject and I could remember better on those problematic scenes. The best part is, I could share with the entire class! Sadly, some students just don't get the idea - pls tap with the currents dear...

p/s - bila la nak jumpa orang-orang mcm gini...

 

 

Kings & Queen of Comedy Asia: Review

Posted 2nd November 10 at 12:28 am by tania

23 October 2010 – For 3000 people, it was a different kind of Saturday night; not about going out for drinks or planning a typical wild night that might potentially ruin their Sunday morning. No, that night was the anticipated Kings & Queen of Comedy Asia, a stir that has been getting everyone’s attention since they announced ‘the biggest comedy show in Malaysia” back in September.

It was The Comedy Club KL’s bravest project yet; local organisers LOL Events brought a fantastic line-up that featured Malaysia’s Harith Iskander and Douglas Lim, Singapore’s Kumar, India’s Vir Das and Australia’s Hung Le to the posh Plenary Hall in the KL Convention Centre; hmm… our answer to England’s Live At The Apollo?

Four kings, one queen; indeed, there was only room for one empress that night, and she may come in the form of a lean, cross-dressing Indian man, but yet never have we seen 3000 eyes fixated on a lady quite like that evening. In her formal black getup and a bitchy stare that meant business, Kumar, although just a host for the night, whipped up quick one-liners that got everyone throwing their heads back in laughter repeatedly without fail.

But Kumar is not just about throwing in a sexual reference into every hole of an opportunity; this madam has tact, taste, wit, and wisdom. Being the lady of the evening also gave her rights to mocking the other comedians, and we have to agree; they almost had nothing on Kumar, baby.

Up first was Douglas Lim, whose favourite peeve was the ridiculous international headlines that Malaysia has made in recent years, due to the obscurity of ‘rational thinking’ among us, and poked fun at racial over-sensitivity. Also, much to the glee of the audience, Douglas turned all of us into indirect Justin Bieber fans with his hilarious remake of the hit ‘Baby’ (hint: what else could the word sound like?)

Next came the best looking chap of the lot, albeit the shortest (as Kumar made sure to highlight) – Bollywood man Vir Das. Naturally, he spoke a lot of women. But he was more than just the guy with the Indian accent and a lot of sex jokes. “Indian men are not known as sexy, not when the only two imports are Ghandi and Apu (of The Simpsons)!” he stated, and gave a new foundation to the ancient Kama Sutra: “It takes 6 hours to undress a woman in a sari. All those sex positions? It’s Indian men trying to find an opening in the sari.”

Vir Das was also clever to insert local references into his punch lines; a blow-job will now be known as “Bukit-ing the Bintang”, and, famous for ruining the sex life of at least one audience member, tormented an Andy by shouting out his name whilst impersonating a woman in ecstasy. “Now, whenever you have sex sober, you will think of ME!”

To us, a 6-foot Vietnamese man with an Australian accent and rude French is well, certainly a novelty, but that is Hung Le. “What to know a secret about Asians? We think we all look the same too.” His main vehicle that evening was growing up as a refugee in Australia, where for 15 years his father ate a cornflake sandwich for lunch because Hung Le didn’t have the heart to tell him that it was supposed to be eaten “in a bowl, then you pour in Sprite.”

Hung Le was our token thinking-man’s wit for the night; he may take his time building his stories up, but he doesn’t ramble or leave you hanging without the regular punches on the way. “One thing Asians don’t get is the risotto,” he starts. “It’s Italian for who-f*cked-up-the-rice??”

Harith Iskander emerged as the final act, after a grand introduction by Kumar, perhaps for Harith’s long career in Malaysian comedy. He begins with a somewhat uncalled-for reference to the Susilawati murder, but moved on quickly to question the local colloquial, which is always a favourite area in comedy.

He then reviews Possessed, a local horror flick starring Amber Chia, picking on the frustrating slow-turn-of-the-head and other typical slow reactions by the cast during some terrifying scenes. Harith ends his set with his popular comparison between CSI Miami’s Horatio and the Malaysian forensics department; much of which is dedicated to our habit of redundant repetitions. I.e:

Cop: “Dah mati, puan.”
Forensics Specialist: “Dah mati ke?”
Cop: “Ya, puan, dah mati.”
FS: “Oh dah mati…”
Cop: “Ya”
FS: “Tak hidup lagi lah ni?”

And you have to admit, it was not an exaggeration.

Kings & Queen of Comedy Asia was truly a ground-breaking event in Kuala Lumpur; a testimony that local comedy is indeed ready for something bigger and better. We’re crossing our fingers on a sequel next year, but in the mean time, we are stoked about The Comedy Club KL Season 2. Stay tuned to MSN Going Out for updates!