By Marra Ciuffetelli
Booming laughter, controversial jokes and the humid Florida air created the perfect setting for Funny or Die’s annual Oddball Comedy and Curiosity Festival at Tampa’s MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre. The night consisted of eight hilarious comedians including comedic geniuses Amy Schumer and Aziz Ansari. The evening’s host Jeff Ross, notable for being Comedy Central’s “Roastmaster,” started out the festival by warmly greeting “Trampa,” on Oct. 3. Ross brought out his “roast cam” and scanned the unsuspecting front row interacting with the crowd by asking questions like: “Man, look at those sandals! Did you walk here from Nazareth or something?” Picking up a guitar to sing a rather raunchy tune, Ross set the tone for what turned out to be a hysterical night.
Singing, showering and shocking Bridget Everett, known for being a cabaret comedian, came out covering the front row in champagne and immediately captivated the audience. Everett’s first song stunned the audience members by pulling her dress up and gyrating on the speakers. She flashed the crowd multiple times before climbing down off the stage to interact with the crowd and motor-boating several unsuspecting people’s faces. Everett, reminiscent of the wild child star Miley Cyrus with her shocking attire and controversial behavior, belted out Cyrus’ “The Climb,” and in true rebel fashion gave quite a shocking performance. It started with holding a man’s head in her crotch and ended with her sitting on a woman’s face on stage. Everett provided the crowd with a riveting experience full of gasps and uncontrollable laughter.
Tim Michin’s 15-minute musical act consisted of a song about relationships in which he offered up some strangely hilarious comments such as, “If you really loved me you’d let me wear your underwear when we visit your mum,” and hit the nail on the head with, “we go together like racism and ignorance.” He managed to put on quite a show while also bringing the real issues of today bubbling to the surface.
Amy Schumer appeared to the roaring screams of thousands. Her 30-minute act of hilarity began with her practicing her SNL monologue for next week’s episode. Schumer transitioned into an account of a recent interview in which she was asked, “Isn’t it an exciting time for women in Hollywood?” Her response was resounding and honest, “Absolutely Not.” Tackling the issues of the immense hypocrisy women face in the media, Schumer discussed how Women’s Health Magazine tears down women’s confidence by teaching them “How to eat just enough to survive, maybe.” Furthering her outrage, she expressed her disappointment in Khloe Kardashian for losing a “Kendall” size amount of weight in order to be featured in Women’s Health and also losing her reputation as the only relatable Kardashian. She expressed her indignation that she is labeled a “sex comedian” because she occasionally talks about sex; but if she were a man telling the same jokes she would be considered “just a comedian.”
Jogging energetically onto the stage, Aziz Ansari immediately began his act by expressing his complaints about how the littlest things can annoy someone in a long-term relationship. He conveyed the struggles of not being religious in a religious family, and specifically growing up in the Muslim religion and really loving bacon. He confided in the audience that he wished he read more books instead of spending hours on the internet reading senseless tweets about “Ludacris going to Jamaica.” To finish out the night, he discussed the very real issue of police brutality and racism. Ansari skillfully approached the subjects of Sandra Bland, police brutality and #blacklivesmatter while still managing to entertain the crowd of thousands. His comedic flare not only makes one cry laughing, but also tackles the very real social issues that we face daily. Each comedian was able to confront important social issues while delivering hearty laughs to the attentive crowd.
Marra Ciuffetelli can be reached at marra.ciuffetelli@spartans.ut.edu.