Director:
Todd W. Langen
Genre:
Comedy
Sub-Genre:
Sketch Comedy
Length:
Feature
Awards Won:
2007 Microfilmmaker Magazine's Best of Show: Feature Film: August
Website:
http://www.42storyhouse.com
Score:
3.5/5
I love sketch comedy. I spend hours online watching as much sketch comedy (good and bad) as I can. There’s something about telling a story (that has to be funny) in a small amount of time that speaks to me.
“42 Story House” takes sketch comedy and spins it with a high concept -- 42 comedy sketches (Get it? “42 Story House”) written, directed, produced, shot, edited, and performed by one man in one house all in the space of one year.
There is no story here. Not a lot of character development in the traditional sense. And there really seems to be no method to the madness -- just a lot of throw-it-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks kind of humor. Writer/director/performer Todd W. Langen knows this stuff isn’t high art. And he’s okay with that. You can tell as he gleefully runs amok in his self created universe.
The results are mixed. There are some really solid comic moments in the film -- “Number 21: The 1 Second Story” and all its different interpretations had me howling, and “Number 23: A Blatant Appeal To The Growing Hispanic Demographic” caught me off guard. Then there are some groaners -- “Number 19: While You Were Snacking” and “Number 41: When God Drinks” seemed like excuses to do something flashy, but neither one was all that funny. And then there’s a bunch of stuff that’s funny but never really rises to the LOL level (I can not believe I just typed LOL) -- “Number 29: False Alarm” is like Numbers 19 and 41 in that it exists to show off some post production flare, but it elevates itself by bringing some laughs; “Number 9: When Toilet Paper Rolls Find Out” and “Number 25: When Printers Knock” were both clever ideas but failed to deliver; “Number 31: Survival Of The Needless” (a parody of those Discovery Channel reality shows “Man vs. Wild” and “Survivorman”) is a riot at first, but goes on far too long; and “Number 17: Egg-icide” telegraphs its punch line much to early. Also there are a few “Deleted” stories -- don’t know if those should count towards the final tally of 42. Then again, there’s a couple of running gags -- one with an answering machine conversation and another with a guy and a box -- that make up for the missing stories.
Overall, I’d say that if you like sketch comedy and want more than a few chuckles, “42 Story House” is well worth the time and the ten bucks.
Todd W. Langen
Genre:
Comedy
Sub-Genre:
Sketch Comedy
Length:
Feature
Awards Won:
2007 Microfilmmaker Magazine's Best of Show: Feature Film: August
Website:
http://www.42storyhouse.com
Score:
3.5/5
I love sketch comedy. I spend hours online watching as much sketch comedy (good and bad) as I can. There’s something about telling a story (that has to be funny) in a small amount of time that speaks to me.
“42 Story House” takes sketch comedy and spins it with a high concept -- 42 comedy sketches (Get it? “42 Story House”) written, directed, produced, shot, edited, and performed by one man in one house all in the space of one year.
There is no story here. Not a lot of character development in the traditional sense. And there really seems to be no method to the madness -- just a lot of throw-it-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks kind of humor. Writer/director/performer Todd W. Langen knows this stuff isn’t high art. And he’s okay with that. You can tell as he gleefully runs amok in his self created universe.
The results are mixed. There are some really solid comic moments in the film -- “Number 21: The 1 Second Story” and all its different interpretations had me howling, and “Number 23: A Blatant Appeal To The Growing Hispanic Demographic” caught me off guard. Then there are some groaners -- “Number 19: While You Were Snacking” and “Number 41: When God Drinks” seemed like excuses to do something flashy, but neither one was all that funny. And then there’s a bunch of stuff that’s funny but never really rises to the LOL level (I can not believe I just typed LOL) -- “Number 29: False Alarm” is like Numbers 19 and 41 in that it exists to show off some post production flare, but it elevates itself by bringing some laughs; “Number 9: When Toilet Paper Rolls Find Out” and “Number 25: When Printers Knock” were both clever ideas but failed to deliver; “Number 31: Survival Of The Needless” (a parody of those Discovery Channel reality shows “Man vs. Wild” and “Survivorman”) is a riot at first, but goes on far too long; and “Number 17: Egg-icide” telegraphs its punch line much to early. Also there are a few “Deleted” stories -- don’t know if those should count towards the final tally of 42. Then again, there’s a couple of running gags -- one with an answering machine conversation and another with a guy and a box -- that make up for the missing stories.
Overall, I’d say that if you like sketch comedy and want more than a few chuckles, “42 Story House” is well worth the time and the ten bucks.
Last edited:
