Saturday Night Live

CHICAGO – When I first heard about Will Ferrell’s one-man Broadway show in which he would deliver a nearly-90-minute monologue as outgoing President George W. Bush, I was both excited at the potential and nervous as to how on Earth the talented comedian could keep it interesting for its full running time.

CHICAGO – Martin Short, the classic comic performer of SCTV, Saturday Night Live and film, came to Chicago as part of Superstation TBS “Just for Laughs” Festival, hosting and performing in the “Let Freedom Hum” revue on June 17th.

DVD Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Anyone who has ever seen a Sam Kinison stand-up special knows the truth. The man was a genius. Finally, people unfamiliar with the mad preacher will get to see for themselves and those of us old enough to remember Kinison’s all-too-brief time in the spotlight can revisit this inspirational and hilarious comedian on DVD with “Sam Kinison Unleashed”.

CHICAGO – So far in the 2008 summer animation season we’ve seen cuddly martial artists (“Kung Fu Panda”) and robots in love (“WALL-E”).

CHICAGO – “Death is caused by swallowing small amounts of saliva over a long period of time,” comedian George Carlin once said. The iconic and award-winning figure died of heart failure on Sunday at the age of 71.

CHICAGO – In the relatively anemic anthology of recent Adam Sandler flops, “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan” hangs above with comedic charm and a nonsensically amusing plotline. The story is divisively intermingled with racial and ethnic sensitivities between the Israelis and Palestinians.

CHICAGO – In the inaugural edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: TV, 10 admit-two VIP passes will be given away to the exclusive Chicago opportunity to meet Tim Meadows (“Saturday Night Live,” “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story,” “Semi-Pro”) for the return of “The Bill Engvall Show” on TBS.