Okay, so Drunk History on Comedy Central is probably my new favorite show. I can’t watch even one segment without laughing to tears. It began as a Funny or Die series, which was created by Jeremy Konner and Derek Waters. What makes Drunk History so funny is the fact that they enlist actors to re-tell historical events, while being incredibly intoxicated. This show is majorly awesome!
Part of the hilarity is that the actors aren’t exactly accurate about the stories they’re telling. And the show keeps the ambient noises that happen while filming the drunken interviewees, which hold over into the re-enactments. I wish I had discovered this before now because it is so damn funny.
But this last Tuesday’s show was totally on point. Each episode focuses on an American city; the city of choice for last Tuesday’s episode was San Francisco. This DH ep focused on three greats: Mark Twain (played by Steve Little), Mary Ellen Pleasant (Lisa Bonet), and Patty Hearst (Kristen Wiig). Little is famous for starring in Eastbound & Down, while Wiig’s famous from SNL and Bonet from The Cosby Show.
Bonet kickin’ it old school as Mary Ellen Pleasant
In this episode, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia star Artemis Pebdani narrates Bonet’s Mary Ellen Pleasant story, while comedienne Natasha Leggero narrated Wiig’s Patty Hearst dramatization. Pebdani drunkenly confuses abolitionist John Brown, calling him James Brown, and when she talks of the 30 million dollars Pleasant amassed with her love Thomas Bell, Pebdani says today it would be “like a batrillion, jillion, dollars.” My drunken self would probs say the same.
Leggero was drunkenly unsure if Hearst was gagged, but says she was “definitely blindfolded,” as if she was re-living the moment with Hearst! Leggero also says that Hearst’s case of Stockholm syndrome kicked in when Hearst empathizes by saying “OMG you’re like my mommy” to the Symbionese Liberation Army. While Leggero’s pups incessantly bark in the background, Wiig (as Hearst) looks around her apartment, as if she’s actually listening to the dogs. #incredibleacting
Past episodes have starred Jenny Slate, narrating the invention of Coca-Cola, which, as she says John Pemberton (inventor of Coca-Cola) wanted to “make a medicine that made women think that they’ll never be nervous, or have farts.” I can’t, I literally can’t. This show is way too good.
To see these women on top of their funny skills, check out the videos below. Thank you Comedy Central for taking a chance on this web series, and creating such a wonderfully entertaining show!
Drunk History airs on Tuesdays at 10pm/9pm central.
Thanks to Funny or Die and Comedy Central
Photos via YouTube
