Short but sweet

WE’LL BE DAMNED The irreverent reverend from Best Church of God had us laughing our holy heads off.

Laughter is a funny thing: For something we (hopefully) do quite often, it’s hardly all that memorable. But when a moment comes along that’s truly “I can’t breathe, oh my God is that hilarious, wow, seriously I’m in a lot of pain here [hiccup],” you never forget what brought it on. The rate at which this city evokes such chuckles will never cease to amaze us. Here’s our list, in no particular order, of 2008’s damn-funniest moments.

Best Church of God
At first, we didn’t know what to make of this Sunday-morning sketch show, in which a fake pastor delivered impassioned sermons about foreskin as currency (based on real Bible verses). But then the faux-church called up its resident janitor to transform bread into the “nonmetaphorical flesh of our Lord and savior,” slapped that charred meat onto a tray and had audience members line up to eat it. We knew we had found our savior.

Kumail Nanjiani at the Lincoln Lodge
In November, one of our favorite expats returned to Chicago while touring with Eugene Mirman and popped into his favorite old room for a set. Little did he know he’d be dealing with a pie-hating heckler. But it wasn’t the poor sap who caught our attention; it was Nanjiani’s refusal to let the issue go. He spent at least 12 of his allotted 15 minutes just naming pies and getting reactions: “Apple? Strawberry? Rhubarb…c’mon, that’s good!” It killed.

Sketchfest
Remembrances of last year’s fest conjure multiple moments—where to even begin? Brick’s scene made up entirely of dubbed CTA-announcer sound clips? The 3rd Floor’s twisted combination of actors in animal suits, a boy shoveling sweets into his mouth, two bloody parents and a song called “Totally Chocolate Dinner”? Backpack Picnic’s awesome, unabashedly ’80s-inspired music video “Lamborghini Poster” (you simply must Google it)? Who cares—it was all good.

Cody Rivers
These two Washington State natives occasionally grace a local stage with their unique brand of cerebral comedy—plus at least one sketch where they use their bodies in bold, unexpected ways. This time, a long scene featured the comedians using hand puppets as astronauts and their ever-moving arms, legs and torsos as the terrain of a foreign planetscape.

Sarah Haskins
Thanks to her work on Current.com’s online Target:Women segments, we’ll never think of yogurt in the same way again. Especially not after Haskins talked about a new kind that makes you poop, then played the commercial of dancing ladies (great way to sell the product?) while joining in the “fun.” Her accompanying cry of “I’m gonna shit my pants!” is one for the ages.

Steve and Jordan, Respectively
This iO pair used its short-lived sketch show to take on the dichotomy between our city’s storefront and big-budget theater scenes. Each played small-stage actors in the audience of Wicked, supporting girlfriends who’d finally snagged major roles. The ensuing commiseration—and exchange of show postcards—couldn’t have felt more real.

Bassprov
The premise of this improv show is always the same: Mark Sutton and Joe Bill play simple folk on a camping trip, letting the conversation—and booze—flow freely. For their Chicago Improv Festival performance, they were joined by T.J. Jagodowski, and talk turned to musical theater. Jagodowski simply didn’t believe either character knew anything about it, which prompted Sutton to stand, flannel-clad, and belt out “Johanna” from Sweeney Todd. Not to be outdone, Bill countered with The Pajama Game’s “Hey There.” And thus both actors were outed as the humongous musical-theater geeks they are.

Impress These Apes
For a shot at winning ITA’s third season, James Asmus needed to do something huge. So he staged a magic show, which fell apart during a card trick because, he claimed, his girlfriend was leaving town. This prompted him to head to the airport (on video), pick her up and yank her up on stage to finish the trick. But then, just as she settled in, Asmus told her to abandon the script…and got down on one knee. “I have to ask you something,” he said, stumbling over his words. He was serious. The audience was silent. “Is this your card?!?”

Nick Vatterott
The man is full of surprises. We caught him at Chicago Underground Comedy and marveled at his set: At one point, he ran around yelling gibberish for no good reason; later, he yelled at the audience for applauding. Strange, we thought. Then he “forgot” his closing bit, which required that he pull out his set list—a gigantic piece of paper with directives like “re-create scene from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and “ask audience a question, and chastise them for responding appropriately.”

Co-Ed Prison Sluts
After an eight-year hiatus, the hit musical reopened at the Annoyance, providing newbies and fans of its 11-year original run the opportunity to join in song: “Shit, motherfucker / Fuck you, you cunt or you shit / Blooowjooob / Suck my dick.” We felt like kids discovering for the first time the power of those words—set to a catchy tune, no less.

For more of the best of 2008, visit timeoutchicago.com/2008lists.