Richard welcomed special guests, from BlogTO, Dani Stover and writer/author, Anne Donahue.
Monkey Toast is a six-time Canadian Comedy Award winning talk/improv show. Each show our host interviews two different celebrity guests. After an interview segment the focus shifts to the Monkey Toast Players, six of the best improvisers in the world, who use the interview as springboard for their improvised scenes. The show then goes back and forth between interview and improv.
Starring The Monkey Toast Players: Lisa Merchant, Jan Caruana, Christy Bruce, Paul Bates, Kerry Griffin, and Marty Adams
We hope that you’ll join us on Saturday, March 2nd as we welcome special guests, from BlogTO, Dani Stover and writer/author, Anne Donahue, hosted by Richard Crouse!
Plus, we have special guest host, Richard Crouse!!
Monkey Toast is a six-time Canadian Comedy Award winning talk/improv show. Each show our host interviews two different celebrity guests. After an interview segment the focus shifts to the Monkey Toast Players, six of the best improvisers in the world, who use the interview as springboard for their improvised scenes. The show then goes back and forth between interview and improv.
Starring The Monkey Toast Players: Lisa Merchant, Jan Caruana, Christy Bruce, Paul Bates, Kerry Griffin, and Marty Adams
Richard and CP24 anchor Nathan Downer have a look at the weekend’s new movies, “Wonder Woman” with Gal Gadot, Kevin Hart in the animated “Captain Underpants: the First Epic Movie” and “Drone,” staring Sean Bean.
Richard sits in with CTV NewsChannel anchor Erin Paul to discuss whether “Wonder Woman” is all that wonderful, if “Captain Underpants: the First Epic Movie” is crappy or not and if “Drone” lives up to its name.
In his new film satirist Ken Finkleman casts his net to include everything from gun toting evangelicals and reality TV stars to government paranoia and corporate shenanigans. By the time the final credits roll though one question remains, Can you parody a culture that has already fallen into self-parody?
“#AnAmericanDream” looks to “Candide,” a French satire first published in 1759 by Voltaire, as a basis for its jaundiced look at life. Like the character Candide, when we first meet William Bowman (Jake Croker) he’s living a sheltered life. William is a college football star thrust into adulthood, and all the hardships that entails, after a concussion sidelines his athletic career.
He lands on his feet at a high-flying Wall Street company, only to be knocked down when his investment firm is taken over. Next up, he becomes a travelling salesman, selling religious books door to door to churches and libraries. When that implodes in a hail of gunfire he sets off on a journey that sees him involved in a public execution, a government cover-up and a fugitive as the star of a reality show called “Dead Man Running.”
Like “Candide” “#AnAmericanDream” pokes the bear, taking shots at religion, government and the military industrial complex. It’s an erratic, fantastical ride presented in Finkleman’s trademarked matter-of-fact style. When the going gets gonzo the director keeps a steady pace, punting William from one escapade to the next. The sheer volume of allegory and adventure is head spinning but when broken down into individual elements are eerie and timely. A snarky millennial newscaster puts us in the mind of Tomi Lahren while a televised execution feels like an episode of “Fear Factor” gone wild.
In our Fake News/Post Truth Era, however, these satirical components feel less tongue-in-cheek and more like a scary peek into the near future. It’s hard to know if Finkleman has made a movie that serves as a warning or as a comment on where we are today. This timeliness and familiarity blunts some of the film’s impact. Call it post-satire. Call it whatever you like, but in an age where former right-wing messiah Alex Jones can keep a straight face and claim his messages weren’t real, that they were just performance art, a movie like “#AnAmericanDream” feels less game-changing than it needs to be.
Welcome to the House of Crouse. This week we opened the vault and John Lydon leapt out! It’s an encore conversation with the Sex Pistol about life, perception and a movie called “Sons of Norway.” then Ken Finkleman swings by to talk about his new movie “An American Dream” and share stories about working “as a hack” in Hollywood. Find out how he dealt with his crew’s taste for cocaine on the set of “Airplane 2.” It’s good stuff. C’mon in and sit a spell.
Check out the Richard Crouse Show on NewsTalk 1010 for April 22, 2017! This week Richard welcomes “An American Dream“ writer and director Ken Finkleman.
Here’s some info on The Richard Crouse Show!: Each week on The Richard Crouse Show, Canada’s most recognized movie critic brings together some of the most interesting and opinionated people from the movies, television and music to put a fresh spin on news from the world of lifestyle and pop-culture. Tune into this show to find out what’s going on behind the scenes of your favorite shows and movies and get a new take on current trends. Richard also lets you know what movies you’ll want to run to see and which movies you’ll want to wait for DVD release. Click HERE to catch up on shows you might have missed! Read Richard NewsTalk 1010 reviews HERE!
The show airs:
NewsTalk 1010 – airs in Toronto Saturday at 6 to 7 pm.
For Niagara, Newstalk 610 Radio – airs Saturdays at 6 to 7 pm
Canadian Comedy Award winner, Monkey Toast: The Improvised Talk Show is proud to present its one-of-a-kind talk show at the Comedy Bar. Each show we interview three different celebrity guests. After an interview segment, Monkey Toast’s Host/Interviewer, Ron Tite, throws the focus to the Monkey Toast players who then use the interview as the inspiration for their improvised scenes.
Our rotating cast of improvisers is one of the best in Canada and includes:
Colin Mochrie (Whose Line Is It Anyway?)
Lisa Merchant (Train 48)
Kerry Griffin (The Second City)
Aurora Browne (Comedy Inc.)
Jan Caruana (The Bad Dog Theatre)
Herbie Barnes (Tonto’s Nephews)
Sandy Jobin-Bevans (The Second City)
Jim Annan (The Second City)
Jennifer Goodhue (Comedy Inc.)
Naomi Snieckus (The Ron James Show)
Matt Baram (The Second City)
Paul Bates (The Second City)
Marcel St. Pierre (The Bad Dog Theatre)
Scott Montgomery (The Second City)
Lauren Ash (Almost Heroes)
Past guests on the show include, former NDP Leader Jack Layton, Actor/Writer Don McKellar, former Toronto Mayor David Miller, Tony Winner Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone), Kevin Hearn (Barenaked Ladies), Bob McDonald (Quirks & Quarks), Jake Gold (Canadian Idol), Andrew Coyne (Post Newspapers), Michael Landsberg (TSN), Sean Cullen, Richard Crouse (Reel To Real), Peaches, Don Ferguson (Royal Canadian Air Farce), Gavin Crawford (This Hour Has 22 Minutes), Author Jan Wong, Dave Bidini, and Jaymz Bee (JazzFM) to name a few.
Monkey Toast: Saturday, November 1, 2014 9PM
The Comedy Bar, 945 Bloor Street West
$10
Host: Ron Tite
Guests:
• Richard Crouse, Author and Film Critic for CTV’s Canada AM, Metro and NewsTalk 1010
• Adam Growe, Host of Cash Cab
Featuring the Monkey Toast Players: Jim Annan, Jen Goodhue, Jan Caruana, Matt Folliott, Marty Adams, Lisa Merchant