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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy

Hot Cup of Talk

Kathy Griffin

HBO · 1998 · 60 min

A conversational hour of nineties pop culture trash talk.

Watch it free on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Kathy Griffin treats stand-up like a highly publicized venting session, trading in entertainment industry war stories and celebrity takedowns. Her first hour-long broadcast establishes the blueprint for the pop culture commentary she would eventually turn into an empire. She takes aim at the absurdities of nineties fame, spending time on Madonna’s sudden adoption of a British accent and the theatrical behavior of Celine Dion and Mariah Carey during VH1’s Divas Live. Griffin positions herself as an outsider looking in, entirely willing to burn bridges for the sake of a punchline. Filmed at the Variety Arts Theatre in Los Angeles in 1998, the special took its name from a weekly alternative comedy night Griffin had co-founded with Janeane Garofalo. At the time of recording, she was known primarily as a regular on the NBC sitcom Suddenly Susan. Between roasting the boy band Hanson and recounting an encounter with President Bill Clinton, Griffin introduces audiences to what would become a staple of her act: complaining about her mother, Maggie.

The set list

6 bits

  1. VH1's Divas Live

    Riffs on famous singers including Mariah Carey, Shania Twain, and dishes on Céline Dion's marriage to an older man.

  2. Madonna's British accent

    Observes and mocks Madonna adopting an English accent.

  3. Encounter with President Bill Clinton

    Recounts an embarrassing personal meeting with Bill Clinton.

  4. Meeting Hanson

    Details an outlandish real-life interaction with the musical group Hanson.

  5. Maggie Griffin and parents

    Shares stories about her mother and her parents' odd fixation with 99-cent stores.

  6. The new way to say 'cunt' / stages of her vagina

    Frank discussion navigating the stages of her vagina and linguistic taboos.

How it plays

Tone
Irreverent, gossipy, observational, and candid.
On stage
Casual, conversational, brutally honest storyteller and celebrity gossip disher who rejects traditional joke setups and one-liners.
Pace
Conversational, relaxed tempo with extended comedic riffs unconstrained by joke-a-minute pacing.
About
Celebrity culture and gossip, Pop music and divas, Personal humiliations, Family and parents, Sexuality

What the critics said

Lauded as an effective culmination of Griffin's distinctive conversational narrative style, eschewing setup-punchline structures for genuine, dish-filled celebrity encounters and personal stories.

In the room: Enthusiastic and engaged, laughing out loud at her insider gossip and outlandish personal stories.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: en.wikipedia.org, letterboxd.com, thetvdb.plex.tv, mymoviefinder.com, vulture.com, imdb.com.

Backstory

Emerged from the 1990s Los Angeles alternative comedy scene, titled after 'Hot Cup O' Talk,' an experimental, low-stakes weekly showcase Griffin co-created with Janeane Garofalo performed in coffeehouses and bookstores.

Details

Released
Taped
Variety Arts Theatre, Los Angeles
Runtime
60 min
Where
HBO
Director
Keith Truesdell
Honors
Included in Vulture's 100 More Jokes That Shaped Modern Comedy (for the VH1 Divas Live routine)
Topics
Before
HBO Comedy Half-Hour (1996)
After
Allegedly (2004)

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