Stella Shorts

The comedy group Stella (pictured above l-r) is Michael Showalter, Michael Ian Black, and David Wain. If you are around my age or older you might remember these guys as part of the cast of MTV's The State from the mid-90's. Michael Ian Black is perhaps the most recognizable to people for his role in VH1's I Remember the 80's, etc. As a comedy group Stella has appeared in a number of formats since 1998 (when they began making the shorts). In addition to the 27 short films they made, Stella also had a very brief run on Comedy Central in 2005 which produced 10 half-hour episodes now available on DVD here, and they still perform as a live touring comedy group.

I have never seen the half-hour episodes of Stella, but people like fellow Egg Baby and friend Mike Ward insist that they are worth a damn. I am convinced that he is probably right. My only exposure to Stella is through the shorts recommended here by Matt Smiley, but I am a huge fan of their contributions to other movies and shows. My personal favorites, aside from the shorts, are The State (which is unattainable in it's entirety, but you can now download Season One from iTunes), Michael Showalter's Showalter (all available here at collegehumor.com) and one of my favorite funny movies Wet Hot American Summer. Sidenote, the David Cross and Michael Cera episodes of Showalter are especially worth viewing. There is a ton more info on everything they've been involved in at their website www.stellacomedy.com. If there is a movie or show that one of these guys are a part of, it is probably in your best interest to watch it. Unless you don't like really funny things, then I advise you avoid them.

All of the Stella shorts are also available at collegehumor.com, with a convenient like here. The episode I chose to share is maybe the funniest video on the internet, titled Pizza. Warning: Clip below might be inappropriate for some.



Adam is currently listening to Fred Hersch's Live at the Village Vanguard. Drew Gress!