Each month, many funny videos are posted to every corner of the internet — from Twitter and Instagram to Vimeo and sometimes other weird places we’ll have trouble embedding. Because you’re busy living your life, you might miss some of these funny videos and feel left out when others bring them up in conversation. Well, worry not! We’re here to make sure you’re not listening in on conversations but leading them … as long as those conversations are about funny internet videos. Here, our favorite comedy shorts of the month.
“Breaking News: Basketball Abortion,†by the Onion
This could be a real story in today’s news cycle, and we’re horrified about what that means for the future of humanity. But for now, and for the Onion, it means they’re on their shit as always — nestling in that narrow, cozy space between earnestness and total absurdity.
“Football,†by Joseph Bennett
Joe Bennett, co-creator of HBO Max’s critically acclaimed Scavengers Reign, dropped this wonderful little character study of a football fan (Martin Starr) pondering the limitless implications of a world with no rules. The attention to detail that made the alien world of Scavengers Reign so rich is still on full display; sometimes I’ll laugh just because the animation has picked up on a real bit of behavior I didn’t expect to see rendered here.
“Getting an Uber in the Midwest,†by Joe Nunnink
The Midwest is a very special place: a charming blend of banality, aw-shucks charm, and crippling sadness that’s just best barreled through by a trip to the local Putt-Putt or go-kart track. Joe Nunnink knows the headspace all too well, it seems.
“It’s Award Season in LA Baby,†by Carmen Christopher
Carmen Christopher recaps the year in movies as we head into the thick of awards season with jokes I’d certainly pay to see told on the Golden Globes stage. “I find it interesting that this family chose to live next to Auschwitz,†begins his review of The Zone of Interest, for example. You’ll hear his pronunciation of “Yorgos Lanthimos†in your head every time that guy’s name is read aloud for the rest of time, I’ll tell you that much.
“Licorice Town,†by Harris Alterman
Harris Alterman’s a maniac, and we love him for it. Here, the subversive comic takes on the ubiquitous Instagram crowdwork clip, where underqualified comedians everywhere can do one open mic and still trick us into feeling like they’ve got flare and promise. The thing is: Alterman actually does. Just ask his front-row friend from Licorice Town.
“The Quarry,†by Graham Mason
Described as a “soap opera about rocks,â€Â The Quarry feels like an ode to one of the best animated comedy trifectas of the last 30 years: the effortlessly talented duos of Jonathan Katz and Tom Syder, and then Snyder and (early) Loren Bouchard. It’s sweet and subtle while still playing as laugh-out-loud funny — like Pixar for neurotic adults. Carl’s voice is as priceless as Blemish’s restaurant lean-over. You’ll get it, you’ll get it.
“Sex Party,†by Simple Town
Simple Town is fantastic at mimicking repetitive, faux-deep conversations while nakedly ignoring their desperate surroundings, and I’d be hard-pressed to think of a better venue for that skill than a sex (or “playâ€) party that is losing the little steam it ever had. Whether two of them are trying to convince themselves that having sex will make them feel like little kids again (not in a weird way) or using a Seven Minutes in Heaven situation to talk about how they have to plan a month ahead to drink one beer these days, you can just listen to them go and go long after the party’s over.
“A Traditional Lullaby We Learned As Children,†by Friends Who Folk
Friends Who Folk, the musical-comedy duo comprised of Rachel Wenitsky and Ned Risley, occasionally hop on Instagram to lend their smooth vocal blending to clickbait-y headlines, giving them a surreal and otherworldly power. Most recently, I can’t tell you how burned into my brain the phrase “Barry Keoghan gets in sleeveless crop-top war with Lucien Laviscount and it’s giving Madonna†has become thanks to the spooky church-choir soloist harmonies provided by the Friends.
“Walking in Massachusetts,†by Alyssa Limperis and Luke Mones
The holidays usually give Alyssa Limperis great fodder for her acute anthropological renderings of life in the Northeast, and this video with Luke Mones is no exception. Those who did not grow up in the Greater Boston area might not understand the subtle nuances and many variations of nodding and saying “Hi†to someone you pass on a walk … until you watch this video.
“We Really Made This Lucky Person’s Day,†by Two Tree Hill and Rose Kelso
Please stick with this one. What seems like a half-baked bit for the first 30 seconds becomes one of the smartest, most intricate, and most totally innovative few minutes of stand-up in a while. Less lowbrow crowdwork, and more of this!
Like what you saw? Want to be on this monthly roundup? Show us your stuff!Â
Luke Kelly-Clyne is a co-head of HartBeat Independent and a watcher of many web videos. Send him yours at @LKellyClyne.
Graham Techler has contributed writing to The New Yorker and McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. Send him your videos at @gr8h8m_t3chl3r.
More From This Series
- The Best Comedy Shorts of October 2024
- The Best Comedy Shorts of August 2024
- The Best Comedy Shorts of July 2024