‘Human Giant’s’ Aziz Ansari mixes the highbrow and the lowbrow
December 1, 2008 at 10:00 am by Ben Westhoff in A&E
REALITY CHECK: "Human Giant's" Aziz Ansari
In a recurring sketch called “Shutterbugs” on the MTV show “Human Giant,” Aziz Ansari plays a film agent putting together a movie about 9-11 starring kid actors. “Jason, this is what we call a career-defining role,” he tells a pint-sized player dressed up as George W. Bush. “Did you take a shit before we started shooting?”
The fake film, in which Bush’s character wrestles a mini Osama Bin Laden wearing a turban and a fake beard, is as cringe-worthy as it is hilarious. “Lil’ 9/11 is the best movie idea we’ve ever had,” Ansari insists, as tiny Bush flies a fighter plane and pledges to “find these evil doodles.” Ansari later hires a thuggish pre-teen armed with a baseball bat to break the Osama actor’s kneecaps, as he’s represented by a rival agency.
The sketch typifies Ansari’s politically incorrect humor, which is as thoughtful as it is outrageous and often sprinkled with current event and pop culture references. He brings his informed commentary cloaked in off-color gags to the Punchline’s stage Wednesday, Dec. 10 as part of his “Glow In The Dark” stand-up comedy tour.
Ansari, who gained momentum working New York City’s underground comedy circuit, has suddenly become a hot Hollywood commodity. He’ll be featured in the upcoming Judd Apatow movie Funny People as well as a new NBC sitcom loosely based on “The Office.” But he’s best known for co-creating and co-starring in “Human Giant,” which also starred Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer and is now on hiatus.
Employing humor equal parts intellectual and scatological, the show featured a sketch in which Huebel’s character racks up tons of YouTube hits by cutting off his own penis, only to be instantly eclipsed by Ansari’s character, who does nothing but make silly faces. Another bit portrayed a reality show in which everyday people were kidnapped, sent to the moon, and hunted down for sport by astronauts. Oddly enough, Quizno’s was featured as a sponsor of the gruesome fake show, and the sub shop paid real money for the privilege. It gives an idea of how desperately advertisers seek young male eyeballs these days.
“Human Giant” shares a spirit with irreverent comedy programs such as “Mr. Show” and “Arrested Development.” Likewise, it never did much in the ratings during its two seasons. In fact, it seemed downright out of place alongside glamorized reality fare such as “The Hills” and “Pimp My Ride.” Yet it developed a tremendous cult following and propelled Ansari into the sphere of successful young comedians who specialize in making light of taboo issues. Much like Sarah Silverman, who routinely makes jokes about rape and the holocaust, Ansari’s work is fearless and sometimes borderline offensive. As his “Shutterbugs” character says to a hopeful kid actor: “Why don’t you call me back when you’re not Asian?”
The 25-year-old Ansari honed his comedic technique performing at NYC’s Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, known for its experimental, not-ready-for-primetime performances. He recently moved to Los Angeles, “both because there are a lot more acting jobs out here, and because I wanted to be closer to my Quizno’s franchise,” he jokes. “You see, Subway is now making toasted sandwiches, and I just wanted to make sure we had the market cornered on toasted sandwiches.”
The transition is more likely owed to parts in upcoming movies such as I Love You, Man — a comedy about an engaged character’s search for a best man that also stars Paul Rudd, Jason Segel and Huebel — and the aforementioned a Judd Apatow production also featuring Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen. Ansari says of the latter: “I play this really obnoxious, flamboyant comedian named Randy. It’s completely ridiculous.” Known to namedrop obscure songs, Hollywood bit actors and comic book characters in his jokes and sketches, Ansari seems particularly well suited for an Apatow ensemble.
Perhaps his most highly anticipated project, however, is the new sitcom from the executive producer of NBC’s “The Office,” which also stars Amy Poehler. Though many are calling it a spin-off, “It’s not based around a character from ‘The Office.’ It’s a separate documentary show,” Ansari corrects. “It’s a different city, and it’s not related to Dunder Mifflin or anything like that.” He notes that the show — now set for an April 2009 debut — was originally slated to start after the Super Bowl but was pushed back due to Poehler’s pregnancy. “That’s okay,” he goofs, “since I’m in like eight Doritos commercials during the Super Bowl anyways.”
His stand-up tour was organized quickly after “The Office”-like sitcom was postponed. Ansari says his performances include mostly new material, and some of the dates feature former “Cavemen” star and sometime “Human Giant” guest Nick Kroll. “I hope to get a CD out of it,” Ansari notes. He stole its “Glow In The Dark” moniker from Kanye West and has posted fictitious tour diary accounts on his blog. One concerned a memorable evening with New York Times Nobel Prize-winning columnist Paul Krugman: “The ‘Krug-Man,’ as he prefers to be called when drinking, is able to walk into waltz into any nightclub/bar in America and within a few minutes drop the fact that he predicted the current financial crisis months ago and next thing you know, girls are losing their shit.”
Ansari adds that we may not have seen the last of “Human Giant.” MTV offered them a third season, and though he was too busy to commit, “MTV was really cool about saying we had an open door whenever we want to come back.” He says he and the show’s creators have talked about turning the show into a movie, although he’s mum on the details. Something that involves sub sandwiches, economists and interstellar decapitation, perhaps? You never know.
(Photo by Seth Olenick)
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