It’s easy for comedians to get stuck in a niche, especially if they represent an otherwise-underrepresented minority — it’s the rare performer who manages to cross over, from Bill Cosby to Dave Chappelle to Ellen Degeneres. So here’s the thing: Comedy duo Jeffery Self and Cole Escola are gay, which is why their comedy series Jeffery and Cole Casserole is running on the gay-themed, Viacom-owned network and web site Logo (where even the embed text encourages you to check out “more gay and lesbian video!”). But the low-fi sketch series, shot on webcam and assembled by the duo, isn’t necessarily gay-themed comedy — it’s just funny, absurd, fast-paced, and well-written and performed. They definitely deserve to pull a Cosby.
Described as “Internet stars” by Logo, Self and Escola first made their name as the VGL (Very Good Looking) Boys on YouTube, where they racked up viral success with vlog-style shorts about voting, Clay Aiken’s fatherhood, and the recession. They then parlayed that self-made success into a solo and duo live stage shows.
While Logo initially asked the boys to create a web series, the network (according to Self’s blog) was so pleased by the initial sketches that Casserole was given an on-air time slot, Fridays at 11 p.m. EST. I don’t get Logo, unfortunately, so I can’t report on how the series — shot with a webcam and produced in Self’s apartment building — plays in the oldteevee medium. But online, Logo has broken each full episode down into individual sketches that automatically move onto the next installment, thus allowing viewers to experience the complete episode but also pick out their favorite bits, which is an appropriate solution given the fast-paced comedy format.
As a team, Self and Escola have an easy rapport that bears a resemblance to the dynamic between College Humor’s Jake and Amir (Escola being the Amir of the two), and the deliberately amateur production only showcases how well-honed their comedy reflexes are. The most political of their sketches is probably Enter the Old Show Queen, in which Self accuses Escola, playing up the fur-stole-wearing bitchy stereotype of the title, of being “the reason we can’t adopt babies.” Otherwise, the sketches simply showcase the boys’ absurd sense of humor, not their sexuality — sure, they might occasionally strip down to their y-fronts and dance around, but it’s in the name of poking fun at football culture.
The end result is a show suitable for anyone, especially those with an appreciation for the Sweding aesthetic and a fondness for old-school Kids in the Hall or A Bit of Fry and Laurie. Because in the long run, there’s no such thing as “gay comedy.” There’s just comedy that is or isn’t funny. And whether or not you enjoy Self and Escola, their sexual preference has nothing to do with it.
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