Before I begin...

Was anybody else thinking about this the whole time? I know I was. I was waiting for a joke, or a magic trick, or Hardy to yell out ‘Bullshit!’, or I don’t know, something actually funny to happen. And I was really disappointed when Teller talked.

In fact, I was so distracted by the arrangement that I think I missed most of the story. What I caught was riddled with sight-gags, over-run run-on jokes, and physical slapstick---that missed---the believability---the versatility---and the comedy factor. (I wanted to like it though.)

What resonates for me, and arguably, more contemporary audiences, is dark humor; incisive, speculative, and highly satirical. I find trace evidence flipping channels through heartily adopted cynics like South Park, Conan O’Brien, and Stephen Colbert.

Which brings me to a man from New Jersey, whose films I almost always enjoy. In that creepy, unforgettable way. Todd Solondz.

Particularly his 1998 FIPRESCI-winning film Happiness. (To those who don’t want the spoilers: You’ve got a pedophilic Dylan Baker, an English-teaching Jane Adams, a Phillip Seymour Hoffman that sticks cum-stained postcards on his wall, a suicidal Jon Lovitz, and on top you’ve got Lara Flynn Boyle. Oh yeah, and some sex, drugs, and rape.)

Solondz, the 48-year-old writer-director, is also responsible for bringing us Welcome to the Dollhouse, Storytelling, and Palindromes. He graduated with an English degree from Yale, and later dropped out from NYU’s MFA film and television program.

His early experiences as a delivery boy for the Writer’s Guild of America, as well as teaching English to Russian immigrants served as a strong anecdotal foundation for his later work. (In fact, he assigns a character in Happiness the same pleasant-now-unpleasant job.)

Overall, Solondz’s style is famous for its rich satire, penetrating insights into the suburban family, and unremittingly, uncomfortable, seizure-inducing comedy. (You laugh when you don’t want to, and it hurts even more. It becomes a sort of defense against the absurdity.)

His next project, Life During Wartime, is slated for production sometime this year, and will feature stars such as Emma Thompson, Demi Moore, Paul Reubens, Paul Dano, Faye Dunaway, and Hope Davis.