Phat Tuesdays
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Phat Tuesdays
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this TV show.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Phat Tuesdays is a documentary about a notorious comedy night. Phat Tuesdays began in the mid-'90s at Hollywood's The Comedy Store, and helped launch the careers of many well-known comedians and actors. The documentary focuses on how Phat Tuesdays came to be, why it was important, and what it meant to the Black community in Los Angeles. Archival footage of stand-up comedy is cut together with new interviews, both of which feature jokes about violence, sex, alcohol, and drug use. For fans of stand-up or entertainment history, Phat Tuesdays might serve as an introduction to the careers of two dozen or so underrated comedians and actors.
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What's the Story?
Phat Tuesdays was a comedy night that ran from 1995 to 2005 at Hollywood's famous The Comedy Store. This documentary brings back many of the comedians and entertainers who launched their careers at Phat Tuesdays to look at the event's unique place within Black entertainment culture and Los Angeles culture.
Is It Any Good?
Talking heads documentaries are about as omnipresent now as stand-up comedy shows were in the mid-'90s; this documentary's joy and enthusiasm sets it apart. Footage from the original Phat Tuesdays comedy night is still fun and entertaining, even (sometimes especially) when the comedy itself doesn't work. And the interviewees' sincere love for the subject allows them to speak on it in a way that is loose and, yes, funny. The documentary makes Phat Tuesdays not only feel like a pivotal moment in entertainment history, but still alive and inspiring in 2022.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Phat Tuesdays. How did the comedy night come to be? What was unique about it? How was it received by audiences? What is its legacy?
Why was the location of Phat Tuesdays important? How does the documentary portray the relationship between Hollywood and Black culture? How did the comedy night help change the representation of Black culture in television and film?
Are the stand-up routines from 20, 30, 40 years ago still funny? What makes them funny? What are some examples of the routines that didn't work? Why didn't they work? What made some of the comedians' approaches so unique? What made them successful?
TV Details
- Premiere date: February 4, 2022
- Cast: Guy Torrey, Tiffany Haddish, Steve Harvey
- Network: Amazon Prime Video
- Genre: Comedy
- Character Strengths: Communication, Gratitude, Humility
- TV rating: TV-MA
- Last updated: February 28, 2022
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