ROB CORDDRY STARS AT COMEDY FEST

13 Feb ROB CORDDRY STARS AT COMEDY FEST

One of the things that makes us laugh is a subversion of logic. Case in point: the infamous Monty Python sketch about a cross-dressing lumberjack.

Another subversion of logic is just about everything that pops out of actor/comedian Rob Corddry’s mouth – at least when he is in the limelight. Here’s one of the more memorable lines Corddry laid on me years ago: “Gorillas are only funny if you are French.” I am still scratching my head.

Logically the guy should be locked up for his own protection. Instead, he is heading for these hills to perform once again at the (13th annual) Telluride Comedy Fest,   Thursday, February 16 – Sunday, February 19, Sheridan Opera House. Local celeb and former acting buddy of Corddry, Jeb Berrier – they toured together in the mid-1990s with the National Shakespeare Company –  co-produces the four-day laugh-a-thon with the Sheridan Arts Foundation. Heads up: at this year’s event, Corddry is featured Friday night.

Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show” has become the ethical compass for an entire generation of voters, the lingua franca that allows the politically motivated and disaffected to laugh out loud at the same jokes. Rob Corddry made his debut on “The Daily Show” in Spring 2002 and quickly became one of the most popular correspondents – his persona: the bald guy who didn’t think he was bald –  to emerge from the groundbreaking talk show. He continued to, ahem, educate audiences with his snarky political sketches through Fall 2006.

Corddry made his feature film debut in Dreamworks’ “Old School,” and went on to play the title role in “Blackballed:The Bobby Duke Story.” Other film projects have included “Hot Tub Machine,” “What Happened in Vegas,” “Semi-Pro,” “Blades of Glory,” “Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay,” Oliver Stone’s “W,” “Failure to Launch,” and a cameo in “Cedar Rapids.” “Cedar Rapids” starred “Daily Show” compatriot Ed Helms, also a Comedy Fest regular. (Not this year. Hard to compete with the Midwest.)

In 2012, Corddry continues to Go Big, starring in several feature films. The first one, out in March for the Weinstein Company, is the dark comedy “Butter,” which premiered at the 2011 Telluride Film Festival. In Spring, he stars with Steve Carell and Keira Knightley in “Seeking A Friend For The End of the World,” and with John Malkovich in “Warm Bodies,” the adaptation of the zombie novel by Isaac Marion. A zombie movie? That’s funnier than gorillas, even if you are French, no?

Corddry is also one of the first talents to create original television-esque programming for the Internet. Teaming up with Warner Bros., he served as creator, writer and director for the award-winning series “Children’s Hospital,” which spoofs the medical drama genre the way “Butter” spoofs the current political scene. In other words, the show fires barbed zingers that always hit their mark. Season 4 premieres later this year.

Is Comedy Fest such a bold-faced event in Corddry’s life he feels pulled to keep coming back for more? Or is the real draw something else, something bigger, like, say, our mountains.

“I keep coming back to Telluride because the crowds are drunk, the theater is Wild West and the slopes are gnarls-gnarls. Or whatever it is the kids are saying to describe prime skiing conditions these days: Tasty-balls? Rope-a-dope? Two-thousand-and-Rad? Regardless it really is a fantastic mountain with some thrilling vistas.”

The Telluride Comedy Fest is a mashup of all kinds of comedy: stand up, improv, sketch, character pieces and long form.

“I’m very excited to welcome Rob back after two years away with ‘Children’s Hospital.’ Corddry & Friends are featured Friday for a night of sketch comedy,” explains Jeb. “Thursday is Locals Night, a mix of rowdy and raw comedy for people who make this town tick. Saturday is stand-up with Seth Morris, Jon Daly and Nick Thume. Sunday finishes with the Armando show. All performers take to the stage for an amazing long form improv in the tradition of Del Close, Improv Olympics, Second City and the Upright Citizens Brigade. Watch as everyone weaves an entire show our of the ether, complete with scenes, recurring characters and a story that unfolds before your very eyes.”

To learn more about the life and times of the one and only – drumroll please – Rob Corddry, click the “play” button and listen to our chat.

(Oh, and, I am pretty sure I gaffed during that conversation and closed by saying Comedy Fest was happening in March. That was just to check to see if you were paying attention. Or maybe it was a joke. In any case, that is not so. Comedy Fest is the comic coda to Valentine’s Day. It starts, as noted above, on Thursday, February 16.)