Stardumb! is a fake game show hosted by Bill Dwyer where actors and comedians are asked to answer varying levels of personal questions for points. When I read the description on the SF Sketchfest site I knew I had to see what this was all about. That and two of my celebrity crushes were scheduled to be there. How could I resist that? I’m so glad I didn’t.
Bill Dwyer does a great job of acting like a cheesy tv game show host while being genuinely funny. And his co-host (pretty assistant?) Erica Rhodes was amazing as a vapid prize girl with, quite unexpectedly, a very sharp wit. The banter between them was good, but they really worked best with the contestants, full of funny remarks and commentary as the game went on. The contestants for this show were Brendon Walsh, Mike White, Samm Levine, Jamie Denbo, Andy Kindler and Adam Scott. Of course, Adam Scott was late for the show (apparently he was driven to the wrong theater) and the show started off with making fun of him for being too good to show up. That wasn’t all they talked about though, and Samm Levine and Andy Kindler immediately showed themselves as the ones to watch for great one-liners, though the others had their fair share as well. The game started without Mr. Scott, but he did arrive in the middle of the first question, “What would be your reality show?”, early enough to give my favorite answer: a show where dads compete for “biggest shithead” by trying to escape to the basement where they can be away from their families with an iPad and TV. But I didn’t get to pick the winner of points, that was all Bill Dwyer, who chose Mike White’s show with him hanging out with a bunch of young skateboarders and surfers and the season would end in a murder, which allows to the next season to be a crime solving drama.
As you can imagine from that, the show continued in a ridiculous and silly vein. My favorite part of the show was when each contestant was asked to display an unknown talent and Jamie Denbo read the most hilarious poem I have ever heard (of course, it was written sincerely by her 12 year old self) then after that Samm Levine showed his skill at throwing playing cards, which I realize doesn’t sound impressive, but man, it really was. When someone says they’re going to throw playing cards across the room it just doesn’t sound like something you care to see, but it really was. I can’t even describe the awesome-ness. And, the other best part, though maybe this was just my own twisted self, was Samm Levine and Adam Scott having a weird sort of know-it-all off. What can I say? I have a thing for smarty-pants nerds.
At the end of the show, the three top scoring people had to give a fake Golden Globe speech as if receiving the lifetime achievement award for 2050. Samm Levine’s was super funny and a little too prepared, Jamie Denbo did a good starlet with a Russian accent and then Mike White fake bludgeoned himself to death with the award. Of course, that was a winning move for Mike White, and our fun evening came to an end. If only this really was a show, it would be my favorite game show that awards fake points. Cause, you know, that’s a thing now, right?
