The time has come again, where we here at Paste take a dive through the recesses of the internet to get some of the good stuff and bring it to you. In this day and age, there’s more solid comedy happening here than we can count, but here’s a roundup of some of the best sketches and videos we saw in July.
Alex Firer—“Bagel Boss Guy At Home”
@AlexFirerAugust 4, 2019
It’s amazing that our collective fascination with the diminutive misogynist known as the ‘Bagel Boss Guy’ surged and waned without a ton of Bagel Boss Guy impressions. The best one we saw came from Alex Firer, who gave us a peek behind the curtain into the Bagel Boss Guys’ home, where his behavior is much the same as it is in public.
Alternatino—“A Sick Child’s Touching Wish”
If you slept on Comedy Central’s recent sketch show Alternatino with Arturo Castro, this excellent sketch (written by The Onion’s David Sidorov) is a great place to start remedying that. A sick child has a final wish that I won’t spoil here, but it’s one of the more delightfully bonkers hooks I’ve seen for a TV sketch in a long, long time.
Brian Fiddyment—“Commute”
— brian fiddyment (@brian4showbiz) July 11, 2019
This daytime-nightmare from Brian Fiddyment is a likely the inner monologue of many a burnt-out New Yorker, and is strangely cathartic to watch despite being a little upsetting too. It’s a choppy, fast-paced day in the life of a businessman stumbling through the city in a blaze of self-hatred, and it’ll get stuck in your head the next time you get on a train, I promise you.
Betsy Kenney and Dara Katz—“Amazing Bagel”
Betsy Kenney and Dara Katz’s wonderful short film “Amazing Bagel” is a bittersweet watch resonates as a deeply felt comedy nonetheless. In it a woman contemplates sharing the news of her recent miscarriage with her current fuck buddy. Devin Bockrath does a great job of injecting comedy into a lead character in a serious situation, and the supporting players round out the cast with some of Paste’s favorite faces.
Nick Ciarelli and Brad Evans—“Starbucks”
Saw this story on the news last night what the hell pic.twitter.com/rSO57U9nly
— Nick Ciarelli (@nickciarelli) July 17, 2019
We should probably shake things up and not feature a Nick Ciarelli and Brad Evans video one of these months, but these guys have been so on fire this Summer that their work has been undeniable. A thread of their recent videos on Evans’ Twitter is as good as any Netflix show you’ll watch this year, and this fake piece of nonsense investigative journalism is one of their best.
Julie Greiner—“Unfortunately I Am Only Able to Have Memories in the Style of Big Little Lies”
Unfortunately I am only able to have memories in the style of Big Little Lies pic.twitter.com/VWQMdgcq8a
— Julie Greiner (@JulieAbridged) July 14, 2019
The extremely distinctive editing style of HBO’s Big Little Lies has been frequently and lovingly parodied, but the highlight of all the videos inspired by the show’s second season was this one from Clickhole writer Julie Grenier, whose selective memory re: a recent trip to the grocery store throws her into a totally ridiculous crisis.
Melissa Lozada-Oliva—“New Aziz Special Is Transformative”
new aziz special is transformative pic.twitter.com/nfOOa1fLKF
— melissa “70k in debt” lozada-oliva (@ellomelissa) July 12, 2019
Aziz Ansari’s sudden return to the public eye was greeted with justifiable scorn from Twitter, and this amazing impression of his thin and tone-deaf material courtesy of Melissa Lozada-Oliva (poet and co-host of the podcast Say More with Olivia Gatwood) sums up everyone’s problem with the situation in a brutally effective 20 second burst.
Donald Trump Parody—“Behind the Scenes Peek”
I am so excited to announce that the news finally did a story about me and my trump account! This is the best day of my life, I’m literally crying pic.twitter.com/XCkgREyIV8
— Donald Trump Parody (@donaltrumparody) July 23, 2019
This two-part mockumentary covering the life of a man who runs a Donald Trump Parody Twitter account (coming in hot from, no surprises, Nick Ciarelli and Brad Evans), is an antidote for anyone who feels overwhelmed and exhausted by all the Trump content out there. “Donald Trump is probably not the best president we’ve ever had,” he says, “but he is definitely the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Bekah McNair—“The Guy’s Best Friend in Every Rom-Com”
the guy’s best friend in every rom com pic.twitter.com/xd3zOmNr62
— beks-a-million (@hollabekgrl) July 14, 2019
McNair would earn a place on this list just for her commitment to drinking a lot of food products I personally would not want to drink for a Twitter character. But that’s only the cherry on top of this great rom-com parody featuring the lead’s shitty friend and his routinely terrible advice.
Cole Escola—“Titanic Needed A Gay Fish”
I thought “Titanic” needed a GAY FISH character at the end. I’ll be honest, this is one of the worst things I’ve ever made. pic.twitter.com/YHZpQ0t1R4
— Cole Escola (@ColeEscola) July 24, 2019
Gotta hand it to Cole Escola for delivering something there was no way we could have known we needed. It’s a very short short with one single joke, but it’s a beautiful joke, and you won’t look at Titanic the same way again. Or fish.
Graham Techler’s writing has been featured by McSweeney’s and The New Yorker, and he performs at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York. You’d be doing him a real solid by following him on Twitter @gr8h8m_t3chl3r.