Porn Valley Dispatch: XXX Comedy Night

The adult industry has been associated with comedy ever since porn companies started hiring publicists, and maybe even before. From burlesque shows to folks like Ron Jeremy and Evan Stone, who don't take themselves too seriously, porn's zesty nature often lends itself to humor, and helps to deecriminalize it in the hearts and minds of all Americans. That is why I have mixed emotions about this clip from a recent XXX Comedy Night at the Hollywood Improv. More after the gap. - G. Ponante

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The bearded, piano-playing, shoe-gazing comedian Zach Galifianakis, who is a funny guy (and, come to think of it, a member of a former movement around L.A. labeled "alternative comedy" that included the "Mr. Show" cast, Mary Lynn Rajskub, and Sarah Silverman) pulled Vivid girl Monique Alexander onstage for a regular segment called "Inside the Porn Actors' Studio"

"This is a serious discussion," he said, anthropologically. "I really don't want to make this funny."

What followed was a witty interview in which Alexander acquitted herself well, but there was still something about it that might be construed as Talking Down to the Porn Girl. (Like I said, my jury is still out, but if that is indeed what happened, Galifianakis is smarter than going for the cheap jokes.)

Alexander and Galifianakis traded observations about Larry Flynt and what Alexander's great-grandparents must think of her porn career. There was also the obligatory eye-rolling at her porn titles, including "Wifeswappers".

The next Vivid XXX Comedy Night will be March 16. "Comedy Nights" also partners with High Times for other demographic comedy fare.

· "Inside the Porn Actor's Studio: Monique Alexander" (youtube.com)
· Comedy Nights (comedynights.net)
· Vivid (vivid.com)

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Previously: Porn Valley Dispatch Archive