What did I tell you about monkeys?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. I haven't been around much lately. Let's just say the movies lately, well, they've kind of sucked. I'll be posting quick (and by quick, I mean quick) takes on some that are still in theaters soon, and I'm off to see Jennifer Aniston in something called Friends with Money tonight, so I'll let you know how that is, too. As for the blog, I'll keep posting thoughts on movies and TV, but I'm also going to be opining on pretty much anything I feel like, and about things that make me laugh. As for the break, sue me. I took some time off, but here we go again.

To (re) kickstart things, here's a video that proves once again the wisdom behind the title of this site. Ricky Gervais, in fact, is another who clearly knows the truth about the connection between monkeys and funny. And as the creator of the original The Office, he knows from funny. It's not Gervais' fault that the Americanized version of the show has become even funnier than its BBC precursor - we can lay that at the feet of Rainn Wilson, whose Dwight Schrute is hands-down the funniest character in present-day network sitcom-dom.

Anyway, Gervais and his Brit pals have been intermittently churning out podcasts (http://www.rickygervais.com/podcast.php) for the last few months. I highly recommend checking them out on ITunes - they're hilarious and, even better, they're free (at least for now). Every podcast includes a bit called "Monkey News," wherein Gervais and co. riff on a monkey-related subject. Do I have to tell you it's funny? Well, it is. Here's a taste - and yes I realize the monkeys aren't really the funny part of this clip. But I'm not sure how much more advanced Gervais' friend Karl is than your average chimp. You be the judge...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0VAOlB0NRA