Rebel Wilson is hilarious. This is not news to anyone. She is best known for his thriving career in Hollywood, starring in romantic comedies such as Isn’t It Romantic and the Perfect Tone of the franchise, but his career as a comedian began long before its debut in The bridesmaids in the year 2011.
In fact, Wilson was already a well-known name in Australia in the decade of 2000, and regularly appeared in one of my favorite comedies of comedies of the time, Thank God You’re Here. The premise of the show was simple: a comedian walks blindly into a room of other comedians and has to collect in the wild scenario unfolding in the room without losing the rhythm. She was particularly good at keeping a straight face while diving head-first into bizarre situations. The show was so vital to Australia in the early ’00s comedy as In house and Outside it is the world of Aussie soaps.
Fast-forward to 2020, and Wilson to return to its roots as the host of Amazon Prime’s latest Video of the series, LOL: the Last Laugh. Based on a show of the same name which has been a great success in Japan and Mexico, is an experiment involving 10 of Australia’s funniest comedians be locked up in a room for six hours and the last to not laughs takes home $100,000. “That descends into madness very quickly,” she told me that in the Zoom of this week. “There are a lot of languages. This show is not for children, let me tell you that. There are a lot of graphic things.”
Wilson was keen to host the show, so she could enter the world of the Australian sense of humor. But she also admitted that she wants to give comedians the opportunity to boost their careers to the international level, in the same way that it was with Thank God You’re Here. “It’s an incredible platform,” he said. The show has a huge scope with a release in more than 200 countries around the world. And when compared with the size of the local audience in Australia . . . it is huge.
“I was so proud of them for doing so, because it is very hard, and the experiment would have been sh*tting myself if I had to do it.”
Wilson’s hope is that people remember the comedians, and that when they appear in the programmes of the international comedy festivals, including the Edinburgh Fringe, for people to remember to see them LOL: the Last Laugh and the book of tickets to see their shows. “It can only benefit these comedians,” she said. “I was so proud of them for doing so, because it is very hard, and the experiment would have been sh*tting myself if I had to do it.”
“Thank God You’re Here it was the most terrifying thing I have done in my life, because,” Wilson said. “I couldn’t hide behind a character that was going to come over me, Rebel Wilson.” The comedians at the LOL: the Last Laugh you are dealing with a similar problem, except that in this case, are all pitted against each other. And what makes it even more fun to see is that they all know each other from the comedy circuit. When they reach the room, one by one, it becomes evident that each comedian is another’s kryptonite. “Frank Woodley is a master of physical comedy and is very well known for that,” Wilson explained. “Anne Edmonds is best when playing characters, which is a kind of school of comedy came to me, also.” As for Sam Simmons? “He is so out of the ordinary,” she said, which to be honest, that is to say little if the first two episodes are any indication.
When casting the show, Wilson has worked with Amazon to select 10 comedians “that were very representative of what the Australian comedy is like now, in terms of the diversity and the percentage of female representation (three out of 10 comedians are women),” she explained. “A lot of different styles of comedy are represented at the fair, what makes it really interesting to see who will come out on top of to make others laugh. It was fascinating to see.”
“Australia’s comedy is a mixture of united kingdom and united states humor, only from what we consume on TELEVISION, in movies and in books.”
Just because the show of the stars of Australia’s comedians does not mean that it will be of interest to you if you are based in the united kingdom, the united states, or far more. “Australia’s comedy is a mixture of united kingdom and united states humor, only from what people consume on TELEVISION, in movies and in books. We are a real mixture,” Wilson said. “I think that the concept will be interesting for all, and hopefully it is curious. I want to say, of the Australian comedy, when done well, really does not translate. We have a strong tradition since Paul Hogan was over with Crocodile Dundeeand I know that people have an interest, I believe that now, more than ever, in Australia, in the comedy.”
Although the concept is new in Australia, the LOL: the Last Laugh formula has already proven to be a great success in Japan and Mexico, with several seasons in each country. However, Wilson did not confirm if a second season is in the cards for Australia. “I don’t know about you, but I would love to see a us version and a uk version of this experiment,” she said. “They have such a rich comic talent there, in all different styles and from different comedians, so it would be very cool to see that happen.”
The first two episodes of LOL: the Last Laugh world premiere on Amazon Prime Video the Friday, June 19. Episodes three and four of the release of the following Friday, June 26, and the fifth and the sixth (finale) episodes will air on Friday, July 3.
Image Source: Amazon Prime Video
