Inside Amy Schumer: 12 Angry Men Inside Amy Schumer

May 5, 2015 11:34 PM - Season 3, Episode 3

In a pitch-perfect parody of the 1957 film directed by Sidney Lemet, an all-male jury argues over Amy's fate. Featuring Jeff Goldblum, Paul Giamatti, Kumail Nanjiani, Vincent Kartheiser, Adrian Martinez and 7 other funny guys.
posted by Catblack (22 comments total)

I said in the discussion of the season premiere ep: "If she sustains at 90 percent, this season is going to crush."

This was 100 percent.

But I don't know why the outtake "But I was on trial for vehicular manslaughter..." wasn't used.
posted by Etrigan at 4:25 AM on May 6, 2015 [4 favorites]

The dedication to sticking close to the staging of the original 12 Angry Men was the type of thing that makes me a fan of somebody for life, the "knife" scene especially.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 5:22 AM on May 6, 2015 [6 favorites]

This is my favorite thing, wow
posted by likeatoaster at 8:25 AM on May 6, 2015

That was a tour de force of television comedy which I'm going to have to download and watch again. The ending felt a bit flat though.

Also: who was the guy who looks like Pete Campbell? IMDB page isn't up for this show yet
posted by Flashman at 9:03 AM on May 6, 2015

Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) was actually in the sketch, so...
posted by kmz at 9:28 AM on May 6, 2015 [9 favorites]

Wow. That was incredible. I wonder how much of the male audience recognizes the irony of the outcome -- but that's what made this so great. There wasn't a single juror who questioned the premise, not even John Hawkes's character, who was portrayed as the hero. I think the sketch would have been drastically weakened without that underlying tension of this outcome being only marginally better than the alternative, and arguably just as bad.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 10:52 AM on May 6, 2015 [2 favorites]

I've got to say, I totally understand why Amy Schumer (or more accurately, probably, the publicity people behind her show/Comedy Central) would want to talk to TV critics about this before the episode so they could get some heightened interest , but I am so glad I had no idea what was happening going in, that it would take up the whole half hour, etc. Even after the first break, I thought it was just the opening skit until it came back from the commercials.

Honestly, this kind of stuff makes me want to watch something as "live" as possible, which is pretty much the highest compliment I can pay a show that has commercials.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 11:00 AM on May 6, 2015 [5 favorites]

Also: who was the guy who looks like Pete Campbell?

I was thinking the same thing for about half of it.
posted by Etrigan at 11:11 AM on May 6, 2015

"...and I have a donkey dick."

This was so good I actually texted a friend at 2am and told him to dvr the repeat showing. I'm really glad I wasn't the only one who reacted well to it. Every now and then, very rarely, you see someone nail comedy with a perfect olympic 10.

I should have mentioned John Hawkes - Sol from Deadwood - is in this and great as well.
posted by Catblack at 11:26 AM on May 6, 2015

For a moment I thought Vincent Kartheiser with a beard was Will Wheaton
posted by Sprocket at 12:34 PM on May 6, 2015

"So, you just carry that around all the time, in case you get into a dildo-related argument?"


I got tickets to the Adam Levine, Blake Shelton concert.
They're touring together?
Yeah, it's called the "Garbage Dick" tour.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 1:47 PM on May 6, 2015

Interview with Amy Schumer about episode
Linda Holmes article about episode
posted by aabbbiee at 1:49 PM on May 6, 2015 [3 favorites]

From Linda Holmes:

The very fact that Schumer barely appears in the episode — which she's said required some careful handling with her network — is central, just as the defendant barely registers in 12 Angry Men.

This is very true -- it's really, really important that she not be in the sketch, it's a big part of the commentary.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 2:12 PM on May 6, 2015 [4 favorites]

Incidentally, the defendant in the original film of 12 Angry Men was (allegedly) John Savoca, who never acted again as far as anyone can tell (and probably died in 2005).
posted by Etrigan at 2:25 PM on May 6, 2015

Vulture.com examines how precise the shots and costumes were to the original.
posted by Pope Guilty at 2:30 PM on May 6, 2015 [4 favorites]

Is there some sort of rule of great parodies, like this and Young Frankenstein, about how sticking to the source material makes it so much better?
posted by emjaybee at 3:38 PM on May 6, 2015

Is there some sort of rule of great parodies, like this and Young Frankenstein, about how sticking to the source material makes it so much better?

I can counter with the entire Friedberg/Seltzer oeuvre -- very specific parodies of very specific things, done very badly.
posted by Etrigan at 3:53 PM on May 6, 2015

But then again, Airplane! / Zero Hour.
posted by easter queen at 8:16 PM on May 6, 2015

My gosh, this was a hell of a thing. I've been really enjoying Schumer's show since I tripped across it last year and was excited for the new season because, woo, smart sketch comedy, but this is just above-and-beyond ballsy. The absolute straightness with which they played it is magnificent; it'd have been easy to ham it up a little, wink a little more openly, but it's so much more effective for having not done so.
posted by cortex at 9:17 PM on May 6, 2015 [2 favorites]

Wow. Just wow.
posted by kandinski at 2:14 AM on May 7, 2015

But I don't know why the outtake "But I was on trial for vehicular manslaughter..." wasn't used.

I agree - it would have highlighted the fact that any woman thrust into the spotlight, willingly as in Schumer's case or not, will be judged on her looks above all else.
posted by Flashman at 6:14 AM on May 7, 2015 [4 favorites]

I disagree, then the sketch would be about how women are accorded privileges because of their good looks (getting out of a manslaughter charge) instead of how they can easily be denied access to resources because of supposedly middling looks (cancelling Schumer's tv show).

Enjoyed this episode very much. I don't know why it took me more than a few exposures to warm up to Schumer, but she is passing off Lena Dunham in my view in feminist media message. Great stuff!
posted by onlyconnect at 8:26 AM on May 7, 2015 [1 favorite]