Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone on Moving Their Family to Australia

Now available digitally through HBO Max, Superintelligence is the latest Melissa McCarthy film that’s set to give you a good laugh. It also marks the fourth time McCarthy collaborated with director Ben Falcone, who just happens to be her husband. For the couple, comedy is a family affair, one that includes their daughters Vivian, 13, and Georgette, 10. Recently interviewed for the New York Times to promote their new film, the couple was asked about a recent family move to Australia, here’s an excerpt:

How much does family figure into your career choices?

MELISSA McCARTHY The carnival moves as one. Where we can do that, we pack up the tent and we all go together, and that’s usually what presents itself as the winning solution.

Australia, for instance?

BEN FALCONE We had just finished a superhero movie called “Thunder Force.” We had just come home and we promised our kids, “That’s it.” And then Covid hit.

McCARTHY: Then I got a call saying, “Would you consider going to Australia to shoot ‘Nine Perfect Strangers?’” [That series is based on the novel by Liane Moriarty and also stars Nicole Kidman.] And I said, “I can’t move my family across the globe.” We were both like: “This is madness. This is impossible to do.” And our oldest daughter came out for lunch from her Zoom class, and without a second’s hesitation she said, “We should leave today.”

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“Seriously Funny” is a Lot More Than Just Funny

Author and journalist Gerald Nachman has had an impressive career, writing for such famed publications as The New York Post and the San Francisco Chronicle, all while publishing six books on an array of topics. One of his more notable books, Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians of the 1950s and 1960s, published by Pantheon Books in 2003 is nothing short of a must-read for those interested in comedy’s rich history. In the book, Nachman tells of the biggest names in comedy, performers who were nothing short of revolutionary, and how they forever influenced the genre. Touching on everyone from Mort Sahl to Ernie Kovacs, with a lot of notable names in between, Nachman paints a surprisingly detailed picture of each comedian as well as the comedy landscape on the whole. From the book, here’s an excerpt to whet your appetite:

“Nobody saw Mort Sahl coming. When he arrived, the revolution had not yet begun. Sahl was the revolution, at first, although he had no such grand idea in mind. He wasn't plotting the violent overthrow of the conservative comedy government. He was never a rebel, deep down. In thought, yes, but rarely in deed. His secret desire-a pipe dream, really-was to work somewhere as a comedian. He had no experience and little idea where to go to be funny, other than parties and all-night campus hangouts, where he held forth in his motormouth manner.”

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You Should Get to Know Fanny Brice

Long before Betty White became a pioneering trailblazer in the world of film and comedy, there was Faniah Borach, better known by her stage name, Fanny Brice. In a manner of speaking, Brice was showbusiness personified. The actress, comedienne, and singer wowed audiences in the theatres, on radio, and even in the early days of television.

"I've done everything in the theatre except marry a property man," Fanny Brice once boasted. "I've acted for Belasco and I've laid 'em out in the rows at the Palace. I've doubled as an alligator; I've worked for the Shuberts; and I've been joined to Billy Rose in the holy bonds. I've painted the house boards and I've sold tickets and I've been fired by George M. Cohan. I've played in London before the king and in Oil City before miners with lanterns in their caps."

Barbra Streisand did much for Fanny Brice when she portrayed the star on stage and screen in the 1964 hit musical Funny Girl, its subsequent film adaptation in 1968, and its sequel, Funny Lady, in 1975. But where Streisand’s portrayal left gaps, biographer Herbert G. Goldman filled them in with his account of Brice’s life and impressive career. The biography was first released back in 1992 but subsequent publications in various formats, including ebook, have made it more accessible than ever, and it’s well worth a read for any fan of comedy!

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