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'Sarah Silverman was how I discovered I loved stand-up' - Eli Matthewson shares his Perfect Playlist
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Eli Matthewson on some of his favourite comedy moments...

Solomon Georgio Conan

There are so so, so many jokes tearing down major Disney films, but Solomon Georgio's Pocahontas bit is just word perfect stand-up. It's so economical, and the line: 'Someone at the Disney corporation caught wind of this tale' has me HOWLING every single time.

Solomon is such an inspiration as not only a writer and a joke teller, but as someone who turns lewwwwwks on stage - he always looks dynamite.

Garth Marenghi's Dark Place

This DVD was traded amongst my friends like a precious jewel. Thornton Reed really is the funniest character to ever be on TV, and Dr. Liz Asher has the most iconic haircut to ever be committed to film.

The show within a show, the purposefully wooden performances, the opening titles… It looked to me like it would have been the funnest thing to make, and it made me want to make comedy forever.

Sarah Silverman Comic Relief 2006

Sarah is my favourite, favourite, favourite comic and this was really how I discovered I loved stand-up. I watched it over and over again and learnt all the jokes, word perfect.

This clip is… so much of it is on the wrong side of the line but it taught me so much about delivery and subversion of expectation.

In a world where so many are railing against cancel culture, it's been pretty choice to watch a comedian grow and change and admit her mistakes. Her recent Netflix special is one of my favourites. Also, the line about eating sweaters…. It's funny!

Jennifer Coolidge in Best in Show

Me, as an eleven year-old, finding this character so funny was a true sign of things to come. I didn't know the reference points, I had no idea who Anna Nicole-Smith was but to see a blonde bombshell with the oldest looking actor I had ever seen was the funniest image, and the line: 'We both love talking and not talking' is pretty much a bible verse to me.

It's been so good to see this queen finally get some serious accolades in the last few years, she is an unstoppable performer and a genius at improv. These Christopher Guest movies made me realise that improv could be high comedy.

Mitra Jouhari Comedy Central

Ever since I found this set, I return to it about once a month. My own stand-up is always based in telling true stories but the stuff I really love to watch are performances like this that absolutely rip the form apart, and this self-parody is so refreshing and such a perfect marriage of sharp writing and unpredictable performance energy.

Mitra is a total delight, and her description of the improv scene is unfortunately depressingly true.

Movie Max Timaru

Ok, I have no idea if this was an intentional piece of comedy… but this answerphone machine message from Movie Max, an independent cinema in Timaru, near my home city in New Zealand, is perfect, perfect, perfect comedy.

It perfectly captured the stress of moving Covid alert levels in our country, plus as someone who worked at a cinema and had to record these insanely long messages that listed all the times of every movie... I feel this man's pain.

• Eli Matthewson: Daddy Short-Legs is on at Underbelly George Square at 8.50pm until August 28 (not 17)

Published: 10 Aug 2022