It’s good to to be able to laugh at ourselves, especially our #bestlife Instagram personas. Which is what drew us to Totes Blessed the new sketch show by Chardonnay Comedy now playing at PianoFight. The show promised ”a safe space to unpack what being basic even means” which sounded like a pretty hilarious way to spend a night of Drama Talk and Drinks.
Brittany: That was so fun. It’s sketch, so not every bit was a winner, but generally I had a great time.
Katie: I was genuinely entertained. I would have loved a little more diversity in the ladies in the group. I felt like they were making fun of a very white privileged lifestyle. The message of the show was also a little unclear. The first quarter they make fun of being a “basic bitch” and then they say it’s okay to be “basic” because we should empower women to be themselves and not judge them for loving the things the love, like brunch. Then they made fun of being basic some more.
B: Part of me feels like they were just acknowledging the fact that yeah, we’re kinda “basic bitches” and we recognize that. We like “basic bitch” things like pumpkin spice everything, and juice cleanses, and group colonics, and eastyl posting inspirational quotes on social media. We know it’s ridiculous, but that’s still just us. I agree it was a mixed message, but I think that’s okay. It’s not a super feminist piece or a very deep show, but it’s still a lot of fun. It’s not going to change the world or the environment…oh that poor polar bear.
K: When it got shot it was really funny though. Also that LA yoga-girl podcast sketch was amazing. I feel like that one also did a good job calling out their whiteness.
B: Yeah, that was hilarious. I also liked the Ivanka and Melania Trump Thanksgiving skit, and the Tilden Swinton on Sesame Street sketch was the funniest thing I’ve seen in a long time.
The Verdict: Great for a ladies night out. If you are a white women between the ages of 25-35 you will for sure enjoy this show. Generally if you’re in your 20s or 30s and living in SF you’ll probably think this is pretty funny.
The Drama Talk: The Chardonnay Comedy troupe is a filled with a bunch of very funny Bay Area 20/30 something women, and that is the experience that this show draws from. As Bay Area 30 something cis-women ourselves, we thought it was pretty hilarious, as did our dates (two white Bay Area 30 something cis-men). We don’t think our grandparents would find this show very funny, since they wouldn’t get the references, but that’s part of what makes this show so fun. It holds up a carnival mirror to our culture, and forces us to laugh at ourselves.
The Drinks: PianoFight is awesome because it also has a restaurant and bar, so we got dinner and drinks before the show there (they have a special “Basic Bitch” cocktail on the menu to get you in the mood). While we usually stay and debrief at the PianoFight bar, this time we decided to check out a newer bar on the same block called Biig for our post-show drinks. This is a bar with no menu, limited seating, and music at a volume level that encourages intimate meaningful conversation. It’s very adult, very posh and we loved it.
Chardonnay Comedy’s Totes Blessed runs Friday and Saturday nights through November 18th at PianoFight. Tickets are available through Eventbrite and range from $15-$40.
