Not to be watched while eating.

Dr. 7 and I got together last night for a Petit Movie Night: a (theoretically) yummy dinner from Quiznos and a quick movie, in part because Dr. 7 is ill, and in part because my head was (and needed to remain) elsewhere: my programming projects and homework.

Why Quiznos was only theoretically yummy is related to what we watched. Pablo Francisco‘s “Bits and Pieces”. It’s difficult to enjoy cheddar broccoli soup and a honey mustard chicken sub when you’re laughing so hard you’re choking. I should have known better than to eat and watch comedy, but I wasn’t sure Dr. 7’s idea of funny would really match mine.

Actually, a correction: the soup really was good. I had eaten most of that before the routine got underway. The sandwich felt lodged in my chest for the remainder of the evening.

Francisco is too funny. Dr. 7 and I hurt ourselves, and I’m giggling in remembrance as I write this. We had to pause the DVD at least twice just to catch our breaths enough to continue, and finishing our food was a dangerous task. There was even a joke that was remarkably related to Elle’s latest (also hilarious) post, making me and Dr. 7 laugh even harder.

I felt vaguely sorry for Luke—in his room doing homework—who was stuck hearing my screaming and laughing (Dr. 7’s a quieter laugher) no matter how loud he turned up his stereo. And then Francisco told another joke and Luke was forgotten. He stopped in to catch a joke or two (which Dr. 7 and I found much funnier than he did) and to wave goodbye as he went out for his frat-house fun (*smirk*), but that was about it.

Francisco’s jokes were primarily sex-based, but were nowhere near as vulgar[/offensive?] as comedians like old-Eddie Murphy. Same for the race-related jokes. Sounds bland, but he did it amazingly well, like a non-whiny John Leguizamo. Some of that was an excellent choice in the “recurring joke” (that little tidbit that gets mentioned repeatedly thoughout a routine that can serve to tie things together into a cohesive show rather than a bunch of unassociated jokes). The next time someone harmlessly says “si”, I’m likely to fall out laughing seemingly at random.

The highlight of the routine (for me personally) was the Count Dracula joke. Complete with funny faces and counting and “ah, ah, ah”s and too much of a reminder of Michael and Chris. Too much. I “heart” a good Count imitation.

Francisco’s also very good with sounds (music beats in particular) and voices, although his repertoire may be too limited for repeated stand-up routines (I haven’t seen anything else by him, although Dr. 7 now has one (or two) of his audio CDs).

He’s active and animated without being wild, which is more how I’d describe Dane Cook (who we watched after Francisco; I took a nap…). Wild isn’t necessarily good in a stand-up comedian; it smacks of inexperience and discomfort/lack of material. Then again, some folks are just hyperactive. I tend to avoid them.

I was completely and utterly and wonderfully exhausted after watching Francisco. I don’t laugh that hard nearly often enough, and I was reminded (by all my coughing) of what a month off from running has done to my fitness level (as if I couldn’t tell from looking in the mirror). The elliptical machine just doesn’t get it.

Petit Movie Night was good. I was in bed at 23:00 (after an hour+ nap on Dr. 7’s couch) and I’d still had a shit-ton of fun.