First things first, I ask Tommy Oler to insult me. He is, after all, co-host along with Katrina Coleman of the monthly You Look Like a Comedy Show, where comedians are paired off in a tournament of insults.
“I have to see what you look like,” he responds.
Oler says that the You Look Like a Comedy Show is a natural for comedians. “We were all bullied, and we bullied,” he says. He notes that when comedians get together, the shit’s going to fly.
Courtesy Tommy Oler
Tommy Oler and Katrina Coleman
These gladiators of put-downs are local comedians and comedians from around the Southeast. Competing at Saturday’s show are: Kaia Hodo from Fayetteville, Arkansas; Brandon Perel Sams of Memphis; Amy Sulam from Nashville; Mitchell Dunnam from Memphis; returning champ Ozzy Jackson of Little Rock; and Lila Bear of Memphis.
Oler and Coleman knew they were on to something even before the first show, such was the excitement. Oler says that every comedian knows his laughs, and the laughs they were getting were “so large … I don’t get this alone.”
Courtesy Tommy Oler
Oler says that it’s impossible to hurt a comedian’s feelings, and if it is possible, then maybe this is not the show for them. The insults range from the absurd to the downright lewd. Oler and Coleman have been shocked at some of the jokes. One comedian who hurled such a foul jewel said later, “I’m pretty sure I’m going to hell.”
As co-hosts, Oler and Coleman take jabs at each other. Oler is ribbed about his youthful looks, and one thing they both riff on is that they look alike. Says Oler, “I told her she looks like my after-picture on Faces of Meth.”
