Hollywood Babble-On

This past weekend, my wife and I attended a live taping of "Hollywood Babble-On," a comedy podcast hosted by filmmaker Kevin Smith and comedian/actor Ralph Garman, at Flappers Comedy Club in Burbank, CA.

It was an enjoyable and laughed-filled evening, and great to be at a comedy club again. The show primarily consists of entertainment news and comedy bits from the perspective of two pop culture fanboys, delivered with plenty of raunch, smack talking, and quite a bit of booze (or, in Smith’s case, weed). They definitely bring a bro vibe to the room, reflecting the strong opinions typical among fanboys about their favorite films, television shows and other pop culture ephemera, but always delivered with good humor, self-awareness, insight and warmth. Smith and Garman have great chemistry and make a hilarious comedy team, playing well off each other with their shared love of pop culture and in their deft use of callbacks throughout the show. (At the beginning of this particular show, Smith noted he was celebrating his fifth anniversary since his heart attack in 2018, which has led to a healthier lifestyle.) 

My wife reminded me that this is the fifth podcast recording we've seen live (including two consecutive New Year’s Eve shows in 2018 and ‘19 that were held at the Hollywood Improv, where the show was held pre-pandemic).

My wife is a big fan of Smith and Garman—both of Smith’s films and Garman’s daily Ralph Report podcast, which she listens to religiously. The duo became friends during Smith’s numerous guest appearances on a local top-rated radio station morning show that Garman was a regular on until 2017—the Kevin and Bean Show on KROQ, which previously also helped break in comedians Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Corolla. In addition to being part of the morning comedy show (where, among his contributions, he regularly did celebrity impressions), Garman did a regular entertainment beat segment, which Hollywood Babble-On built on. In addition to his current podcast, Garman regularly does voice work on the Family Guy animated series and has also done work on films and on TV as an actor and presenter/host. (Because my wife is such a fan of Garman, a few years back, I even commissioned Garman to record a Cameo birthday greeting for her as a surprise!)

And, yes, there even is a comics connections, being certified comics geeks. Both have done plenty of comics-adjacent work (they co-wrote a Batman comic book and Smith has directed episodes of the Flash and Supergirl TV series). Garman is also a huge fan of the 1960s’ Batman television series—he is a major collector of memorabilia from the show and was a major driving force in Adam West getting his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, having befriended the actor in his later years. Among his impressions, Garman also does a killer impersonation of West’s Batman.