You’ve obviously always wanted to see Abbi Jacobson and Dave Franco onscreen together (nope, The Lego Ninjago Movie doesn’t count). Now, you’ll get your chance, but it isn’t what you expect. The two actors most known for comedy co-star in the direct-to-Netflix drama, 6 Balloons. The film is about a woman (Jacobson) trying to help her brother (Franco), after he has a relapse of his heroin addiction (the 6 balloons probably don’t refer to a kindergartener’s birthday party).

The film is rather bleak, and raw— there’s mundane but crucial matters of insurance, for example, and Franco’s character has a young daughter whom Jacobson has to care for as her brother shoots up. The story is based in part on the experiences of one of its producers, Samantha Housman, who too had a brother— a lawyer, professionally— addicted to heroin. Apparently, the rather short film— less than eighty minutes— is not tied up in a neat bow of recovery, instead focussing on one awful night.

While for Franco this is a not-unheard-of progression from comedy to drama, for Jacobson, this is another surprising development in a hugely diverse career— from podcasting to cartooning, she seems to be good at anything she tries.

The movie, directed by Marja-Lewis Ryan, just had its debut at SXSW, and early buzz is very positive, particularly for Jacobson and Franco’s performances.

The film drops onto Netflix April 6th, and in the meantime, check out the trailer below:

Image from 6 Balloons

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Marji, my one year-old rescue cat, was less enthusiastic about the idea. She tolerates most of my obsessive cat parenting—the baby sling, the harness and leash, the automatic feeder—but made clear during this project that she has certain limits.

Menswear Dog she is not. I discovered that Marji hates sleeves even more than loud noises (which is a lot) and prefers sleeping on clothes to wearing them. Dressing her up required plenty of wrestling and a bag and a half of treats.

Still, with a few modifications to the outfits, both Marji and I survived the photo shoot. We also succeeded in paying tribute to some of my favorite Jewish women on TV, which made every minute of cat wrangling worth it.

Abbi Jacobson, Broad City, Season 1: Episode 10

This sexy dress is actually a beanie from the dollar store. Somehow I know the crafty Abbi Abrams would approve!

Rachel Bloom, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, “JAP Rap”

Much to my relief, few stores sell plunging necklines in toddler sizes. This floral number originally had a keyhole at the top.

Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer, “Sexting”

I would never, ever sexualize my cat, unless it involves an adorable onesie. Thank God she can’t read.

Rachel Maddow, The Rachel Maddow Show

Okay, I realize that she identifies as Catholic. But she has a Jewish grandfather… and how cute is my cat in a blazer?!

Images by Emma Davis.

The post How to Dress Your Cat Jewishly for Halloween appeared first on Jewcy.

Hang in there, Broad City fans.

Even though Season 3 debuted well over a year ago (February through April 2016), viewers will have to wait a little bit longer. Season 4, meant to debut August 23, was pushed back, to September 13.

The show was renewed for a fifth season (Lord knows when that will air), but nothing lasts forever. With the duo taking longer between seasons, and each of them accruing side projects, could this be the beginning of the end?

It’s a question that’s been asked before, but it bears repeating, up-to-date: Are you an Abbi, or an Ilana?

…

Jewcy is on a summer residency! To read this piece, and our others for July and August 2017, go to our big sister site, Tablet Magazine!

The post Is This the Beginning of the End of ‘Broad City’? appeared first on Jewcy.

Well, that was exhausting.

Round One of our Jewish Celebrity March Madness had some predictable results (did anyone really think Jake Tapper could take the Notorious RBG?), but also some upsets, and some really close races.  Here’s a recap of just a few showdowns:

• Neither member of Broad City is making it past the first round! Abbi and Ilana won’t have to go head to head.
• Winona Ryder held a lead on Rachel Weisz until the last few hours of the competition, and then BOOM! Ditto a last-minute reversal taking the round from Paul Rudd and giving it to ScarJo.
• Bette vs. Babs? Dylan vs. Joel? Bette, and Joel, it turns out.
• In a stunning turn of events, Drake is out in the first round! Let’s hear it for Daveed Diggs!
• Bernie loses, yet again, though this was much closer than the 2016 primaries.

And so, we present to you, the Round 2 bracket:

Go ahead and vote below; you have until Friday morning the 24th, 9 a.m. Eastern Time. Also, keep tweeting us angrily (new hashtag— #JewishCelebs); you had the moral high-ground for Round 1, but now, these are your picks.

And is the anticipation killing you? Well, if you sign up for emails below, you’ll have the results of Round 2 emailed to you, before Round 3 is live:

THE ACTORS:

THE MUSICIANS:

MOVERS AND SHAKERS:

OTHER:

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We already know that Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer are soulmates, and now, they’re officially family.

We know this amazing news thanks to Twice Removed, a podcast by A.J. Jacobs (also Jewish, because of course). The podcast premise is that Jacobs takes a different celebrity each episode and, as he interviews them, explores their genealogy. Then, he presents his guest with someone unexpected he’s found on their extended family tree— like when Dan Savage turned out to be related to the drag queen who set him up with his husband.

This episode’s guest was Abbi Jacobson, and after an episode diving into her genealogy, her “mystery relative” is brought in. Spoiler, it’s her comedy partner Ilana Glazer.

“I did know who that was gonna be,” Jacobson responds, “I was like, ‘Who else would come in this early for me?’”

They also joke that being related makes doing the show together, and potentially having sex, weird. Never change, gals.

While the two are extremely distantly related (seriously, it’s further apart than Lone Star and Dark Helment’s connection in Spaceballs), this is the best news since we learned that Glazer and Rachel Bloom were post-college roommates.

Of course, all Ashkenazi Jews are all genetically related to each other. That similarity between any two Jews is going to look like fourth or fifth cousins in the general population. That’s about ten times higher than, say, two random New Yorkers, according to the New York Times.

But this is a definitive connection, and not all members of the ladies’ extended family are Members of the Tribe. In an odd twist of fate, it turns out that the ladies are also related to Molly Shannon (50+ degrees of separation apiece).

So mazel tov, Abbi and Ilana, on your newly found connection.

You can listen to the episode (the interview portion is great as well) below:

Image via Wikimedia

The post Abbi and Ilana Are Related! appeared first on Jewcy.

If you’re mad both about the new president and that you have to wait until the summer for the fourth season of Broad City, then welcome to the right website for you. Also, there’s a new video that addresses both of your concerns.

Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer have released a video of how their characters are dealing with today’s Inauguration, and they say everything we’re feeling.

The setup is that Abbi’s stuck in an elevator, because instead of preparing for the Apocalypse, she went to her pre-paid laser hair removal appointment (though she still has a hiking backpack), while Ilana, with an outfit that says, “Resist in both style and comfort,” Skypes her bestie with both words of comfort and panic. Oh, and hey! Law & Order SVU is filming outside Ilana’s building! As the two count down to Tr*mp taking power, they consider our future.

“It is about to get I Am Legend up in here,” declaims Ilana. Abbi carries a butterfly knife. They recall what they learned in krav maga class together.

This video is somewhat uncensored; the two spew profanities, but the only word bleeped out is “Trump.” You’ll get the idea.

You can watch the video below, and if you don’t feel better, it certainly won’t make you feel worse:

Image via YouTube

The post The ‘Broad City’ Duo Gets You Through Today appeared first on Jewcy.

Have you wondered about what your favorite cultural figures carry in their bags, that most intimate of spaces? Abbi Jacobson (of Broad City fame) did. And now, she’s sharing her best guesses with you in her (third) illustrated work, Carry This Book.

Ranging from Willy Wonka, to Sigmund Freud, to Bernie Madoff, to, well, God, Jacobson shows us what she imagines they have on them from day to day (and provides her own lightly judgmental commentary), and she’s pretty convincing. Of course Nora Ephron would carry a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils (and deep cut there, Abbi).

But the best part about the book isn’t even its jokes about icons, living, dead, or fictional. Carry This Book replicates that feeling of watching Jacobson’s TV show that you already know her and are best friends and hang out with her and Ilana Glazer (whose purse is also in here, by the way) as a Jewish pal trio and you simultaneously feel totally at ease and also mutually indulge in all your worst neuroses.

For example, some of the women Jacobson admires most seem to be interested in watching Broad City (and Michelle Obama has a Marc Maron interview with Glazer and Jacobson on her list of podcasts). But despite this idea being  her invention, Jacobson acts surprised and elated every time she encounters a shout-out she has essentially left for herself (“WHAT!?!” she exclaims when she sees a Broad City App on Beyoncé’s phone).

Throughout the book, also Jacobson peppers in handbag-related advice both literal and figurative, including lamenting that her “essentials” list is far too long, and that we all carry anger, love, regrets, hopes, etc. And even in short, funny captions, she expresses nuanced opinions.

“In all seriousness, Barbie should rep all shapes, colors + sizes of women around the world,” She scrawls next to the doll’s imagined driver’s license. But then she includes a NASA astronaut ID card, and adds, “…Excited she has + is evolving.”

Considering her two-page spread gently ribbing self-help and guide books (“Field Notes!” “Pocket Dictionary!” “How To: Live Life The Best!”), Jacobson has presented one in the gentlest way possible. Even Albert Einstein must have carried around emergency chocolate or a pair of socks “In case someone gave him shit” for going without. You can schlep around your own insecurities, as long as you also take what you need.

Ultimately, in perhaps the best advice in the entire book, remember Jacobson’s carrying “Must List”:

• A Pen
• Some sort of notebook
• Headphones
• Lip gloss
• Metrocard
• AN OPEN MIND

The post ‘Carry This Book’ As Manifesto appeared first on Jewcy.

The girls of Broad City rarely go an episode without some passing reference to being members of the Tribe — witness the very first episode where Ilana describes them as “just two Jewesses trying to make a buck”— but if the Jewish reference felt like merely a backdrop up until now, the 3rd season two-part finale put them in full view. And it happens just in time for Passover.  

After running across the city and back to make it in time for their “El Ol” flight that’ll start their “Birthmark” (read: Birthright) adventure, Abbi and Ilana turn onto a plane filled with incredible tribal satire. “Jews! Jews! Jews!” the pale crowd chants as our two heroes look on, a little shell shocked. When Abbi unexpectedly crosses a different kind of red sea (read: finds herself in desperate need of a tampon), the Passover parallels — unintentional as they probably were — became pretty clear. They may be on their way to the motherland, but they’ll suffer like hell to get there.

The initial concept for this finale was semi-spoiled for fans months ago, when it was announced that the Broad City crew had to cancel plans to film in Israel because of a recent string of violence. It seems the original plan was to actually see the girls throughout their trip, and while that would have been incredible —  who among us isn’t dying to see Abbi and Ilana at a kibbutz? — tracking their journey without reaching the Holy Land is somehow more fitting an end to the emotional 3rd season, and make for a pretty interesting Passover companion.

The past season has seen Abbi and Ilana through a lot, in still funny but uncharacteristically heavy fashion. They’ve dealt with career problems, break ups, and rat infestations — and that last one’s the happiest out of the three. “Burning Bridges” — the episode immediately preceding this two-part finale — got a lot of critical attention for its frank storyline featuring ray of wacky sunshine Ilana experiencing an emotional breakdown. With that in mind, it’s easy to imagine a finale that drops the girls in Israel as a would-be solution for all their problems, a renewing experience that helps them both confront their issues and restart their lives. Consider the fact that Ilana literally started this season enslaved in (bike) chains — is it any wonder she takes some inspiration from her ancestors and looks to end her bondage at the Holy Land?

But rather than deliver Abbi and Ilana right to the Land of Milk and Honey — or “Africa for the Jews” as Abbi calls it — we’re treated to a 10 hour flight of Jewish anxiety akin to 40 years in the desert. They have to sit through an Adam Levine flight safety video, endure heavy-handed matchmaking (Abbi’s matched with a proudly gay guy “just looking for a nice Jewish girl to marry”), and fork over $38 for a minuscule Kosher snack pack. And while Ilana does fulfill her mission of getting into the “Mohel Chai Club,”  they — much like Moses — don’t manage to make it to the Promised Land. Their travel plans get derailed in a series of events that starts with Abbi singing a Christmas carol and ends with both girls getting interrogated by Israeli officials as suspected terrorists before getting sent back to New York. Because of course.

Much like they have throughout the entire dark, wonderful 3rd season, Abbi and Ilana end up having more fun suspended in midair without a clear destination in sight.  So while no one but the writers knows what direction Broad City will be headed in Season 4, I think one suggestion is pretty obvious. What do you say ladies: Next year, in Jerusalem?

Shiran Lugashi is a writer, sometimes podcaster, and perpetual plan-canceller not living her best life in NYC.

Image credit: Facebook

The post Did Broad City Just Have a Passover Episode? Kind Of. appeared first on Jewcy.

Broad City fans, time to replenish your cereal supply: the trailer for season two just dropped its amazing, gross, witty shit all over the internet. There is so much to look forward to in the coming months, including:

— A thrift-store homage to Julia Roberts’ triumphant “big mistake” moment in Pretty Woman

— More parkour across the hoods of taxi cabs

— A ‘challah back’ t-shirt cameo (pictured above)

— A disruptive shiva scene

— Cleavage chips

— Seth Rogen

— Susie Essman! 

— A nice little riff on the “white power suit”

The first episode debuts on Comedy Central on January 10. Let the countdown begin.

The post Replenish Your Cereal Supply: Season 2 of ‘Broad City’ is Coming appeared first on Jewcy.

Sukkot is probably my favorite Jewish holiday because we get to build a temporary structure, a sukkah, to live in—and decorate!—for a week. (More about why we do that here.) Traditionally, Jews adorn their Sukkot with posters of the ushpizin, the seven biblical “guests” who we invite to join us on each night of the festival. Not surprisingly, the ushpizin are all men: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joseph and David; the most revered dudes in the Torah. No ladies—until now.

Rather than invite seven biblical men to my sukkah, I decided I’d invite the Jewish female comedians and characters I’ve been most into this year, and throw together some posters to honor them.

I think the temporary/pop-up nature of Sukkot lends itself to a pop-culture influence, where the guests you welcome one year might not be the same ones you welcome the next. Last year I honored the cast of Girls. This year I’ve been pretty obsessed with Broad City, and continued to cultivate my enduring love for Lena Dunham, Sarah Silverman and others.

So without further ado, here are my ‘Ushpizienne: Class of 5775’: Lena Dunham, Amy Schumer, Abbi Jacobson, Jenny Slate, Ilana Glazer, Sarah Silverman, and Yael Stone.

Don’t forget to ‘hack into booth city’:

And—why not—the cast of Girls, from last Sukkot:

Download large versions of all images for your sukkah (or permanent four-walled residence) here.

Ari Perlow is an antipodean Jewess who is obsessed with vegan analogues and digital media. She co-hosts the podcast Yeah Nah But and tweets at @ari_perlow.

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