It’s funny because it’s true.

Eastcoasters and Midwesterners alike will gain a certain insight into how Angelenos live from this.

3 responses to “It’s funny because it’s true.”

  1. Josh K-sky says:

    Most of it makes perfect geographic sense. A coupe of exceptions: I’m not sure there’s anywhere they might live that it would make sense to use the 105 to get to Marina del Rey (My sense was that they live just south of Beverly Hills — near to San Vicente, and far enough east that it would be worth using the 10 West). It totally makes sense for Trey to take the 5 down to where the 101 meets the 10–that’s a well known vortex–but there’s no way in which getting off on Alhambra puts you anywhere near Cahuenga. Those are just fun to say.

    Lastly, there are people who talk like that (kinda), but I think they only live in the beach cities and don’t leave.

    Bill Hader struggling not to corpse was amazing.

  2. Tim says:

    Josh, you and I are both so busted as Angelenos for checking the geographical accuracy of the directions. I tried to rationalize taking the 105 to get to MDR by imagining that he works on the east side somewhere (after all, he purchased the tangerines at an offramp on the 2), but the 105 doesn’t connect with Culver Blvd. And the Alhambra to Sunset to Cahuenga thing, though, that was way off.

    The truth of satire, however, does not lie in accuracy. You cannot deny that how best to navigate various freeways and byways to avoid traffic is a major topic of conversation in this city. To everyone everywhere else in the entire universe it all sounds like nonsense: “Take [Spanish-sounding name] to [a number between 1 and 710] and make a left on [ocean-themed name].” This sketch is a comical take on that, with the crazy accents and soapy operatics thrown in to ramp up the humor.

  3. Josh K-sky says:

    You cannot deny that how best to navigate various freeways and byways to avoid traffic is a major topic of conversation in this city.

    God, no, not for a second. The freeway stuff is what we all talk like, all the time. My paragraph 2 was about the accents, which are kind of beach-specific — they’re funny in the sketch, but not as precise a bulls-eye as the rest of it.

    The 2-offramp tangerines made a lot of sense to me, because I am forever trying to figure out the best route from Highland Park to Beverly Hills/WeHo and it’s simply not clear whether you want to go around the horn (110 to 10) or through the city (2 to Alvarado to Beverly — or maybe to 101 to Santa Monica). Of course it’s not clear what that character would be doing up the 2. But that may be a psychogeographical nit too tiny to pick.

    Hopefully a future episode will feature a debate on whether people in Southern California may apply the definite article to freeways outside of Southern California. On a road trip to Jacksonville, at what point does “the 10” become “I-10”?