The live-comedy industry never played a larger role in sociopolitical debate than it did in 2024. But how much of that commentary, wonders James Adomian, was actually entertaining?

“Funny is funny. There is a lot of surprising material that can make an audience lose it, whether they agree or not,” says Adomian, a Los Angeles resident since age 9. That said, “I believe in being funny more than I believe in being correct. It’s almost a political belief I have: Comedy has to be funny. But there’s a curious system of algorithms, botnets and paid publicity that will scream the opposite at you.”

Following Adomian’s YouTube special “Path of Most Resistance,” released in September, his North American tour concludes Sunday, Jan. 19 at the Irvine Improv. The comic, impressionist and vocal actor will return to SXSW Comedy in Austin, Texas the weekend of March 7, performing a “keynote speech” in character as Elon Musk on opening night.

Adomian began performing post-9/11 during the early years of George W. Bush. He frequented shows in the basement of the Vermont Avenue Ramada Inn, downstairs at El Cid and the “show in Santa Monica near the promenade at a venue that no longer exists,” which was underground in terms of both street level and legality. “Maybe if we’re entering a terrible right-wing period again,” Adomian predicts, “the best comedy is just going to have to be underground for a few years.”

He became a regular on Scott Aukerman’s “Comedy Death-Ray” weekly at Upright Citizens Brigade and the show’s Indie 103.1 radio broadcast, then followed the renamed “Comedy Bang! Bang!” into podcasting and IFC’s 2012 to 2016 TV series. His hugely influential 2012 album “Low Hangin Fruit” was the debut release from Aukerman’s Earwolf Records. Adomian publicly embraced progressivism and proudly celebrated LGBTQ+ identity at a time when gay marriage wasn’t yet legal in all 50 states.

With Anthony Atamanuik, his satirical “Trump vs. Bernie” debates commanded a 40-city tour, special programming on Comedy Central and Fusion, a “Trump vs. Bernie: Live from Brooklyn” album and countless media appearances continuing years beyond the 2016 election cycle. He even sat down with Anthony Bourdain over Armenian food at Sahags Basturma to discuss politics and culture on the late chef and host’s “Little Los Angeles” web series.

After more than 20 years in comedy, “Resistance,” Adomian’s improbable first solo special “is a long time coming. I’ve been edging it,” he says in his opening minutes on stage during the special. The high-energy and layered hour is “a stand-up art piece, basically.”

His takes on Elon Musk, Alex Jones and his long-running Bernie Sanders appear during the hour. Adomian examines news media portrayal of Armenians, Turner Classic Movies, bigotry, the Federal Reserve and aging as a “notorious homosexual,” noting, “I used to be gay. Now I’m like an advisor on campus.” On the scourge of social-media expectations, Adomian says in the special, “If you see crowd work tonight, that means something terrible has happened.”

“I love to bring up an important or intelligent topic and then make very stupid jokes about it,” Adomian says. “People have said before that my comedy is smart or intelligent. That starts to sound like it’s one of those acts where you’ve got to have a degree in liberal arts to understand it. Nothing I do is difficult to understand. It’s all very basic and moronic.”

With Jared Goldstein opening, Adomian filmed “Resistance” at Echo Park’s “beautiful, dark and strange” Elysian Theater, where he’s a “Stand Up and Clown” veteran and had his own show for Netflix Is a Joke festival.

He admires the bravery and experimentation of newer comedians, calling fellow Elysian regular Courtney Pauroso’s October release “Vanessa 5000,” a sex-robot exploration of technology, “a dark work of genius.” Of experimental half-hour “How to Bake a Cake in the Digital Age” from Christina Catherine Martinez, he says, “I’m so enamored.”

In Los Feliz for more than a decade, Adomian is reputed as a vocal comedy-scene supporter and cheerleader. He cites his neighborhood’s Tuesday “Comedy Night at Best Fish Taco” among L.A.’s best stand-up offerings. Other indie-venue faves include Silver Lake’s Akbar and Lyric Hyperion, Eagle Rock’s the Fable, Echo Park’s Bar Bandini, Atwater Village’s Club Tee Gee, West Hollywood’s Bar Lubitsch, Koreatown’s R Bar, Highland Park’s the Offbeat bar and Westlake’s Dynasty Typewriter.

Adomian took the opportunity to complete a long-awaited side quest when his tour paused for the 2024 holiday season. He wanted to see the country and to reduce airplane travel “as we enter the next video game level of the climate apocalypse.” Riding two Amtrak trains over three days from Washington, D.C. to Chicago, then onward to Albuquerque before returning to L.A., he got little sleep but had great views.

He thought about the ways he wanted to approach the New Year and its myriad changes. The journey was “fun, uncomfortable, relaxing, exhausting, beautiful and fascinating. And now I know how to take a shower at 100 miles per hour.”

There’s a balance somewhere between angry and openness that Adomian hopes to achieve in 2025. Or maybe it’s about staying invested while remaining spiritual. As a guy who says he believes in reincarnation, Adomian thinks that living beings — politicians included — will always reap what they sow. Karma can be a b—. And most important, it’s time for far less reliance on crowd work.

“Life on Earth is kind of a playthrough of painfulness, pointlessness, beauty and a deep trove of meanings that we have to find somehow,” he says. “It’s therapeutic for me to say funny things that make me feel better about being alive. It’s sort of playing a very silly game, but also bringing up something important and making it a funny thing that’s not scary or objectionable. To make a good time out of a bad time.”

The Snapshot: Phenomenal music numbers bring needed fun, style and reasoning to Robbie Williams’ life story, seen through the eyes of an ape.

Better Man

7 out of 10

14A, 2hrs 15mins. Music Biography Fantasy.

Directed by Michael Gracey.

Starring Jonno Davies, Robbie Williams, Steve Pemberton, Raechelle Banno, Kate Mulvany and Alison Steadman.

Better Man, at the very least, is the best musical biography movie with the main character depicted as a CGI chimpanzee that I’ve ever seen.

Robbie Williams’ life story is a mix of (literal) money business along with great showmanship and outstanding scenes of Williams’ music. Unlike the common knowledge of most musical biopics, it’s also enjoyable to actually learn something new about the main character and their real history.

Director Michael Gracey (best known for 2017’s megahit The Greatest Showman) has conceptualized the life of English pop star Robbie Williams in an unusual way. While it follows the expected formula of a singer’s life story as so many movies do, it quite unexpectedly features Williams through his life as a monkey.

At first, the idea didn’t make much sense. What’s the point of changing Williams’ species? What could it possibly add to the story? And how would it influence the rest of the film?

The answer is revealed early, however, and wisely reinforces the main theme. The real Williams narrates the film, describing how he’s regularly felt “othered” and misunderstood as a person through his public life. 

So the story is imagined in this Hollywood film as Williams not just living with his private self-imposed isolation, but with an obvious public one as well. Being a chimpanzee, it’s slightly familiar in his possible humanity, but as also unfamiliar with his struggle to identify with others now shown as an interspecies conflict.

Fortunately, none of this takes away from the heart of Williams’ story rising as a music superstar, nor does it overshadow the spectacular musical numbers and sequences.

I reviewed Michael Gracey’s work on his well-known The Greatest Showman, and I stand by my heavy criticism of the bad script and songs that pandered to the audience. But here, he’s got much richer and clearer writing that feels more nuanced and less stylized, which is a better match for his glamorous directing style.

Read more here: Review – The Greatest Showman is far from great

Gracey got his start as the director of music videos, and that skill is amplified here in Better Man with several truly inventive and eye-popping songs. “Rock DJ”, celebrating a new record deal, is one of my favourite scenes I’ve seen from any movie in the last year. It’s a single take of song and dance mayhem that’s gratuitously fun.

If you can get over the barrier of seeing Williams as a large ape, there’s great songs and a compelling (if overlong) story to see here. 

It’s still over-the-top, but most of it is also a lot of fun – and a great intro to a musical talent we here in North America have maybe overlooked for too long.

After battling cancer most of last year, Kate Middleton says she’s now in remission.

Catherine, Princess of Wales, who confirmed last March that she had cancer after months of speculation about her health and well-being, said Tuesday that she is focused on recovery.

“It is a relief to now be in remission and I remain [focused] on recovery,” she said in a statement posted on social media. “As anyone who has experienced a cancer diagnosis will know, it takes time to adjust to a new normal. I am however looking forward to a fulfilling year ahead. Thank you to everyone for your continued support.”

Catherine, Princess of Wales, and husband Prince William, who is first in line to the British throne, on Tuesday were named joint patrons of the Royal Marsden — the cancer hospital where Catherine received treatment last year. Since 2007, William has been president of the Royal Marsden, a position that was held previously by his mother, the late Princess Diana.

“I wanted to take the opportunity to say thank you to The Royal Marsden for looking after me so well during the past year,” Catherine said in her statement. “My heartfelt thanks goes to all those who have quietly walked alongside William and me as we have navigated everything. We couldn’t have asked for more. The care and advice we have received throughout my time as a patient has been exceptional.”

In her new role, the 43-year-old princess said she hopes to save more lives and transform the experience of all those affected by cancer by supporting groundbreaking research and clinical excellence, as well as promoting patient and family well-being.

Catherine’s health issues and the royal missteps that followed became a global topic of discussion early last year when Kensington Palace announced that she had to take a break from royal duties after having “major abdominal surgery” in January. Rampant speculation ran amok about the princess’ retreat from the public eye, fueling months of broad concern about her condition and whereabouts.

In March, she made the cancer announcement in a poignant video message that came in the wake of reports that her medical records at the London Clinic were allegedly breached by hospital staffers. She began treatment in late February and announced in September that she had completed it, confirming that she would soon return to light public duties.

The announcement of Catherine’s patronage was made Tuesday during her visit to the Royal Marsden’s hospital in Chelsea. There, the mother of three met with patients being treated with chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

“We were honoured to welcome Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales to The Royal Marsden in Chelsea this morning, and are delighted that Her Royal Highness is now joining His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales in becoming Joint Patrons of our specialist cancer centre,” said Cally Palmer, chief executive of the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust.

Palmer said William has been “a wonderful supporter of our work for nearly two decades” and that his and Catherine’s royal patronage is inspiring for staff and patients and “enables us to shine a light on the outstanding work our staff deliver every day for patients and their families.”

During her Tuesday visit, Catherine disclosed some of the side effects she experienced after her cancer treatment, including speech issues and brain fog.

“You think treatment’s finished, crack on with that … daily tasks, but that’s still like a real challenge,” she told hospital staff, according to the Daily Mail. “And talking … the words totally disappear … understanding that as a patient, yes, there are side effects around treatment, but actually there are more long-term side effects.”