Tina And Amy: The Fearless Female Comedy Duo

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In a world where female comics were ridiculed, payed less, and banned from main stages, two best friends make it their mission to disrupt the status quo... Find out how Tina Fey and Amy Poehler became two of the most well-known names in comedy.

Transcript

00:00I was asked this evening not to be patronising or sexist.

00:07I thought, fair enough, let's face it, birds can't take it.

00:09You're not offended, are you? Of course not, you're thinking about shoes.

00:12For women, the need or ability to be funny is tremendously less.

00:22Carol Streep is not here tonight, she has the flu, and I hear she's amazing in it.

00:27I very much hope that I win.

00:29Thank you, you're my nemesis.

00:55It was 1993, and our dreams were as big and unshaped as our eyebrows.

01:00We were in an improv group together at ImprovOlympic, what, 50 years ago?

01:0550 years ago.

01:07And we're 68, so that was 50 years ago.

01:14So did you guys make money doing improv, or was this a dream?

01:18Oh no, very little, if at all.

01:20We used to improvise at like chicken wing restaurants, and just be like,

01:24hey, who here wants to see some improv? Nobody? Okay.

01:31You can describe a comedy environment as very male, it's like basketball.

01:35If someone throws it to you, passes to you, and you miss a shot,

01:38you're not going to get passed to again.

01:40But if you make the shot, everybody's perfectly happy to keep you around.

01:45I kind of made a vow to myself to not accept that privilege

01:49of being the only woman in the room.

02:14With that exchange, a cosmic shift took place.

02:32Amy made it clear that she wasn't there to be cute,

02:35she wasn't there to play wives and girlfriends in the boys' scenes,

02:38she was there to do what she wanted.

02:40I was around enough strong people and women and improvisers

02:45to just kind of get used to my currency being my talent,

02:49and not worrying so much about whether or not I was likable.

03:05You look really pretty.

03:08So you agree?

03:09What?

03:10You think you're really pretty.

03:12Oh.

03:13There was a girl when I was a freshman who said to me,

03:15you're really pretty.

03:16And I was like, thank you.

03:17And she's like, so you agree?

03:18You think you're really pretty?

03:19And I was like, it's a trap!

03:35We'll be hosting the Golden Globe Awards again this year.

03:37Together, because we are best friends.

03:41What was that?

03:42I said the thing that you said.

03:43Matthew McConaughey did amazing work this year.

03:46For his role in Dallas Buyers Club, he lost 45 pounds,

03:50or what actresses call being in a movie.

03:53Steve Carell's foxcatcher look took two hours to put on,

03:57including his hairstyling and makeup.

03:59Just for comparison, it took me three hours today

04:02to prepare for my role as human woman.

04:07You have to believe you belong.

04:09You have to believe you deserve what you get.

04:12I feel like I've exceeded my wildest dreams.

04:37I feel like I've exceeded my wildest dreams.

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