Sam Rubinoff is a triple threat. A stand up comic, writer, director, and actor. That’s actually a quadruple threat. He’s been around awhile, and another in the march of talent storming out of the DYI comedy world on You Tube and such. Take some time and watch Sam’s shorts. They’re well written, produced, shot, and performed. And more important, they’re funny.

CIVIC DUTY

His newest film is a short he’s done starring, Joe List and Tommy Pope. Two strong stand ups having a good time in a film that let’s them just throw the ball back and forth and showcase their comedy acting chops. I’ve been a fan of Joe List’s for awhile, since he made that killer indy with Louis C.K. ‘Fourth of July’. I had him on the podcast and I really like his stand up and his own little shorts. This is a good one, yet oddly, as interesting and as well produced and directied as it is, it’s not my favorite of Sam’s stuff.

SAM’S YOU TUBE PAGE

Has some true gems on it. ‘Mixed Up’ is interesting, ‘The Best Man’ is a continuation of his characters inability to be in any form of a relationship with anybody, and again, for this You Tube world he’s working in, like all his film stuff, well thought out, cast, and sturdily produced.

DOG DAYS

I think though my favorite stuff among the mixed bag of goodies on this page is a nine year old series he made called ‘Dog Days’. It’s really worth watching. In fact it could be re-worked right now and could be a great HBO or Netflix series. Just a fun slice of life in Brooklyn. The show is populated with a handful of future top comedy names, H.Foley from Are You Garbage is hysterical as a Russian layabout, (Foley also directs some episodes) one of my favorite comics / actors, Rosebud Baker makes a fledgling appearance and scores quiet nice, as do Michael Blaustein, Emma Willaman, and Ian Fidance in tenderfoot acting roles that showed them all to have the chops they would need to have, as time has let us know they all do indeed have.

A lot of this is DIY level work, but done with a self possessed zip and a snap that makes me wonder what this guy could do if someone gave him a show, or some money to make a film. I think he’d do something worthy and then some. Paging Netflix? Mr. Apatow? …..Mr. Judd Apatow?