Charlyne Yi kills at the Con; Apatow ushers in a comedian

Judd Apatow, the Mayor of Comedy, wants the world to know about stand-up comedian Charlyne Yi.

Why else invite Yi onstage for Sony's "Superbad" panel Saturday night in front of a room full of 6,000 fans and media in San Diego? She's not even in "Superbad."

And unless the personal practices of Paul Wolfowitz at the World Bank were the inspiration, being "Superbad" costar Michael Cera's girlfriend alone wouldn't seem relevant enough to earn Yi a spot on the overflow dias, alongside Apatow regulars Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Jonah Hill, producer Shauna Robertson and newcomer Christopher Mintz-Plasse. (Although Yi did have a memorable part as the stoner Jodi with Rogen and Hill in Apatow's "Knocked Up.")

Her surprise appearance must be because Yi is seriously funny, and Comic-Con's massive Hall H is the perfect venue, not only to launch new movies but also for new stars. And Apatow is nothing if not loyal to his comedy coterie. But there may have been something more intentional afoot, not only bolstering Apatow's rep as the sage of send-up but also demonstrating his commitment to finding funny ladies in addition to his headlining slovenly guys.

"Knocked Up" inspired David Denby, writing for the New Yorker last month, to devote 4,872 words to Apatow's misogynistic breed of romantic comedy and its presumed detriment to a future generation of comedic heroines.

Apatow's reply a few weeks later, if we choose to read it that way (and I do), was to use his formidable ability to break new talent by shining a spotlight as bright as the sun on Charlyne Yi at Comic-Con.

Unlike the hot, straight-woman foils Apatow usually casts against his slobby leads, Yi is straight out of Apatow's "geeks rule" school of comedy, with her dark glasses, shy smile, bewildered stares and awkward snorts. Only helping to grease the wheels of Yi's spastic comedy on Saturday was a rich rotation of Cera's swanning female fans who made marriage proposals and offered reproductive services during a side-splitting Q&A.

After each absurd Cera fan question, Apatow -- the embodiment of a stern camp counselor, mixed with a little Bill Murray as Herman Blume in "Rushmore" -- would toss it over to Cera's real-life girlfriend and say, "Charlyne Yi, what do you think about that?"

She stammered, smiled and choked on her words like an eighth-grade algebra whiz tossed into a parliamentary debate. Her guffawing, wide-eyed surprise and garbled innocence flipped the room every time.

It was as if Apatow was the cannon, Yi was the human cannonball, the crowd was their net and they landed every launch. (Cera wasn't too shabby on the spot either.)

Yi is a Southern California native in her early 20s and, according to her MySpace page, she's a resident of Los Feliz.  She performs locally at Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, the Improv and El Cid, and she's done a few small TV gigs on "30 Rock" and "Cold Case." Her next film role is in the Will Ferrell comedy "Semi-Pro," which sounds a lot like "Talladega Nights" but with basketball instead of NASCAR.

I have yet to find any video from the "Superbad" panel at Comic-Con, but here's an example of Yi's  happy, often speechless comedic style on YouTube.

-- Sheigh Crabtree

Man on the Street -- Charlyne Yi

Comments

[Isabella Clark]

Wow, what a great read! Thanks.

[shes32]

shes 32. not in her early 20s.