Tuesday night at the Eureka Theater, SF Sketchfest presented an up-tempo, mostly hysterical conglomeration of audio-visual entertainment. Interesting that this was Sketchfest's first-ever video night, when it's exactly the kind of evening you'd think would go by the wayside our YouTube world. (Hell, we've even got a video on YouTube, and we don't own a camera!)

Why gather with strangers in a theater to stare at funny films on a screen when you could . . . sit at home on your couch and stare at funny films (even these most of these films) on your computer. Because the former is more fun, silly!

Plus, if you watched them by yourself, you'd miss the inspired lunacy of hosts Tony Hale and the Barrel Brothers (Greg Bratman and Dusty Brown). The amazing Hale (best known as overeducated mama's boy Buster Bluth on TV's late-lamented Arrested Development) is a sight to behold. He says more with a squint or shrug than Meryl Streep does with a dozen dialects.

As the Barrels' third brother, Petey, Hale dutifully handed the boys props and cleaned up after them in a manner that only became clear when the night's last film screened (recounting the gripping tale of the Barrels' journey from Littlewhile, Kansas, to a California sound stage).

by SFist Karen S.

In addition to the Barrels' dancing and Hale's deadpan, the evening held other memorable moments.

The freakishly talented Liam Sullivan got the screenings off on the right foot with "Shoes," an inspired four-minute musical tribute to footwear. In the second act, Sullivan's demonic and homespun "Muffins" managed to be almost as entertaining in only half the time.

Local heroes Kasper Hauser were also represented twice: once in a short commercial warning of the dangers of male camel toe (it's more common than you think), and later in a longer, edgier piece showing suicide bombers having second thoughts. The phrase, "I am so disappointed in my terror cell right now" never sounded funnier.

Jack Shack's "Spelling Bee" intercuts footage from "Spellbound" and other real kid contests with inappropriate "use in a sentence" sentences from faux bee officials. Excuse 2 Realize's "Science Corner 103" sends up both science shows and science skeptics with its analysis of global "heatification."

Olde English's "Beatdown Town" tells the story of a mugging that goes horribly wrong for the sarcastic mugger. The group's "One Picture Every Day" is a comic take on a common photo exercise that must be seen to be enjoyed. "Super Team Manateam" provides a dead-on spoof of animals-with-super-powers cartoons, and Chris Weisbart's "A.M. Gold" pokes fun at a bygone era, when you could only sometimes hear the radio in your car.

First-half closer Unicornbaby.com's "Teenage Baby" (the first-act ender), which tells the story of a girl with the body of a teenager and the mind and language skills of a baby—and the boy who loves her—was like an episode of "Strangers with Candy" on similac. It was also a hoot.

Hale and the Barrel Brothers closed out the night with the same good humor they opened it. And though most of the filmed sketches are available online, we hope the Sketchfesters will bring this kind of evening back next year.