The Stella shorts are a collection of

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

s by the comedy group Stella. The short films were produced and written by

Michael Showalter Michael Showalter (born June 17, 1970) is an American comedian, actor, director, writer, and producer. He first came to recognition as a cast member on MTV's ''The State'', which aired from 1993 to 1995. He and David Wain created the ''Wet Hot ...

Michael Ian Black Michael Ian Black (born Michael Ian Schwartz; August 12, 1971) is an American comedian, actor, writer, and director. He has starred in several TV comedy series, including ''The State'', ''Viva Variety'', '' Stella'', '' Wet Hot American Summer: Fi ...

, David Wain, who also star in the shorts with a number of guest actors. They have gained considerable popularity on the Internet, after initially appearing on

CollegeHumor CollegeHumor is an Internet comedy company based in Los Angeles. Aside from producing content for release on YouTube, it was also a former humor website owned by InterActiveCorp ( IAC) until January 2020, when IAC withdrew funding and the websi ...

. A collection of the short films, ''Stella Shorts 1998-2002'', was released on DVD in 2002, but is no longer being produced. Since the short films are not currently available on DVD, they are often distributed freely online by fans on video sharing websites such as

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

and

Dailymotion Dailymotion is a French video-sharing technology platform owned by Vivendi. North American launch partners included Vice Media, Bloomberg and Hearst Digital Media. It is among the earliest known platforms to support HD (720p) resolution video. ...

. Many of the shorts can also be found on Stella's official website.

Origin of the shorts

Stella collectively self-produced the short films from 1998 to 2004. The short films were originally shown at the group's live stage shows at

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

s. The shorts spawned a number of running jokes and consistencies in the troupe's act, such as Michael Showalter's line "We don't ''have''...this money" and group discussions about the nature of God. Many of the shorts contain raunchy humour, including various instances of people engaging in comical, non-graphic sex acts while being completely clothed or a sudden, casual appearance of a

dildo A dildo is a sex toy, often explicitly phallic in appearance, intended for sexual penetration or other sexual activity during masturbation or with sex partners. Dildos can be made from a number of materials and shaped like an erect human penis ...

. Some of the actors to guest star in the shorts include

Sam Rockwell Sam Rockwell (born November 5, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for appearing in independent films and also as a character actor portraying a wide variety of roles both comedic and dramatic in films such as '' Lawn Dogs'' (199 ...

Paul Rudd Paul Stephen Rudd (born April 6, 1969) is an American actor. He studied theater at the University of Kansas and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, before making his acting debut in 1991. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame i ...

Elizabeth Banks Elizabeth Banks (born Elizabeth Irene Mitchell; February 10, 1974) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is known for playing Effie Trinket in ''The Hunger Games'' film series (2012–2015) and Gail Abernathy-McKadden in the ''Pitch Perfe ...

Bradley Cooper Bradley Charles Cooper (born January 5, 1975) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and two Grammy Awards, in addition to nominations for nine Academy Awards, si ...

Zach Galifianakis Zachary Knight Galifianakis (born October 1, 1969) is an American actor and comedian. He appeared in ''Comedy Central Presents'' special and presented his show ''Late World with Zach'' on VH1. Galifianakis has starred in films including ''Th ...

Julie Bowen Julie Bowen Luetkemeyer (born March 3, 1970) is an American actress. She is best known for starring as Claire Dunphy in the ABC sitcom ''Modern Family'' (2009–2020), for which she received critical acclaim and six nominations for the Primetim ...

, and A.D. Miles, as well as several members of Stella's alma mater ''

The State A state is a centralized political organization that imposes and enforces rules over a population within a territory. There is no undisputed definition of a state. One widely used definition comes from the German sociologist Max Weber: a "stat ...

'', such as

Joe Lo Truglio Joseph Vincent Lo Truglio (; born December 2, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, writer and producer. Best known for his role as Charles Boyle on the Fox/NBC sitcom '' Brooklyn Nine-Nine'', he also was a cast member on the television series ' ...

. Comedian

Zak Orth Zak Orth (born October 15, 1970) is an American actor known for his roles in ''Wet Hot American Summer'', '' The Baxter'', '' Melinda and Melinda'', '' In and Out'', ''Music and Lyrics'', and '' NYC 22''. He also starred in the NBC television dram ...

appears in many of the shorts as well.

Chronological List of Stella shorts

*1 - Turkey Hunting The guys go on a botched turkey hunting trip before thanksgiving. *2 - David's Cousin David goes to the apartment of his long-lost cousin, but Michael and Michael wreak havoc upon arrival. *3 - College Reunion David and Michael meet their old group of college friends at a cottage in the country for an emotional reunion. *4 - Day Off The guys play with a

golden retriever The Golden Retriever is a Scottish breed of retriever dog of medium size. It is characterised by a gentle and affectionate nature and a striking golden coat. It is commonly kept as a pet and is among the most frequently registered breeds ...

all day during their day off. *5 - Thanksgiving The guys travel back in time to celebrate the first

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...

with their

pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on Pilgrimage, a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the a ...

ancestors. *6 - Searching for Santa The guys travel to Antarctica where they enlist a

sherpa Sherpa may refer to: Ethnography * Sherpa people, an ethnic group in north eastern Nepal * Sherpa language Organizations and companies * Sherpa (association), a French network of jurists dedicated to promoting corporate social responsibility * ...

and search for the mythical figure. *7 - Office Party David and Michael attend an office party which is unexpectedly taken hostage by terrorists. *8 - Christmas Caroling The guys join a group of Christmas carolers in an ill-fated attempt to spread holiday cheer. *9 - Whiffleball The guys enjoy a day at the park playing heated games of

whiffleball Wiffle ball, a team sport developed in 1953 in Fairfield, Connecticut, is a scaled back variation of baseball designed for playing in a confined space. The sport is played using a perforated light-weight plastic ball and a long hollow plastic ...

. *10 - Audition After seeing an ad for a garage band in search of members, the guys partake in a disastrous audition. *11 - Bored Attempts to solve their boredom with a number of activities leave the guys strapped for cash. Sam Rockwell guest stars. *12 - Whodunit The guys apathetically find themselves caught up in a classic

whodunit A ''whodunit'' or ''whodunnit'' (a colloquial elision of "Who asdone it?") is a complex plot-driven variety of detective fiction in which the puzzle regarding who committed the crime is the main focus. The reader or viewer is provided with the cl ...

situation at a dinner gathering thrown by Michael's wealthy uncle. *13 - Yoga The trio joins an apartment-run

yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

class, disrupting it spectacularly. *14 - Poker In need of money after being mugged, the guys enter a shady poker game and soon find themselves in hot water. *15 - The Woods A routine camping trip quickly spins into disaster as the trio finds themselves lost in the woods. Featuring Paul Rudd. *16 - Dickfish A fishing trip takes a chaotic turn after the boys encounter a dangerous "dickfish" while illegally fishing in a marked-off pond. This short begins with a "retrospective" making-of type segment featuring interviews with the cast. *17 - Raking Leaves The trio takes a job raking leaves for "Bill"(played by Bradley Cooper) but soon find themselves facing their greatest challenge yet. *18 - Awkward David's "family friend" Enis(

) comes to visit, but Michael and Michael's attempts at hospitality leave much to be desired. *19 - Pizza Michael's self-inflicted exclusion from a trip to the pizzeria leaves him devastated. *20 - Moustache The trio attempt to grow moustaches in a heated competition. *21 - Saturday A lonely Michael fantasizes an elaborate, surreal interpretation of Chicago's " Saturday In The Park" *22 - Cat The boys find a stray cat and take it in. *23 - One Shot An attempt to do a crude, partial re-enactment of the "Awkward" short in a single, prolonged shot, featuring a "special guest". *24 - Truth A rainy day inspires the boys to play "Truth"(as opposed to "

Truth Or Dare Truth is the property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth 2005 In everyday language, truth is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise correspond to it, such as beliefs, ...

"), leading them into a surreal, paranoid, nightmare-like

journey of self-discovery A "journey of self-discovery" refers to a travel, pilgrimage, or series of events whereby a person attempts to determine how they feel, personally, about spiritual issues or priorities,Fez nightclub in preparation for following

Janeane Garofalo Janeane Marie Garofalo ( ; born September 28, 1964) is an American comedian, actress, and former co-host on the now-defunct Air America Radio's ''The Majority Report''. Garofalo began her career as a stand-up comedian and became a cast member on ...

with their stand-up act. * "Bar" was included on the Stella Season One DVD

New MyDamnChannel Short

On December 15, 2008, Stella premiered
Birthday
, their first new short since 2004, on

My Damn Channel Omnivision Entertainment (formerly ''My Damn Channel'') is an entertainment website and multichannel network founded to enable comedians, actors, filmmakers, musicians, and brands to co-produce, monetize and distribute original video content. The ...

, the website on which cast member David Wain had achieved much success with his show

Wainy Days ''Wainy Days'' is an internet video series starring David Wain that is hosted on the website, My Damn Channel. The web series follows a fictionalized version of Wain through his everyday life as he tries to form relationships with numerous women ...

. The short was originally shown during Stella's 2008 live tour.

External links

Stella shorts
at

Stella's Vimeo Page
the only current location of the "College Reunion" and
Poker

shorts Shorts are a garment worn over the human pelvis, pelvic area, circling the waist and splitting to cover the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to the knees but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" b ...

. * {{Stella American comedy short films Short film series Films directed by Michael Showalter