'It’s peak whiteness... and I love it!'

Zainab Johnson picks her comedy favourites

Following her Amazon Prime stand-up special Hijabs Off and a run at Soho Theatre in London, American comic Zainab Johnson is making her Fringe debut this year. Here she shares her Perfect Playlist of comedy favourites…

Coming To America

My all-time favourite movie. Billed as a comedy but never as a romcom, which is weird because the entire point of the movie was him trying to get the girl! But that’s testament to Eddie Murphy’s comedic genius.

I sing Soul Glo like it’s a Billboard Top 100 song and She’s Your Queen To Be should be played at every wedding when a bride is walking down the aisle. Probably the only movie I truly know word for word, this is my desert island movie.

The Office (US)

I’ve only ever had one roommate as an adult - The Office. Michael Scott and the gang have kept me company over and over and over again.

This is my go-to when I just want to laugh. When I need an escape from the issues of the real world. When I need to get out of my own head, I let myself get lost in the funny monotony of this paper sales office led by an insecure but lovable boss, and all the 'will they/won't they' of office love connects.

Living Single

My version of The Golden Girls before they reach that golden age. From the theme song written and performed by Queen Latifah with the backdrop of Big Lez dancing under the Brooklyn Bridge, these four funny ladies made me look forward to one day growing up and being able to date and have a career and fun with friends.

It's a show that I go back to watch every few years so that it feels like the first time again and each time and 20+ years later it still holds up.

There's Something About Mary

I love romcoms and for a long time Cameron Diaz was my romcom queen. She was beautiful, tall, thin but athletic, but never played dumb or helpless. She was always the hot goofy fun girl who could also be badass.

There's Something About Mary is such a silly movie. Watching a bunch of buffoon men go so far as to get dentures to be with her is just ridiculous and I loved it. Also whenever I hear someone say ‘frank and beans’ I think There's Something About Mary.

Martin

Probably the most hilarious sitcom to have ever existed. I've never seen an episode of television funnier than the episode when Martin interviews Varnell Hill on his radio show and then crashes The Varnell Hill show and outperforms Jodeci.

Of all my DVD box sets Martin is the only one that stayed in my Blu-ray disc player. It's the epitome of just silly funny.

There's one episode where he delivers a fake baby and he breaks the fourth wall saying, ‘This is TV, man', and it makes it even funnier.

Martin has starred in a lot of hits - the Bad Boys franchise, the House Party franchise, Do The Right Thing, A Thin Line Between Love and Hate, but he will always reign supreme for gifting us with characters like Sheneneh Jenkins, Jerome, and Dragon Fly Jones on the Martin show.

Bridget Jones’s Diary

This is like the TV show Martin and the movie Titanic for me. I don’t care how many times I’ve seen it, if I’m on a plane or in a hotel room and it comes on, I’m watching it!

I love that the adversity for a young white British lady is that she’s mildly overweight, but yet, two highly eligible and sought after bachelors vie for her attention. The delusion is comforting. It’s peak whiteness in cinema and I love it!