8 Great Aubrey Plaza Funny or Die Videos to Watch Instead of ‘The To Do List’

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The good news is that, after something like a year of promotion, The To Do List, the teen sex comedy from writer/director Maggie Carey starring Aubrey Plaza, is out this week. The bad news is, it’s not very good (in short: too long, too formulaic, only intermittently funny). But don’t worry — Aubrey is great in it, as she is in pretty much everything. And if you decide to take a pass on this one, we’ve done a bit of a Funny or Die dig to find some of her funniest moments that you might not have seen.

“Breakup in a Noisy Diner”

The great Jeff Garlin (who plays Plaza’s dad in the wonderful Safety Not Guaranteed ) wrote and directed this absurd two-minute quickie co-starring Josh Gad (The Book of Mormon). It is, as most things are at that length, a one-joke premise. But watch as the joke is stretched out as long as is humanly possible, and then longer, and then a few seconds beyond that.

“Ghost Walkers”

Plaza is credited as writer/producer of this sketch, which parodies Ghost Hunters and the countless other “paranormal investigation” shows that pepper the cable airwaves. The piece is a little uneven, but she’s awfully funny — and her kooky, over-the-top witch character is an enjoyable contrast to her usually laconic persona.

“Aubrey Plaza Hates Her Aunt Debra”

Lennon Parham plays Plaza’s sweatshirt-wearing aunt, showing up for an unannounced visit on the To Do List set — and guilt-tripping her into giving an interview. It does not go well! (“I give a blowjob in this movie, deal with it.”)

“She Said, She Said”

Because you’ve probably never seen Aubrey Plaza in leather pants cruising Marisa Tomei.

“Hood Life Tour with Aubrey Plaza and George Lopez”

Aubrey joins Lopez for a tour through South Central in this taped segment for his Lopez Tonight show, and it’s about as funny as your average late-night talk show taped segment. But there’s two reasons to watch it: her seemingly off-the-cuff response to one of the guide’s multiple gunshot wounds, and her recreation of the climax to Training Day.

“Shack Talk”

Host Liz Feldman interviews Aubrey, Aziz Ansari, and Jason Schwartzman during the press tour for Funny People. The question is: who all was in on which joke?

“Terrible Decisions with Ben Schwartz, Episode 1: Doomsday”

In which a lovely evening with Aubrey and her Parks and Rec co-star Schwartz (aka Jean-Ralphio Saperstein) is wrecked by the pending apocalypse. True to title, Ben makes a terrible decision.

“Home for Actresses”

Aubrey reunites with another Parks and Rec recurring player, Megan Mullally — along with Lizzy Caplan, Lake Bell, Ellie Kemper, and several other terrific young actresses. The premise is juicy: Mullally runs a home where up-and-coming young female thespians are taught not to act, but to “be cool.” Aubrey plays herself, entertainingly: “This whole ironic detachment mixed with sincere empathy thing has been really good for my career…. But yeah, I miss laughing.”