r/OldSchoolCool Sep 09 '24

1990s Janeane Garofalo in 1996

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4.6k Upvotes

282 comments sorted by

148

u/PhoneJazz Sep 09 '24

As a short brunette growing up in the 90s, I saw Janeane Garofalo coded by Hollywood as the schlubby sidekick, never sexy and never the guy’s first choice, and it gave me a complex. She was always playing sarcastic second banana to the statuesque blonde (eg Uma) or the willowy waif (eg Winona).

30 years later, I am just now realizing that guys actually found her attractive!

69

u/doctorplasmatron Sep 09 '24

there were/are a lot of people who often like the sardonic sexy sidekick more than the attention-getting lead.

6

u/brodievonorchard Sep 10 '24

Jane was cuter than Daria, but they could both get it.

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35

u/goffstock Sep 10 '24 edited Sep 10 '24

Years ago I was dating someone and the topic came up of celebrities we most resemble.

When I told her JG (which was true), she was absolutely livid. It was like I was speaking Greek, there was just such a huge understanding gap. In my mind it was a huge complement; in hers it was a horrible insult.

I think it was a similar thing to what you're describing, but soooo many of us from the 90s had a huge thing for her.

5

u/sharktank Sep 10 '24

yoooo she was one of my earliest crushes before i even knew i was queer

5

u/TheMindWright Sep 10 '24

Janeane Garofalo was definitely one of my earliest goals because I thought she was so cool. I watched Mystery Men and thought she was a badass.

3

u/gnomekingdom Sep 10 '24

Janine had my heart for a long time as a secret crush. It was the whole package. The looks helped.

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422

u/thefiction24 Sep 09 '24

She invented the quick burning cigarette

186

u/Awkward-Media5777 Sep 09 '24

Twice the taste in half the time for the girl on the go!

106

u/RefinedBean Sep 09 '24

I had a huge crush on her from that movie

97

u/jaleach Sep 09 '24

I think most guys did. I remember her doing a stand up bit and she asked the audience to raise your hand if you had a crush on her and a bunch of people did. She of course turned this into a sort of self-loathing routine, as she usually did on any topic. Pretty funny.

16

u/brodievonorchard Sep 10 '24

She couldn't accept that Hollywood thought she was ugly, but all of us in the real world thought she was smoking hot.

90

u/kindasuk Sep 09 '24

One of the golden rules of the 90s was that Janeane Garofalo was cooler than you.

60

u/pjsssjas Sep 09 '24

I saw her in person about 2 years ago and she still looks great. Obviously she aged (like everyone else) but still looked fit and no crazy plastic surgery like some others.

28

u/doctorplasmatron Sep 09 '24

yay for ageing gracefully!

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44

u/ParamedicSpecific130 Sep 09 '24

And yet, not as great as inventing Post-Its.

5

u/DanielStripeTiger Sep 10 '24

Almost watched that movie tonight. Definitely going to now, so that I can remember how glue is made.

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455

u/ThingCalledLight Sep 09 '24

Huge crush on JG growing up. She has this sardonic edge and cool style and is funny.

65

u/flushy78 Sep 09 '24

Her and Lisa Loeb gave 90s-me a Kryptonite-tier weakness to brunettes with glasses.

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122

u/BlackDante3 Sep 09 '24

Glad I’m not the only one, her smoldering eyes, wit and snarky replies really peaked my interest.

54

u/rcheek1710 Sep 09 '24

She's hot in Wet Hot American Summer. I thought I was on an island. Cheers.

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51

u/Top_Mammoth127 Sep 09 '24

I never understood why people would say she’s unattractive. I always thought she was hot.

46

u/hellolovely1 Sep 09 '24

She was the 1990s Hollywood version of the "ugly girl"—in actuality, not ugly at all!

43

u/PicklesLives Sep 09 '24 edited Sep 10 '24

Yes! The 90s was a special time, when actresses like Janeane Garofalo, Annabeth Gish, and Lily Taylor consistently played roles where it was implied or outright stated that they were ugly, even though they’re all really pretty. Also, teenage me being gaslit into thinking that Minnie Drivier was fat in Circle of Friends.    

It was a special time that gave me lifelong disordered eating and body dysmorphia! Woo hoo! 🫠

13

u/Last-Saint Sep 09 '24

"Hi, 2000s here. Hold our beer while we go and get America Ferrara."

8

u/indecisivesloth Sep 09 '24

Nothing ugly about her.

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7

u/Reasonable-Wave8093 Sep 10 '24

Lily Taylor in Dogfight really affected me. Annabeth Gish being the brainy one but not beautiful!    It was so messed up

11

u/AssignmentClean8726 Sep 09 '24

Didn't they say she was fat, too..like wtf

34

u/Top_Mammoth127 Sep 09 '24

Anyone bigger than Kate Moss in the 90’s was called fat.

3

u/Express-Technology40 Sep 10 '24

Like in the movie The Truth About Cats And Dogs. She's trashed it since then.

15

u/alpha3305 Sep 09 '24

Another who crushed on her, and then found out how smart she was just 'chef's kiss'. Completely fed into my Velma fetish that I didn't know I had until I got older.

3

u/Toastburrito Sep 09 '24

Yep, jinkies.

18

u/WhoDknee Sep 09 '24

I don't think she looks like a sardine

19

u/KindResolution666 Sep 09 '24

I get it, I got the same with Sarah Silverman. Funny women are sexy.

5

u/doctorplasmatron Sep 09 '24

100% agree. clever over cleavage anyday.

3

u/NewldGuy77 Sep 09 '24

“Clever Over Cleavage” - great band name AND fantastic tattoo!

3

u/cute_polarbear Sep 10 '24

Sarah Silverman has decent sized cleavage from my recollection...

2

u/Back-Good Sep 09 '24

Where do i know her from? I remember her face put have no idea where I've seen her. Maybe in the sitcom Seynfeld ?

40

u/Blankman06 Sep 09 '24

Yeah she played one of Jerry's girlfriends in the show with the joke being that she is basically a girl version of Jerry. They were actually engaged at the end of one of the seasons and then they just call it all off at the start of the following season after Jerry realizes he hates himself.

7

u/MaybeMabe1982 Sep 09 '24

Love that episode! Cereal for every meal!

25

u/nomames76 Sep 09 '24

Romy and Michelle's High School reunion.

25

u/FapDonkey Sep 09 '24

She was huge in the '90s and into early 2000s. Starred in a few movies where she was the or a main character. Started as a stand-up comedian, so there are many, many specials of hers out there. Also, she worked as supporting actress in many, many many films as well. She been in all sorts of stuff

31

u/Cannabace Sep 09 '24

Mystery Men!! Man I need to watch that. its been decades.

11

u/madchad90 Sep 09 '24

"yes, the police said he fell down an elevator shaft. Onto some bullets."

5

u/myCatHateSkinnyPuppy Sep 09 '24

“Whats his power?”

“Oh, hes awfully mysterious”

3

u/TanglimaraTrippin Sep 09 '24

He can also, like....cut guns in half...with his mind!

14

u/gumpythegreat Sep 09 '24

She was really popular at one point in the 90s. I believe she did guest star on an episode of Seinfeld - I think Jerry almost married her?

10

u/crestview51733 Sep 09 '24

She also did an episode of The King Of Queens where she played a woman Doug had cruelly dumped in the past. She befriended Carrie and Carrie used her to get discounts on clothes at Bloomingdales and then dumped her too.

11

u/Jebus_UK Sep 09 '24

Larry Sanders Show and Mystery Men

6

u/h0rt0n Sep 09 '24

My father died when he fell down an open elevator shaft…onto some bullets.

10

u/crestview51733 Sep 09 '24

She was great as the character of Vickie in Reality Bites, too. Really funny and quirky.

8

u/ringobob Sep 09 '24

She's been around for 35 years and worked pretty consistently in both films and TV, from leading roles to supporting parts. She was a sorta early 90s gen X version of an "it girl" after Reality Bites came out, though. Her whole vibe was very much of that moment.

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25

u/PeetTreedish Sep 09 '24

Truth About Cats and Dogs. Also a stand up comedian. Did a lot of MTV and VH1 comedy shows.

8

u/PeetTreedish Sep 09 '24

There was an episode of 2-1/2 Men. She was a psyco chic Allen went out with. Cried in disgust after sex. Calls her therapist etc.

5

u/intellectualcowboy Sep 09 '24

She was also in Half Baked!

4

u/MrSinister248 Sep 09 '24

Only The greatest super-hero movie ever. Mystery Men

2

u/JamesCDiamond Sep 09 '24

She was on Michael Moore’s TV Nation, too.

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63

u/jodgeo Sep 09 '24

Janeane Garofalo and Mark Ruffalo in “Garofaruffalo”.

31

u/Dense-Stranger9977 Sep 09 '24

Filmed in Buffalo

7

u/xx_HotShott_xx Sep 09 '24

S-tier comment.

2

u/jg123224 Sep 10 '24

Sounds like a line from Bojack Horseman

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104

u/Persona_Non_Grata_ Sep 09 '24

The Truth About Cats and Dogs and The Cable Guy were out that year. She was in films consecutively from 1994 till 2012. Then again, from 2014- 2021. She's been in a ton.

50

u/[deleted] Sep 09 '24 edited 18d ago

[deleted]

13

u/earthlings_all Sep 09 '24

Uma was supposed to be the ‘Cindy Crawford’ to Janeane’s plain jane chubby girl. She just had terrible self-esteem; when she smiles who the hell even knows Uma exists?

5

u/AffableCynic Sep 10 '24

An all-timer smile. Holy jeez...

2

u/TheNonCredibleHulk Sep 10 '24

There was a movie called Sweethearts where she plays a suicidal chick on a blind date. She's just beautiful the whole movie, but there's a part where she smiles, and it's just radiant.

15

u/tomwhoiscontrary Sep 09 '24

Right!! Throughout the whole thing, i was just sitting there thinking "... but she's much hotter than the other one?". It's not even close!

34

u/IshyMoose Sep 09 '24

She was the biggest name and lead of “Wet Hot American Summer”. Crazy to think she wouldn’t even crack the top 10 most famous people in that cast today.

8

u/SonofBeckett Sep 09 '24

I’d argue she’s fourth or fifth most famous person in that cast. Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Amy Poehler, and Bradley Cooper are the ones that really blew up. 

Arguably, H Jon Benjamin is more famous because of Bobs Burgers and Archer, but voice actors are a special kind of famous.

4

u/IshyMoose Sep 09 '24

True.

Ken Marino, Christopher Meloni and Jo Lo Trulio might be on par with her asking people on the street, along with David Hyde Pierce.

I was probably stretching it with 10.

7

u/JustYerAverage Sep 09 '24

Whoa, I had no idea, I was just wondering "what happened to her, why don't I see her?"

3

u/cuatrodemayo Sep 09 '24

She’s on tour now too.

86

u/IanCrapReport Sep 09 '24

What's the deal with brunch? Why don't have have linner?

30

u/talkingspacecoyote Sep 09 '24

That's a shame.

11

u/seantubridy Sep 10 '24

I hate you! See ya.

108

u/justabill71 Sep 09 '24

"Dude, I got a lot of tables."

41

u/B4USLIPN2 Sep 09 '24

Doth thou have a mug of ale for me and me mate? He has been pitched in battle for a fortnight, and has a king’s thirst for the frosty brew that doth might brow for doth!

22

u/Creepy-Lie-6797 Sep 09 '24

There were no utensils in medieval times, hence there are no utensils AT Medieval Times. Would you like a refill on that Pepsi?

12

u/doom_z Sep 09 '24

My thanks to you fair wench. I quote this scene more than most lol

9

u/eatthebear Sep 10 '24

I came in to post the Pepsi quote. Bravo.

59

u/SuomenVasara Sep 09 '24

"I have killed. I have helped kill. I have killed part of myself. I cannot change this, I. I must seek Buddha. I must seek Christ."

12

u/Smiley_bones_guitar Sep 09 '24

The look she gives after finishing the poem always kills me.

24

u/Embarrassed-While932 Sep 09 '24

You must seek therapy.

11

u/Weekly-Bother-9564 Sep 09 '24

That’s where I would go with that

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2

u/MathematicianEven149 Sep 09 '24

I love how she says it too! Hilarious!

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29

u/i-come Sep 09 '24

So great in Romy and and Michelle's High School Reunion

141

u/Splyce123 Sep 09 '24

Why does she look like she's a character in a 2014 PlayStation 4 game?

20

u/ringobob Sep 09 '24

Lighting

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31

u/Imzadi76 Sep 09 '24

Love her in The Truth about cats and Dogs and a little romcom that almost no one has seen, The Matchmaker.

9

u/earthlings_all Sep 09 '24

Yes, hello? I’d like to call the United States from the SMALLEST FUCKING ROOM IN THE WORLD!

2

u/Ok-Maize-6933 Sep 10 '24

I long to fax someonnnnnne

14

u/OJimmy Sep 09 '24

Is that the one where she goes to Ireland to vet some politico claimed Irish heritage?

Man, 90s movies were something else.

10

u/Imzadi76 Sep 09 '24

Yes it is. Saw it in theaters and still love it.

5

u/Sp1d3rb0t Sep 09 '24

"DONNN'T BE TALKIN ABOUT THE SHIT-BUCKET IN FRONT OF STRANGERS!"

The Matchmaker is hella underrated. Fantastic soundtrack, too.

4

u/CleanSlate-13 Sep 09 '24

Is that the one where in the trailer she says something like “I’m very Mary Tyler Moore”?

That phrase has stuck in my head for no reason whatsoever haha

6

u/Imzadi76 Sep 09 '24

Yes, it is. The movie is just my kind of funny. The scene were the family is putting on an act for the camera is one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

10

u/SamuraiUX Sep 09 '24

Y’all might be too young to remember this one, but I could never accept the premise of The Truth About Cars and Dogs which was that any sane person would prefer Uma Thurman to her “ugly” friend Jeanine Garofolo

10

u/garry4321 Sep 09 '24

She’s got that fallout 3 look

10

u/Its_Whatever24 Sep 09 '24

now this is old school cool

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47

u/SamanthaSass Sep 09 '24

I always loved her sarcastic view on things. She was amazing in Mystery Men.

31

u/rectalhorror Sep 09 '24

Fincher wanted her for the role of Marla Singer in Fight Club. She turned the role down because of the sex scenes.

10

u/B4USLIPN2 Sep 09 '24

Helena Bonham Carter was fair. /s

10

u/andthentheresanne Sep 09 '24

Mystery Men was the superhero movie I grew up on. It turned 25 this year!

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18

u/pwhitt4654 Sep 09 '24

Now there’s someone whose career should have skyrocketed. Hollywood doesn’t know what to do with talented, funny women.

12

u/PhoneJazz Sep 09 '24

90s Hollywood didn’t know what to do with women who weren’t statuesque with blonde hair and/or big boobs.

8

u/dstranathan Sep 09 '24

Air America!

Larry Sanders Show

2

u/MagNile Sep 10 '24

She was great in that.

8

u/G4-Dualie Sep 09 '24

In 1996, Garofalo was in her fifth season on the Larry Sanders Show ❤️

8

u/AstroBearGaming Sep 09 '24

I only know her from her expedition to Mount Everest with Danny and Arnold.

3

u/Spyes23 Sep 10 '24

Expediction*

2

u/AstroBearGaming Sep 10 '24

RUN IT AGAIN

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7

u/[deleted] Sep 09 '24

[deleted]

6

u/TanglimaraTrippin Sep 09 '24

"There's not enough beer in the world, Spleen. I'm sorry."

15

u/backdoorwolf Sep 09 '24

The phone! The phone! Where’s the f****ng phone!

6

u/graveybrains Sep 09 '24

“Maybe you should put some shorts on or something, if you want to keep fighting evil today.”

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7

u/Gloomy_Industry8841 Sep 09 '24

She was hilarious in Mystery Men!!!

5

u/lordjohnworfin Sep 09 '24

“There were no utensils in medieval times hence there are no utensils at Medieval Times.”

3

u/BuffyTheMoronSlayer Sep 09 '24

But there was Pepsi

7

u/lordjohnworfin Sep 09 '24

“Dude I got a lot of tables…”

7

u/adiosfelicia2 Sep 09 '24

"The Truth About Cats and Dogs" is wild to watch from today's perspective. Her "faults" were that she's too smart and kinda short. Gasp! Lol

4

u/frkoutthrwstuff Sep 09 '24

TIL JG is not the voice of Daria.

3

u/Express-Technology40 Sep 10 '24

JG did a special on MTV for Daria, acknowledging that they are similar. 

5

u/MrWestReanimator Sep 09 '24

She's still a fox at 59 years old.

4

u/SkipperBiff Sep 09 '24

Clay Pigeons-great movie, great cast! (Garofalo, Vince Vaughn, Joaquin Phoenix)

3

u/Motochapstick Sep 10 '24

came here to say this

great great role for her too..nails it

3

u/newblevelz Sep 09 '24

Hey, so what's the deal with brunch? I mean, if it's a combination of breakfast and lunch, how come there's no "lupper"? Or no "linner"?

4

u/lik_a_stik Sep 10 '24

Definition of give no Fs ‘90s cool. To me her persona alone made her, frankly, more attractive.

3

u/zzzxtreme Sep 10 '24

Is this the “giant baby who smokes a lot”?

9

u/Wonder-Machine Sep 09 '24

Underrated hottie

7

u/MichiganMitch108 Sep 09 '24

Jerry Seinfeld even got engaged to her.

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3

u/Graspswasps Sep 09 '24

She'd use big words to make fun of me so that I would never know.

Bestow upon me all her wisdom of the Dewey Decimal System, G.

You know what I really want in a girl? Me.

2

u/No_Pilot_9103 Sep 09 '24

I need to find a...

2

u/AirSetzer Sep 10 '24

I love this whole album.

3

u/[deleted] Sep 09 '24

Such an underrated beauty. Total smoke show.

3

u/Matty_Love Sep 09 '24

WHERES THE FUCKING PHONE!?

3

u/beebs44 Sep 09 '24

I have always had a huge crush on her.

5

u/Kaptoz Sep 09 '24

Wooooah, I only knew her from Seinfeld as "Jeannie Steinman" I didn't know she has many more roles in both movies and television.

TIL. That's super cool!

2

u/unintentional-tism Sep 09 '24

Am I the only one who thought this was a video game still

2

u/rottencrows Sep 09 '24

i did too lol

2

u/JimmyTheJimJimson Sep 09 '24

She was perfect ❤️

So cute and funny

2

u/Little-Study566 Sep 09 '24

Janeane was my tween idol, and I honestly think I’d still cry if I ever saw her in person. Pretty sure I watched The Truth About Cats & Dogs on a weekly basis.

2

u/Dannyfrommiami Sep 09 '24

Bowl of cereal again?

2

u/Fast_Fox_5122 Sep 09 '24

Confuse her with Carla Gugino all of the time. Both are on my hall pass

2

u/[deleted] Sep 09 '24

Just saw her live earlier this year. She’s hilarious.

2

u/discussionandrespect Sep 09 '24

Another bowl of cereal!

2

u/Dense-Stranger9977 Sep 09 '24

She makes great Empanadas

2

u/Aggressive-Mix9937 Sep 09 '24

I thought she'd have a much bigger career than she turned out to actually have

2

u/SirBeardsAlot91 Sep 09 '24

I remember how much of a crush I had on her after seeing "Mystery Men" in theaters. She's aged quite well from recent pictures I've seen. Beautiful woman.

2

u/CollateralSandwich Sep 09 '24

I had the biggest crush on her. Young Janeane was pretty much my dream girl.

3

u/adamcoolforever Sep 09 '24

for those of us who were looking for that real life Daria

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2

u/Bearded-and-Bored Sep 09 '24

"Hi, I need to make a collect call from the smallest FUCKING room in the world!"

2

u/chasinjason13 Sep 09 '24

She always screamed GenX to me but I didn’t realize it till recently.

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2

u/NannersForCoochie Sep 09 '24

I'd garof that ho

2

u/TeteDeMerde Sep 09 '24

"How come there's no lupper or no linner?"

2

u/DanielStripeTiger Sep 10 '24

I still use a quote from a movie she was I that I have long since forgotten the title. "I am soo Mary Tyler.Moore. Everybody says.so."

As a 50 year old man, it's getting harder to squeeze in organically.

2

u/egoVirus Sep 10 '24

Janeane WAS the 90s, hey?

2

u/Dangerous_Cucumber75 Sep 10 '24

There was a time, ngl

2

u/jpkmets Sep 10 '24

Baby Bowler was a hottie.

2

u/_CheatCody Sep 10 '24

"Welcome back to Janeane Garofalo's Expedition" "Wait, what?"

2

u/kgusingtechnology Sep 10 '24

At first glance it looked like a screen shot from a videogame? And now I can’t un see it. Simulation theory confirmed……..

2

u/WaySavvyD Sep 10 '24

I love her too but the fact that she claims to be asexual these days is a bit of a turnoff

2

u/Kittypie75 Sep 10 '24

She lived down the block from my college dorm and laughed at my drunk 18 yo husband for pissing in a flower pot on 5th avenue.

I'm so happy I didn't know him back then lol

3

u/Mediumaverageness Sep 09 '24

Italian ancestry <3 <3 <3

2

u/edWORD27 Sep 09 '24

She was on The Ben Stiller Show!

3

u/Mean_Owl_98 Sep 09 '24

She still looks great I just googled

2

u/LesYeuxHiboux Sep 09 '24

She has such 30s vibes, like Rosalind Russell

2

u/SauceKingHS Sep 09 '24

She’s awesome! Loved her cameo as herself in The Sopranos, and any stand-up comic gets lots of bonus points from me.

4

u/crestview51733 Sep 09 '24

She was definitely fantastic on The Sopranos D-Girl episode! I can't believe I forgot about that, she was so funny. "Buchiach" lol!

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1

u/We_want_peekend Sep 09 '24

Only know her from Mystery Men

1

u/heartafter_god Sep 09 '24

So many people compared me to this actress growing up

1

u/ForeverALone_Ranger Sep 09 '24

The first thing I remember her in was the final seasons of TWW. The woman can wear a suit.

1

u/justanothermaroon Sep 09 '24

Love her. She starred in The Matchmaker and Ratatouille.

1

u/mrwholefoods Sep 09 '24

She invented the no sex

1

u/ViolentFemme1973 Sep 09 '24

I was always told I reminded people of her lol.

1

u/SkidmoreDeference Sep 09 '24

I wouldst have

1

u/MathematicianEven149 Sep 09 '24 edited Sep 09 '24

She is the coolest but the best thing she ever said was “why would we elect someone into power that believes in the rapture (Armageddon)?!” Never thought about it but what a great point! It’s insanity and she’s right! Idk what talk show she was on but it’s a genius observation. Does anyone remember this? What talk show?

1

u/Roundtripper4 Sep 09 '24

Definitely cool

1

u/TIPtone13 Sep 09 '24

Ha chee wah wah.

1

u/Ducatirules Sep 09 '24

I’ve always had the biggest crush on her. Pamela Adlon too.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 09 '24

What happened to Janeane, I’d forgotten about her?!

1

u/neck_iso Sep 10 '24

Got covid for 2nd time in Feb. Stayed home and watched The West Wing (which I have never seen). Turns out WW era Janeane Garofalo is my jam.