Stand-Up Comedy from the 2000s

Lewis Black: Black on Brodway
      2004 | USA | Laughs: 6.5 | imdb: 8.1
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Does it take twenty minutes for Lewis Black to warm up, or does it take twenty minutes to warm up to him? To my ears, Black often seems to yell, which I find unpleasant. He is also heavy on expletives that don't really help his material; at least he doesn't dwell on the content of his underpants. The first laugh was a long time in coming, but by the middle of the show, I had started laughing out loud. I like that Lewis draws laughs by placing his compatriots' world view ("America number one") in a wider context. Some countries are good at making fun of themselves, some not as good, and that makes Lewis's efforts all the more valuable. Red, White and Screwed, by the same comedian, sits firmly in the "Don't Bother Watching" category. (Last viewed: January 2012)

More About Lewis Black: Black on Brodway:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Lewis Black: Black on Brodway

Dane Cook: Harmful if Swallowed
      2003 | USA | Laughs: 6.2 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.1
      wikipedia | who was involved?

There's something about a good George Carlin or Eddie Murphy show that makes you think "I wouldn't mind watching that again someday". Dane made me laugh, but I have no desire to see him ever again, probably because his show lacks a certain brilliance. It's comedy for the masses, and indeed it feels like television: a young audience, an aggressive camera style, and a boyish performer who would be right at home on MTV: Dane puts a lot of energy into showing off his toned upper body. Actually, I really like that Dane acts out his jokes; he is very physical, sometimes a bit too much. For some reason, I'd say this is the kind of comedy that would go down well with a hamburger and a coke—foods I haven't touched in years. Perhaps by coincidence, I really enjoyed Dane's bits about working at a Burger King drive-through and about bathroom graffiti. Other good bits: what it would be like if we could spit acid; spelling toys of the 1980s. (Last viewed: September 2010)

More About Dane Cook: Harmful if Swallowed:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Dane Cook: Harmful if Swallowed

Ron White: They Call Me Tater Salad
      2004 | USA | Laughs: 6.2 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 7.6
      who was involved?

The set got off to a weak start. After a couple of minutes, we feared that we might have picked a jerk for our evening's entertainment, but then it came out that Ron is Texan. "Ah, he's from Texas? It's okay then, if he's from Texas I can forgive just about anything." After all it wasn't so long ago that the country elected a Texan for entertainment—twice. I've had quite a bit of personal experience with Texans, and it has usually been that if you think they're being offensive, well… they can't help it. They just seem to savor that confrontational stance, and you're better off enjoying it too. Having cleared that up, we found quite a lot to enjoy in Ron's set. It was not high-grade, and there were a few trips to the sewer, but there were also a lot of good jokes and fun moments. Of course as a student of Southern accents, listening to Ron's beautiful idioms and intonations was a bonus. And once you spent some time looking as his nice smile, he didn't seem to be a jerk after all. (Last viewed: September 2013)

More About Ron White: They Call Me Tater Salad:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Ron White: They Call Me Tater Salad

Carl Barron: Carl Barron LIVE
      2003 | Australia | Laughs: 6.1 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.8
      who was involved?

Despite the usual obsession of stand-up comedians with body functions, some good laughs can be found in this performance recorded in Bathhurst, Australia. My favorite bits were those about growing up in an Australian family. I like that Carl Barron is not nasty (no cheap shots at gays, ethnic groups etc). Neither does he build his entire trade on sex. Only for those who can wrap their ears around an Austrayan accent. (Last viewed: May 2010)

More About Carl Barron: Carl Barron LIVE:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Carl Barron: Carl Barron LIVE

Ellen DeGeneres: Here and Now
      2003 | USA | Laughs: 6.0 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 7.7
      wikipedia | who was involved?

I enjoyed this set. The first half is strongest. Much of the show has to do with how things have changed, a topic you'll enjoy if you're in Ellen's age bracket—give or take ten years on either side. Ellen loses steam somewhere in the middle and hits the bottom with a toilet joke (nothing too vulgar mind you). She then recovers to deliver a final message that wraps the show by coming full circle: "procrastinate now." Not many stand-up sets can claim to have a message, and among those that do, this one has the most compelling that I've heard. The comic power of this show may not be explosive, but if you choose to watch this bright comedian for the one hour of Here and Now, you're unlikely to regret it. (Last viewed: September 2013)

More About Ellen DeGeneres: Here and Now:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Ellen DeGeneres: Here and Now

Eddie Izzard: Sexie
      2003 | U.K. | Laughs: 6.0 | imdb: 7.5
      wikipedia | who was involved?

If you've seen all of Eddie's shows, watching Sexie is a bit like a visit with an old friend. You have fun, it's very pleasant, but it's not a high of your existence. Sexie is not breakneck-speed-Eddie-Izzard, but more of a casual presentation to an audience that already loves him. The most striking part of the show is perhaps Eddie's costume, taken to an extreme that suits the famous rock'n roll venue, a series of cross-dressing outfits complete with high heels, skirts and fake boobs. Apart from a few flashbacks to other shows (speed archeology, Achilles heel), the material is fresh. My friend and I found the ending weak, with a horse-riding skit that goes on for about three times too long, then, for an encore, an impersonation that would be more at home in a "bonus material" section. I liked the show but will probably not watch it again.

There is a second DVD release from the Sexie tour called Live from Wembley. (Last viewed: December 2010)

More About Eddie Izzard: Sexie:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Eddie Izzard: Sexie

Jim Jefferies: Contraband
      2008 | Australia | Laughs: 6.0 (Don't Bother) | imdb: 7.8
      who was involved?

Apart from a few minor details, this is the very same show as I Swear to God—shot the year before and slightly less fluid. Not worth watching if you've seen I Swear to God. (Last viewed: December 2012)

More About Jim Jefferies: Contraband:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Jim Jefferies: Contraband

Jim Gaffigan: Beyond the Pale
      2006 | USA | Laughs: 6.0 | imdb: 8.0
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Gaffigan addresses a square-looking, middle class, mostly white audience, on topics suitable for the prude (food, the holidays, celebrations, gifts and church), and in a language devoid of profanity. I enjoyed the absence of curse words for a break from comedians who run on expletives and bodily functions. I didn't feel mentally stimulated after watching Jim's show (unlike shows by Carlin, Izzard and Stanhope), but I felt good because I had laughed. Jim alternates between his strong Irish-American voice and a fledging voice meant to be the inner dialogue of an audience member. It's not very funny at first, but the technique gets some mileage by the end as the show builds up. I'd watch this again in ten years. (Last viewed: September 2010)

More About Jim Gaffigan: Beyond the Pale:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Jim Gaffigan: Beyond the Pale

Zach Galifianaki's: Live at the Purple Onion
      2006 | USA | Laughs: 6.0 | imdb: 7.3
      wikipedia | who was involved?

This show combines takes from a comedy set in a small San Francisco club with a mock interview of Zach pretending to be his own twin brother. At first I found the stand-up awful (with Zach, acting hung-over, barely managing two weak jokes a minute), then I realized it was an exercise in "let's make it so bad that it becomes good", complete with Zach complaining that the DVD would be ruined because of how poorly the show was going, and it became quite funny. This is a DVD that feels like a draft—unpolished, full of holes, but it ends up working, and I smiled for most of the show. (Last viewed: September 2013)

More About Zach Galifianaki's: Live at the Purple Onion:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Zach Galifianaki's: Live at the Purple Onion

Florence Foresti fait des Sketches à la Cigale
      2005 | France | Laughs: 6.0 | imdb: 7.4
      who was involved?

After watching Mother Fckr, I was eager to try other shows by Florence. On this one, her first DVD release, she is not yet quite as accomplished a performer. The set has some long moments (such as the encore skit) and it is not a laugh fest, but it is definitely worth watching as it does have several brilliant skits and should have you smiling throughout. (Last viewed: June 2015)

More About Florence Foresti fait des Sketches à la Cigale:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Florence Foresti fait des Sketches à la Cigale

Doug Stanhope: Deadbeat Hero
      2004 | USA | Laughs: 5.5 | imdb: 8.4
      wikipedia | who was involved?

This show starts out poorly: for about fifteen minutes, Doug seems bent on breaking some kind of gross-out record—for no good reason that I can think of. Beyond that, it's a fine show, less for the laughs than for the rare display of lucidity, and perhaps to enjoy hearing Doug voice out things you have been thinking all along. (Last viewed: December 2012)

More About Doug Stanhope: Deadbeat Hero:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Doug Stanhope: Deadbeat Hero

Bill Bailey: Bewilderness
      2004 | U.K. | Laughs: 5.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 8.0
      who was involved?

This show could have been subtitled "a relaxed evening with comedian Bill Bailey, who has recorded some of the funniest performances in stand-up history". It was indeed a pleasant evening, and there were laughs, but it was not the high-octane mixture of Part Troll or Cosmic Jam. Throughout the show, Bill referred to the aloofness of his Welsh audience, and one can wonder whether that aloofness rubbed off on Bill—but surely that wouldn't have influenced the material itself. We were glad to watch this show but probably won't watch it again. (Last viewed: October 2013)

More About Bill Bailey: Bewilderness:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Bill Bailey: Bewilderness

Brian Regan: Comedy Central Presents
      2000 | USA | Laughs: 5.0 | imdb: 8.3
      who was involved?

This twenty-minute set contains material you'll largely be familiar with if you've seen I Walked on the Moon, which is a better show to watch. (Last viewed: December 2012)

More About Brian Regan: Comedy Central Presents:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Brian Regan: Comedy Central Presents

Robin Williams: Live on Broadway
      2002 | USA | Laughs: 5.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 8.5
      wikipedia | who was involved?

A lot of people love Robin Williams. He has amazing powers, but that doesn't mean I have to laugh at his stand-up comedy. For the first half hour of this show, I thought he was horrible. By the end of the show, he had done a handful of brilliant bits that made it all worthwhile.

Overall, I found him really vulgar, and not because of the language. Don't look to Williams for new perspective. This is not someone showing you a new way of looking at the world, but someone who make fun of people, often with amazingly cheap shots, as in the bit about Michael Jackson. If you want to understand the first part of the show, you'd have to subscribe to People Magazine: Williams spends a lot of time making fun of people I've never heard of. As time passes, these people will become more and more obscure. This gives the show a very short "best-by date", unlike the shows of people who address universal topics, such as Carlin and Seinfeld.

But Robin is fabulous with several accents, particularly the French accent (the show's best line: "Look…I'm giving a cigarette to a baby"). His segment about the countries that have the atomic bomb lets him showcase his accents, and it made me laugh. I also loved the part where Williams plays a Scottish man explaining the game of golf—it's five-star stuff, for the archives. Last, there was a passage about religions, straight out of Eddie Izzard. It made me wonder if Izzard ghost-wrote that piece, as I read on Izzard's site that Williams promoted his Dress to Kill show in the United States. (Last viewed: September 2010)

More About Robin Williams: Live on Broadway:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Robin Williams: Live on Broadway

Doug Stanhope: Word of Mouth
      2002 | USA | Laughs: 4.5 (Don't Bother) | imdb: 8.1
      wikipedia | who was involved?

The first half of this show features Doug's trademark brand of comical lucid rave about the world we live in. It's funny, and the set may be worth watching if you hit stop around the one-hour mark. The last half-hour ruins it. Doug seems to challenge himself to see how gross he can get. He succeeds, and in so doing probably loses half his audience and most of the goodwill accrued earlier. (Last viewed: August 2010)

More About Doug Stanhope: Word of Mouth:
=> Read what people say on Amazon
=> Add your own Review or Comments on
      laughDB's full page for Doug Stanhope: Word of Mouth