Stand-Up Comedy from the 2010s

Kathleen Madigan: Gone Madigan
      2010 | USA | Laughs: 2.1 | imdb: 7.5
      who was involved?

I had high hopes for this show as Kathleen had come warmly recommended. The first fifteen minutes were fairly funny, but the show soon crashed into a bog of circumstantial humor, i.e., references to people and events of which you may be aware if you read People Magazine but which will be forgotten as the wheel of current events turns. After that celebrity phase, the show settled into the filmed equivalent of a fireside chat with a half-drunken funny aunt who is pleasant enough to indulge with a nod as you doze off but not quite bright enough to keep you interested. Kathleen has the kind of smile that gives you hope she might be the Caucasian Wanda Sykes, though that hope is never rewarded. When I watch stand-up I want to laugh, and on that critical dimension Kathleen fails to deliver. On the plus side, she has a nice range of voices and accents. If you really want to try one of Kathleen's sets, the earlier In Other Words is twice as funny. (Last viewed: December 2012)

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Trevor Noah: That's Racist
      2012 | South Africa | Laughs: 2.0 | imdb: 6.5
      who was involved?

Even though this show didn't make us laugh, we found it well worth watching for cultural reasons. We don't have any real sense of what it's like living in South Africa today, and the perspective of a stand-up comedian provides a valuable window. I did smile a lot and chuckle a few times. Trevor's material is clean and largely focuses on race relations and internal politics. A number of references went over my head, but that didn't matter because Trevor is a real chameleon with accents and it was a treat to hear him switch from various South African accents to something as remote as suthern. (Last viewed: December 2014)

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Michelle Wolf: Nice Lady
      2017 | USA | Laughs: 2.0 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 6.6
      who was involved?

I'm always interested in trying out a female comedian, if only to experience a degree of diversity in styles and themes. I'd never have thought I could listen to such a shrill voice as Michelle's, but she uses it to great comedic effect. On the production side, I found it strange that there were so many shots of her looking straight into the camera—unusual for stand-up, where most of the time you get the impression that the comedian is looking at someone else in the audience. But Michelle smirks at her own jokes, and that made up for it because it's contagious.

Sadly, most of the show of the bathroom, bedroom and underpants genre, and I already get way too much of that from the male crew. I didn't laugh, but there were some good moments and I did chuckle at the bit where she exchanges text messages with her trainer.

I found Michelle likeable and promising, and I really hope she finds the support and inspiration to deliver something funnier next time. (Last viewed: August 2018)

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Jim Gaffigan: Cinco
      2017 | USA | Laughs: 2.0 (Don't Bother) | imdb: 7.0
      who was involved?

At the start of the show, Jim quietens the applause by telling the audience their expectations are too high. The rest of the set proves him right. Usually Jim does well with mundane themes, but this time I found his treatment fairly unexciting. The themes included being fat, the seasons, cars, TV series, airports. He does warm up after about 45 minutes and hits a fairly funny three-minute streak. At some point Jim jokes that this might be his last show (one for each of his kids), and in truth I wouldn't be sad if he retired with this respectable body of work to make place for more motivated comedians. (Last viewed: September 2018)

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Dara O'Briain: This Is the Show
      2010 | U.K. | Laughs: 1.8 (Don't Bother) | imdb: 8.0
      who was involved?

Even though the show didn't make me laugh, it entertained me just enough that I kept watching till the end, no small feat given that it's over a hundred minutes long. The nourishment I got from the jokes was that same kind of low-grade satisfaction that comes from fast food. One aspect that kept me intrigued was the break-neck pace of the set: Dara delivers his material so fast that there's no time for you to exit. But I did find the last half hour really long.

The kind of humor Dara does here is not why I watch stand-up comedy. I always hope for something a bit stimulating, but this was more the kind of stuff I'd expect from the office clown during breaks by the water cooler. The improv bits using the audience were stronger, but I have better memories of those in Dara's previous shows.

The guy is extremely likeable, but I don't think I'll be investing another hour-and-a-half in one of his sets. (Last viewed: September 2018)

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Stewart Lee: If You Prefer a Milder Comedian, Please Ask for One
      2010 | U.K. | Laughs: 1.7 (Don't Bother) | imdb: 8.4
      who was involved?

This was the fifth show of Stewart's that I watched and the one I enjoyed the least, although some bits of it did make me smile. One of my problems with it is that Stewart does a long segment about the cast of a TV show that I'd never heard about (I guess that gives away that I either don't live in the U.K. or don't watch television). Even without that, it is his worst set up to 2018. But it's still attaching, if only for the unusual and memorable parts when Stewart harangues the crowd from the balustrade then sings a song on the guitar. (Last viewed: September 2018)

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Dave Chappelle: Sticks & Stones
      2019 | USA | Laughs: 1.5 (Don't Bother) | imdb: 8.5
      who was involved?

If you like stand-up comedy sets where the audience laugh wildly at parts of the set-up that weren't even intended to be funny, then this show might be for you.

For me, Dave's stand-up has been going downhill for sometime now. This is not rock-bottom yet (the set probably has three -and-a-half decent bits and isn't particularly crass), but I feel less and less enthusiastic about watching the man's new releases — a shame, as I like him.

If I don't want to be depressed about this state of things, I might just have to wind the clock twenty years and watch Half Baked again tomorrow.

(Last viewed: August 2019)

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Ali Wong: Hard Knock Wife
      2018 | USA | Laughs: 1.1 (Just Awful) | imdb: 7.4
      who was involved?

I started watching this show the night after finishing Ali's first set, Baby Cobra, and found the contrast disturbing. First, it looked like Ali had seen an acting coach between the two sets, as there was a lot of effort to make her face more expressive. I love a good clown, but to me the acting felt forced. Second, it felt as though Ali had closely studied (and copied) Jim Gaffigan's technique of alternating between voices — in her case between the voice of a calm factual narrator and that of an outraged commentator. I have nothing against that technique, it just took me by surprise after watching the previous show.

My first sitting only lasted fifteen minutes, during which I didn't laugh. To be fair, for much of that time the topic was lactation, not one to which I particularly relate, but which is fair game given the amount of crude material regarding male physiological functions which women have to endure when they watch male stand-up comedians in the company of their male friends.

The second quarter was an exercise in gross-out, with more disturbing flickers of traits borrowed from other stage humorists, such as Eddie Murphy. No laughs.

During the third fifteen-minute sitting, Ali attempts to create humor by drawing from her family life, which is fine in theory. But apparently Ali still hasn't learned that for a situation to be funny, the audience must be able to relate to it. Bill Cosby speaking about family interactions with his wife and kids in an everyman way? Yes, relatable. Ali Wong speaking of her husband mooching off her millionaire income? Not relatable.

In summary, the amount of borrowing in that set made me feel like I'd been fed a product, a product designed by "clever" business people who had done their homework studying competing products. Funny how you can copy the general lines of a product but completely miss its essence.

Sometimes a knock-off is still functional. In this case, seeing that the "product's" function is to trigger laughter, I don't feel it's too harsh to state that the result is complete garbage.

At that stage, of course, the final quarter wasn't a soft landing, but the crash that one had come to expect. Thankfully, I had Ricky Gervais' last set lying around to cheer me up.

Sadly for Ali Wong, comedy is not ninety percent attitude, even though it might look like it. It's ninety percent brains. You can buy a loud dress, but you can't buy a certain kind of neuronal wiring — at least not yet.

(Last viewed: November 2019)

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Russell Brand - Re: Birth
      2018 | U.K. | Laughs: 1.0 | imdb: 6.5
      wikipedia | who was involved?

Having enjoyed Get Him to the Greek, I really want to like Russell Brand's stand-up. Sadly, most of this tape bored me — I really wanted to finish it, but had to watch the final quarter at 1.3 times the regular speed in order to lessen the pain. Too bad, Russell looks like an interesting guy. (Last viewed: September 2019)

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Aziz Ansari: Right Now
      2019 | USA | Laughs: 1.0 | imdb: 7.5
      wikipedia | who was involved?

In this excruciatingly slow set, Ansari appears to try to connect with the public about something he's done for which he'd like to make amends. Only watch if you're absolutely certain that nothing can worsen your present state of boredom.

(Last viewed: October 2019)

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Wanda Sykes: Not Normal
      2019 | USA | Laughs: 1.0 | imdb: 7.2
      who was involved?

If you're the kind of person who laughs uncontrollably if Wanda Sykes so much as bats an eyelash, then this tape is for you. From what I could tell from the fifteen minutes I tried to watch before canning it, it's an insipid mixture of easy jokes and mentions of people who, with a few exceptions, will be forgotten tomorrow. One exception is the president in office at the time of the taping. But it's not enough to say "Trump" to have a stand-up comedy set, Wanda!

I enjoyed some of this artist's earlier work but find her recent production extremely weak — except when she's acting, as in Bad Moms.

(Last viewed: October 2019)

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Reggie Watts: Why S!?! So Crazy
      2010 | USA | Laughs: 1.0 | imdb: 7.2
      who was involved?

Reggie was highly recommended to me by a friend who often has similar tastes. Reggie's specialty is to sing humorous lyrics, with a range of funny voices, over a background of loops that he lays by skillful beat boxing. There is no doubt that Reggie is extremely talented, but unlike my friend I wasn't blown away by those performances. For one, I couldn't agree with him that they were unique—having seen a number of acts using looping over the years. Bill Bailey, whom my friend didn't know, certainly comes to mind. For me, in a sense, Bill is the original Reggie Watts, although Bill's sets (such as the wonderful Part Troll) have lots in them besides "funny music". And that's another thing that dampened my enthusiasm about the extremely talented, immensely likeable Reggie Watts: for me, too much of the show was "the same". Sad to say, but I kept falling asleep, and it wasn't sleep deprivation as I was later able to sit through a moderately funny episode of the Australian comedy series Rake. During Reggie's video I smiled a lot, I was impressed, but I dozed off too many times and just didn't laugh.

So while I respect Reggie's talent and find him immensely likeable, I won't be seeking out more of his work. On the other hand, your tastes might be more aligned with my friend's, so I encourage you to check him out. (Last viewed: June 2017)

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Dany Boon: Trop Stylé
      2011 | France | Laughs: 1.0 (Don't Bother) | imdb: 0.0
      who was involved?

Edit: For the reasons below, at this stage I am not planning to review Danny's 2018 Netflix special, Des Hauts de France.

--

I enjoyed Dany Boon in Welcome to the Sticks (which he directed) and especially The Valet, so I was excited to see what he could do as a stand-up comedian. I hadn't realized that Dany comes from the long tradition of French comedians whose formula can be summed up as "vulgar and loud"—a formula which, to be fair, Dany makes his own by mixing in an unusual dose of self-indulgence. That's really not my cup of tea, and even though there were some bits to enjoy in that 90-minute show, I would happily have missed it. As a stand-up comedian, Gad Elmaleh, Dany's roommate in The Valet is much better value: see the very funny L'Autre C'est Moi. (Last viewed: October 2013)

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Gad Elmaleh: Papa est en Haut
      2010 | France | Laughs: 0.9 | imdb: 7.3
      who was involved?

After seeing Gad's Jet Lags and Regular Life, I sat down to Dad is Upstairs expecting to watch another terrific stand-up comedy set. As stand-up comedy, this show is horrendous—I chuckled a few times but didn't laugh. It was a long two hours.

But this show is not stand-up comedy. It is Gad making love to his adoring public, at as such, at times it is a bit obscene. With the amount of female cheers from the crowd, you'd think Gad is the Beatles. And in fairness to his immense talent, he is… You see him dancing, playing the guitar and the piano, drumming, singing… This is an amazing man. But by this site's only measure—the laugh-o-meter—this show is definitely not worth watching. (Last viewed: June 2015)

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Dave Chappelle: The Bird Revelation
      2017 | USA | Laughs: 0.5 (Don't Bother) | imdb: 7.7
      who was involved?

Even though I wasn't in too demanding a mood when I sat down (I generally like Dave), I found this to be the dullest piece of stand-up I'd watched in a long while. The delivery was painfully slow, and the jokes (on the theme of Hollywood's harassment scandals) just weren't funny.

For me, the feeling of the first part of the show was "Dave Chappelle trying for the first time to improvise material for an upcoming show". Toward the end, Dave acts like he wants to share a personal story—the reason for him disappearing from show business for twelve years. Maybe this was meant to be therapeutic for Dave, but for my part I prefer to know in advance when my role as spectator is to provide a sympathetic ear: I had come here for comedy, not to give you empathy. (Last viewed: August 2018)

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