The Funniest American Stand-Up Comedy

Anthony Jeselnik: Thoughts and Prayers
      2015 | USA | Laughs: 5.5 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.8
      

I watched this after the day after seeing Anthony for the first time (in his 2019 show Fire in the Maternity Ward) and was surprised to find it considerably weaker, which is good news as far as things to come.

The set may be uneven, but if you're an amateur of stand-up I'd still recommend you watch it as it contains a few really strong bits, including one of the best gun jokes I've heard.

Anthony's taboo topics (such as kids getting hurt) don't bother me, it's just that his craft is less polished on this show than on the next — from themes to writing to delivery. Some of the jokes are even objectively lame, such as the one relying on word play on the word deer or the one about an uncle at NASA.

But despite this and the fairly boring second part, this is still a far more worthwhile hour than all of the filth that passes as comedy these days.

Looking forward to seeing some of Anthony's future work. (Last viewed: May 2019)

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Doug Stanhope: Deadbeat Hero
      2004 | USA | Laughs: 5.5 | imdb: 8.4
      wikipedia

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)

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Louis CK: Sincerely
      2020 | USA | Laughs: 5.5 | imdb: 8.4
      

After two years of absence from the screen following accusations having behaved improperly with several women, Louis C.K. returns stronger. I found this set more raw, more brutal, and generally funnier than the ones immediately preceding his demise.

For my taste there was far too much material relating to bodily functions — as though this theme hadn't yet been beaten to death. On the other hand I enjoyed the handling of themes such as religion, for which Louis's bluntness came close to that more typical of Jim Jefferies.

(Last viewed: April 2020)

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Louis C.K.: Live at the Beacon Theater
      2011 | USA | Laughs: 5.4 | imdb: 8.4
      wikipedia

This show has some good segments, but you can easily skip it if you've seen other sets by Louis. I, for one, have lost any interest for his obsession with self-pleasuring and other below-the-belt activities. But that must be what sells best. (Last viewed: January 2013)

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Brian Regan: Comedy Central Presents
      2000 | USA | Laughs: 5.0 | imdb: 8.3
      

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)

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Mark Normand: Don't Be Yourself
      2017 | USA | Laughs: 5.0 | imdb: 5.5
      

I watched this set after discovering Mark in his 2020 set, Out To Lunch, which I enjoyed and made me curious about his earlier work.

While this set is also enjoyable, it is not equally so, giving me the impression is that Mark has refined his act since then. This might be good news for things to come. That being said, the new show, though more polished, does rehash much of the same material, which might also suggest that there isn't a whole lot more where that came from.

(Last viewed: January 2021)

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

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)

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Ronny Chieng: Asian Comedian Destroys America
      2019 | USA | Laughs: 5.0 | imdb: 7.4
      

This tape was my first exposure to Ronny as a stand-up comedian, and I was pleasantly surprised: it seemed to me that Ronny brings something new in his role of recent migrant to America. Of course other comedians have made that move stateside and commented on U.S. culture from that newcomer perspective (Jim Jefferies comes to mind) but I particularly enjoyed the Asian or even specifically Chinese spin that Ronny Chieng (Malaysian-born) brings to his commentary.

My favorite bit was the one about how Asians should be let loose to run the U.S. government.

With all this said, I didn't have any hard laughs. I just enjoyed the show and got the impression that Ronny might have more potential to unleash as he refines his craft.

(Last viewed: March 2020)

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Jim Gaffigan: Obsessed
      2014 | USA | Laughs: 4.6 | imdb: 7.6
      

After watching a disappointing show of Jim's from 2009, it was a surprise that this one (from five years later) would be so pleasant and entertaining. He looks quite relaxed as he delivers his seventy-minute set; I didn't see the time pass. The themes include overeating, weddings, food, seafood, alcohol, bars, and having five kids. (Last viewed: September 2018)

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Brian Regan: Live from Radio City Music Hall
      2015 | USA | Laughs: 4.5 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 7.8
      

This show was unequal but there were enough good bits that the average worked out. As usual, Brian's high energy, clean humor and physical presence all work to his advantage. The themes ranged from doctor appointments to blending bananas. I liked that Brian ended strong—for me the bit about the hotel customer always being wrong was the funniest. (Last viewed: September 2018)

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

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)

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Louis C.K. 2017
      2017 | USA | Laughs: 4.5 | imdb: 7.6
      

This unequal set marks a definite dip in the Louis's production. In the first half, he shows himself at the peak of his comedic powers and displays masterful control of timing, voices and facial expression. Sadly, he spends the end of the set digging himself ever deeper in a dunghill. If you're a fan I'd still recommend watching the show, but with disclaimers

(Last viewed: October 2019)

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Maria Bamford: The Special Special Special!
      2012 | USA | Laughs: 4.5 | imdb: 6.9
      

I liked this show, less because of the laughs it delivered (I smiled a lot and did laugh once or twice) but because of how original it seemed to me. In some ways this set is more art than stand-up comedy—but if someone would like to object that all comedy is in fact art, I will happily concede as semantics don't entertain me. Between her amazing voices, her facial expressions and her quirky material, Maria is a riot. Her pacing is not always optimal, neither is she always easy to understand, but the set is definitely worth a watch if you think you might enjoy an "alternative performance" and offbeat humor. (Last viewed: September 2013)

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Robert Klein on Broadway
      1986 | USA | Laughs: 4.5 (Light-Hearted) | imdb: 6.4
      

Near the beginning of the show, Klein put his talent for accents to excellent use—I had some good laughs. It probably wasn't the best day for me to watch as I nearly fell asleep a number of times. For my taste, the musical finale is self-indulgent and won't make much sense to people who haven't seen Robert's Can't Stop My Leg in an earlier (and stronger) incarnation, such as at the end of Robert Klein Revisited. Overall, between Klein's talent and his refreshing lack of vulgarity, this show is probably worth watching once. (Last viewed: September 2013)

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Sebastian Maniscalco: Why Would You Do That?
      2016 | USA | Laughs: 4.5 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.4
      

This was my first exposure to Sebastian Manicalco. He is extremely animated on stage, probably a tad too much for my taste. I usually enjoy comedians who make good use of movement and facial expressions, but his often miss the mark for me.

That is a good summary of the show: it often misses the mark for me. It did entertain me, but humor depends very much on which themes matter most to a viewer at a particular point in time — I'm sure that many people would relate to the material more easily than I did.

Still worth a watch. (Last viewed: June 2020)

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