Geeking out about higher ed since 2013.
A follow up to the 2010 documentary, I Am Comic, filmmaker Jordan Brady continues to explore the comedy industry, specifically focusing this time on the unique and tumultuous lives of touring standup comedians.
Read MoreThis week's film is the latest standup comedy special from Bo Burnham, Make Happy, which is featured exclusively on Netflix.
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This week, I'm highlighting three standup comedy specials from Hannibal Buress that are all available on Netflix, Animal Furnace (2012), Live at Chicago (2014) and Comedy Camisado (2015).
I've really enjoyed Hannibal Buress anytime I've seen him pop up on shows like Broad City or talk shows. These stand-up specials are all great and distinct shows with different material and bits. Hannibal's style tends to be a collection of smaller, quick one-liners and stories with a hyper focus on daily life and its quirks. His casual, dry demeanor also works in his favor do, since his delivery is so chill and simple. Other comedians may be more animated and energetic, but Hannibal succeeds with his low energy and unique perspective on things around him.
Each of these specials are equally strong, which is rare, as some comedians will have one strong set and once they do another special with all new material, it just never reaches the heights of their previous work. Hannibal's stand-up game is strong, and with more television and movie work coming down the pipeline, I hope he continues to foster his craft, since he is one of the best comedians out there right now.
Netflix is really upping their stand-up comedy game, and these three specials are some of the better ones they have available. They're helping to highlight all sorts of comedians, everyone from Hannibal, to Aziz Ansari, Chelsea Handler, and Bill Burr.
I definitely recommend checking out any and all of these Hannibal Buress comedy specials. They're all very fun!
This week's film is the 2015 documentary, Misery Loves Comedy, from director and writer Kevin Pollak.
Pollak utilizes his industry connections to get a robust roster of comedians to sit and talk about the craft. Everyone from Tom Hanks to Jimmy Fallon, Chris Hardwick, Amy Schumer, Janeane Garofalo, and Judd Apatow among many others. I love movies like this since I really enjoy the art form. It reminds me of another movie I remember watching, I Am Comic, from a few years ago. It is always interesting to me to delve into what makes comedians tick since performing stand-up is such a unique brand of entertainment. I have seen a few shows in person, and I hope to see many more. In the meantime, I've watched a lot of specials on Netflix and elsewhere, so it was great recognize a lot of the faces in this movie and hear their thoughts.
They explore a lot of different topics about the craft. They examine how the comedians featured got started, why they persist, what being a comedian means, and how it all impacts their lives. It's fascinating to me, especially because of a few things. One, (and this isn't meant as a humblebrag) many people tell me I am funny and should do stand-up. I always try to tell them, being funny in conversation and funny on stage are two totally different things. Two, with all that being said, one of my life goals is to do comedy on stage during an open mic night at some point. I'd want to write jokes beforehand and have some material but even just doing it for a few minutes would feel like such an accomplishment. Hearing the stories of others and their successes as well as bombs, is inspiring. Here's to one day achieving this goal!
If you're a big fan of stand-up, or even just comedy in general, check out this documentary. It's very enlightening and fun!
You can check out Misery Loves Comedy streaming right now on Amazon Prime Instant Video.
This week's film is the 2015 stand-up comedy special, Demetri Martin: Live* (*at the time).
I like to cover comedy specials from time to time, and Demetri Martin (one of my favorite comedians) recently released a new set exclusively on Netflix.
The special captures well Martin's unique comedic style. He spews off irreverent, skewed perspective one-liner jokes that are clever and smart. A lot of them build off one another but most are non-sequiturs which adds to their randomly humorous impact. He certainly isn't for everyone, but I recommend checking him out. If you've seen (and liked) his comedy before, this set is more great jokes to enjoy.
I look forward to the day when I could see Demetri Martin live on stage. I would also love to see Mike Birbiglia perform live (I did a review of some of his comedy here on the blog too).
You can check out this excellent comedy special right now on Netflix!
This week's film is Nick Offerman: American Ham, the 2014 standup special that was taped live in New York City.
Nick Offerman is best known for his depiction of Ron Swanson on the popular sitcom, Parks and Recreation, which recently finished it's seven season run on NBC. Offerman embodies much of the same lovable traits of his beloved character, but he strays away in a few, key ways that make his performance here a bit skewed from expectations, which is both good and bad. This special is also less standup comedy and more artistic humor. Offerman essentially is adapting his book, Paddle Your Own Canoe, into a stage show. He goes over ten tips he believes lead to delicious living. Some of which I totally agree with, others are just for obvious laughs.
I can appreciate that there is more to the man of Nick Offerman than Ron Swanson, but I was curious about this special because of that character. It's hard to know what to expect from something like this but I felt like it was only okay at best. He is certainly funny, but it was too long overall and just not funny to me in some parts. He definitely goes for the crude jokes whenever he can get them, and otherwise is content to linger on more humorous, emotional, and meaningful bits. It all results in a highly mixed bag when it's all shaken up together. I haven't read the book, so I don't know if it is the same vibe or if the book is better, but this one is not as powerful of a positive recommendation for me as are some of the other amazing standup comedy specials available on Netflix (such as John Mulaney's New in Town).
I'd say maybe check this one out for the sake of curiosity. It perhaps just isn't for me.
You can find Nick Offerman: American Ham streaming right now on Netflix.