The Funniest Stand-Up Comedy

Stewart Lee: 41st Best Stand-Up Ever!
      2008 | U.K. | Laughs: 1.8 (Chuckle) | imdb: 8.4
      

In this show, among other themes, Stewart talks about his mom's admiration for a stand-up comedian she once saw on a cruise ship. I found the set a little slower than the other of Stewart's that I'd seen, but in between the tedious fillers (there are several, such as the time when Steward mimes engraving a headstone) the bits when he actually talks are good. An enjoyable if occasionally dull show. (Last viewed: September 2018)

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George Carlin: It's Bad for Ya!
      2008 | USA | Laughs: 3.7 (Chuckle) | imdb: 8.6
      wikipedia

During this set, George looks and sounds physically uncomfortable. He's stopped smoking, he's gained weight, and he dies four months later of a heart attack. He was only 71 years old, but I'd guess that he had already said everything he had to say. Once you've expressed your disgust for people's overwhelming lack of critical thinking, it doesn't matter that things get worse and that a bush gets chased by a trump, you have nowhere else to go.

The delivery is not quite as fluid as on the previous sets, but the show is entertaining. Up to his last set, George was a funnier comedian than most of his younger colleagues. If you're a fan, you won't want to miss this set, not just as a touching goodbye to someone who'd been making people laugh since his handsome looks burned the video tape, but simply because it's good.

Fittingly, death is very present in the show. The themes include friends who die, what people do in heaven, trite sayings such as 'every child is special' or 'children are our future', having to listen to rubbish stories, the lack of critical thinking, the saying 'god bless America', swearing on the Bible, and rights. (Last viewed: September 2018)

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Jim Gaffigan: King Baby
      2009 | USA | Laughs: 2.3 (Watch Once) | imdb: 7.9
      wikipedia

Perhaps his kids have grown up and it's now fine to have more 'mature' themes (what a strange use of that word), but this show wasn't as clean as I recalled Jim's earlier ones to be. The themes included bowling, laziness, camping, bacon, religion and overeating. To me the set was fairly boring: it felt like Middle America humor—plain and unchallenging. Maybe I'm asking for too much out of stand-up comedy these days. (Last viewed: September 2018)

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Stewart Lee: 90s Comedian
      2006 | U.K. | Laughs: 4.0 (Chuckle) | imdb: 8.6
      

Involving the audience into the inner workings of the show as it is being performed, Stewart takes on such topics as plagiarism, terrorism and catholicism, and undertakes to deliver a joke that cannot be stolen. I was very entertained and enjoyed more than a few chuckles. A fine piece of comedy (or a piece of fine comedy) which has my unreserved endorsement, except if laughing at the expense of religion makes you uncomfortable. (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
      

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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Greg Davies: Firing Cheeseballs at a Dog (a.k.a Greg Davies Live)
      2011 | U.K. | Laughs: 0.2 (Just Awful) | imdb: 7.7
      

Greg seems to be marketed as a 'former schoolteacher'. As far as I can tell, he still aims his material at the intellect of a fifteen-year-old—or perhaps a very unsophisticated adult, which is about the same. Of course there's nothing wrong with staying young, it's just that this old dog doesn't find the same things funny as someone whose life is just starting. I gave this show fifteen minutes, trying to get at least a chuckle out of it, but having to constantly cringe at the lameness of the humor, I just had to quit. This was a surprise for a U.K. production: I've gotten more out of Canadian comedy. (Last viewed: September 2018)

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George Carlin: Complaints and Grievances
      2001 | USA | Laughs: 4.2 (Laugh and Smile) | imdb: 8.5
      wikipedia

Recorded two months after 9/11, this show is the last before George Carlin gets (understandably) upset with US policy and makes the American way of life the focus of his sets.

I see on my notes that there were "disgusting bits" in the earlier part, but the overall impression I was left with was one of awe at George's outstanding command of the language. I laughed once, chuckled a few times and smiled a lot.

Themes included 9/11 clichés, farts, hit-and-runs, scabs, people who ought to be killed and the ten commandments. (Last viewed: September 2018)

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Brian Regan: I Walked on the Moon
      2004 | USA | Laughs: 3.8 (Chuckle) | imdb: 8.5
      

I hadn't heard of Brian until 2011. Discovering him was a surprise and a treat. This set made me laugh harder than I had in a long time. Feeding my stand-up comedy addiction, I get tired of watching people who must cram three expletives in every sentence and spend half their time discussing reproductive functions. So I love that Brian Regan has a clean mouth and keeps it above the belt. Does that make him boring? On the contrary. His humor finds themes outside the beaten track, and new angles to themes one might have thought overworked, such as air travel. Moreover, one is left with the impression of having listened to a genuinely nice person. I'll be looking for Brian's other DVDs.

Edit: More than seven years later, I thought I'd treat myself to something that was sure to make me laugh, as my original rating for the show had been an 8.5. I was therefore surprised not to find myself laughing even once. Have I become hopelessly depressed, or have I changed so much that what used to be funny no longer is? I enjoyed some of the bits, perhaps most of all the one at the end when Brian speaks about people who seem to have a low level of emotional intelligence. But many moments were loud to my ears—loud in the sense that Brian started shouting. Still a very watchable show, just not one for the museum of best-ever stand-up comedy. (Last viewed: Apr 2011 September 2018)

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George Carlin: Life Is Worth Losing
      2005 | USA | Laughs: 1.0 | imdb: 8.3
      wikipedia

This is a special show in that its format stands out from George's usual. I want to say that it's more a long poem than a stand-up comedy set, but that would be confusing. At heart, it's a great long rant about America, but in this globalized world most of the things Carlin says could apply to most places. Some of the themes include suicide, murder, torture, consumption, education, parents and disaster. I had planned to watch the 74 minutes in two sittings but stayed hypnotized by George Carlin's amazing skill, the extent of which I had forgotten. No laughs, but an unmissable set for Carlin fans and anyone with a taste for social commentary. (Last viewed: September 2018)

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Pete Holmes: Nice Try, the Devil!
      2013 | USA | Laughs: 0.3 (Don't Bother) | imdb: 7.4
      

I decided to try out a set by Peter Holmes based on a friend's recommendation of two of his skits (Subway and Magic), neither of which worked for me. Well, neither did the show, which I quit a quarter of the way in as the camera panned across the ecstatic faces of Pete's young and beautiful yuppie audience. To me the humor was bland and dull, but hey, we're all different so you might find it smart and subtle. (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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Stewart Lee: Stand-Up Comedian
      2005 | U.K. | Laughs: 3.0 (Watch Once) | imdb: 8.5
      

Even though this set is about half an hour too long for my taste and only gave me a few chuckles, I'm glad I didn't miss it as it was stimulating and I enjoyed it. Apart from his trademark deconstruction of his own act, Stewart compares himself to Jesus and brushes on entertaining themes such as Americans in their natural habitat, Eddie Izzard's fake improv, and Princess Diana's achievement of underachievement. (Last viewed: September 2018)

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George Carlin: Back in Town
      1996 | USA | Laughs: 2.5 (Chuckle) | imdb: 8.7
      wikipedia

On the one hand, I loved the show. I hadn't watched George in a number of years, and I loved rediscovering his fast and sharp wit. On the other hand, I only chuckled a few times and never really laughed. Who knows, perhaps with age I'm just having a harder time cracking a laugh.

One thing that struck me was hearing a couple of jokes that I'd also heard on recent sets by other comedians—twenty years later! This suggests either that George's material has become such an integral part of our culture that we no longer notice when we borrow from it, as with Greek philosophy; or that some comedians are mining his older shows for material. The latter seems like a more reasonable assumption.

The bit about camcorders feels both dated and painfully current. So does the bit about selfish, ignorant leaders. Other themes include abortion, pedophile catholics priests, the sanctity of life, capital punishment, farts, idioms. (Last viewed: September 2018)

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Buddy Hackett Live and Uncensored
      1983 | USA | Laughs: 3.0 | imdb: 8.4
      

This set was my first encounter with Buddy Hackett. It had good moments, but I wasn't left wanting for more.

A large part of the show was spent on jokes related to people's private parts. In the early 1980s the rawness of it may have been so novel that it triggered astonished laughter, but in this day and age the last thing I need is another stand-up show filled with jokes about genitals.

Buddy has an unusual physique. I'm not sure his face is all that expressive but I found it fascinating to watch. I was impressed with his command of Asian accents during bits that might come across as culturally insensitive nowadays. With many close-up of its faces, the audience was also entertaining to watch. For capturing a time and place so crisply, the set has unquestionable historical value. (Last viewed: September 2018)

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Jim Gaffigan: Noble Ape
      2018 | USA | Laughs: 3.0 | imdb: 7.2
      

That show didn't entertain me nearly as much as the previous two that I'd watched. It's still Jim, and it was certainly a treat to be able to consume his demeanor and facial expressions for over an hour. But I found the material a little dull, and it surprised me to hear this reputedly clean comedian get into bathroom jokes. Nevertheless, the set can be enjoyed when sipped in small doses, and I'm sure it will please many, especially perhaps those of the Catholic persuasion as Jim (a self-professed Catholic) closes the show with a story of how he opened for the pope. (Last viewed: August 2018)

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