Stand up comedy is a comfort crutch for me. The only problem is searching for it. Netflix has taken the mantle of pumping out the most specials on any streaming service but it still isn’t enough. Besides they’re a bit more quantity over quality at the moment, but it’s a step in the right direction.
I consume all styles of specials. It’s the perfect thing to fall asleep to. It’s normally light hearted, it blocks out the scaries that keep me up at night, and it doesn’t require my eyes to be open. I even enjoy bad specials. In fact, sometimes I prefer them. I constantly have to convince myself that I’m better than people and hearing the audience laugh at jokes that aren’t funny trick me into thinking, “Hell, I could that.”
But reality hits when you’re watching a master comedian. Some jokes are so complex that it leaves your jaw slacked. Some jokes are so geniusly (not a word) simple that it makes you angry that you didn’t think of it. These are the comedy specials that I most associate with that kind of comedian.
First let’s knock out some honorable mentions that might piss people off. Nate Bargatze sadly didn’t make the cut. This might be because Tennessee Kid was so great that whatever followed was bound to disappoint. I could watch Nate talk about paint dry and think it was funny but this special came dangerously close to testing that theory. Bo Burnham’s Inside was also left off the list. I think he’s incredibly talented, and some of those songs were fuckin heaters, but he’s never been my thing. Plus it wasn’t a stand up special. It just wasn’t. He created a new sort of sketch genre. Go cry about it.
4. Louis CK’s “Sorry”
This was released on Louis’ website for $15 or something. A late addition to the lineup dropping without warning in mid-December. Everything with his comedy feels so calculated yet so effortless. Walking out to a giant old timey movie “SORRY” sign with that grin on was a perfect opening. Louis is at his best when he’s so uncomfortably correct about tough issues. The beginning of his special where he does nearly fifteen minutes on pedophilia will make you squirm and crack up at the same time. I was nervous for comedians relying too heavily on Covid humor this year but Louis navigated it masterfully. First asking the audience how they’ve enjoyed living like he has the last few years and mocking the public’s obsession with counting deaths. “That’s like a 9/11 EVERY DAY!“ He then goes into measuring tragedies in terms of how many 9/11’s it is. I thought this special was going to be higher on my list after such a strong first half, but the back nine felt like he mailed it in. Funny still, but just whatever. Totally worth the buy landing in the four spot.
Favorite joke:
“Every solution has to be based on the reality that there will always be pedophiles.” Louis suggests that someone make realistic sex dolls for pedophiles. When the crowd loudly groans in disgusts he responds with “OK! Then let them fuck your kids forever if that’s better?!”
3. Shane Gillis Live In Austin
Shane Gillis went from no name comedian to national headlines when he was fired from SNL before performing a single episode for uncovered Asian impersonation videos. Shane doesn’t pull any punches and does a ballsy amount of jokes involving race despite his past. But watching his special he perfectly paints the difference between racist jokes and jokes about race. Shane also talks about how a Fox News Dad is a good Dad but a Fox News Mom is no good. He mocks both Trump and Biden and gives a hell of an instructional video on how to nail a Trump impression. I love how he scolds the audience for feeling uneasy as he tackles his sisters’ heroin addiction. It’s his sister, why do they have any right to insinuate that he can’t joke about his own family? Overall very impressive debut special. Shane doubled down, bet on himself, and it paid off. Plus he released it for free on YouTube.
2. Dave Chappelle’s “The Closer”
“Careful Dave, they after you!”
“One they? Or many theys?”
When are people going to learn that if you tell Dave Chappelle he can’t do something he’s going to do that thing even harder and get more rich off of it. I remember texting friends after I saw this special urging them to watch it in fear that Netflix was going to take it down. Any comedy special that generates this much discourse and attention deserves to be high on the list. Dave’s never seen an envelope he didn’t want to shove off the table. After being heavily criticized for his jokes on the LGBTQ+ in his previous special, Dave made the group his focal point for the majority of “The Closer”. The jokes were relentless but Chappelle later reveals a story of a trans comedian whom he befriended. Sadly, they tragically passed away but she was able to educate him more on the community. The underlining message being that Chappelle isn’t fighting against the LGBTQ community but rather the censoring of comedians and the attempt to ruin their careers over a joke. Available on Netflix.
Favorite joke:
“I’d like to start by addressing the LGBTQ community directly and I want everyone in the community to know that I come here tonight in peace. And I hope to negotiate the release of Da Baby.”
Dave goes on to talk about how Da Baby lost his spot as the number one streaming artist after a homophonic rant on stage during a Florida concert. Chappelle even acknowledged that the rapper went too hard and that he made a mistake.
“But a lot of the LGBTQ community doesn’t know Da Baby’s history. He’s a wild guy. He once shot a {redacted} and killed him. In a Walmart. ….Nothing bad happened to his career. Do you see where I’m going with this? In our country, you can shoot and kill a n{ope}, but you better not hurt a gay person’s feelings.”
1. James Acaster’s “Cold Lasange Hate Myself 1999”
I think James Acaster is one of the funniest people on the planet right now. He’s quirky, unpredictable, and impossibly hilarious. He somehow has an awkwardness and a confidence that he deploys depending on whatever will make the situation funnier. I can watch clips of him on British television shows all day. Following his three part debut on Netflix’s “Repertoire”, James really seems to find his footing here. “Repertoire” was fantastic but the cleverness of the jokes were clearly based off characters created by the comedian. In his new special we get to know James Acaster as he bases his jokes off of his real life stories. “Cold Lasange Hate Myself 1999” goes into James’ hangover bomb on The Great British Bake-Off, hilariously criticizes Brexit, dives into his struggle with newfound fame, tackling his depression while fighting with his psychiatrist, and an unforgettable Mr. Bean rivalry. You have to purchase it to watch on Vimeo but it’s worth every penny.
Favorite joke:
“She left me…uh..as is, tradition.”
James talks about how he was living in a small apartment with a girl who was cast in a popular play. They were growing apart and he was becoming needy and paranoid. He says the worst it got was when he accused her of falling in love with Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) who was in the play.
“Still, ridiculous that I thought it to myself though. I mean, my whole life I never thought that that would be a concern of mine at any point. We’re worlds apart me and him. Universes apart, really. This is Mr. Bean we’re talking about, y’know? This is crazy right? Even more crazy…yeah that is what happened.”
James goes into how it’s a true story and that if he made it up it wouldn’t be funny. James talks about how he wasn’t left for Rowan Atkinson but for Mr. Bean since that’s who he’s always been to him. He asks the crowd if they’ve ever been left for someone they knew their entire life.
“Maybe looked up to and admired? Maybe the reason you’re working the job you currently work in? Ever been left for that person? Y’know, a hero and an icon. Ever been left for a hero and an icon?”
James says how he’s the only person in the world who’s been left for Mr. Bean since Atkinson was with his wife before the character was created. Then Bean divorced from his wife and started dating his ex and they’re still together today. He explains that you have no idea how much Mr. Bean pops up on television, commercials, billboards, scrolling through Netflix until you’re girlfriend leaves you for him. He can’t escape Mr. Bean.
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It was a pretty dry year as far as comedy specials go. But I guess that was to be expected given the whole two year global pandemic thing. I might have missed a special that you feel deserves to be on the list but I don’t care because it isn’t your list. It’s mine and these are the only four that I’d recommend as a “drop everything and watch it” special.
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