Marc Maron in his new Netflix comedy special Too Real
Marc Maron in his new Netflix comedy special Too Real
Opinion by Karl Puschmann
Karl Puschmann is Culture and entertainment writer for the New Zealand Herald. His fascination lies in finding out what drives and inspires creative people.
Today we're gonna try something different. I'm very excited. They say change is as good as a rest and there's nothing I love more than plonking myself down on the nearest couch and doing nothing for a bit.
Usually I pick a show and ramble on about how cool or crummy it is. I'm not gonna do that today. Nope. What I'm gonna do instead is ramble on about 10 different shows. Ambitious!
Specifically, I'm talkin' the 10 newest comedy specials streaming on Netflix. I'll run through them in no particular order but will include a star rating for each.
There's big names here. There's unknown names. I have cheers and jeers and even some disappointment. I hope you're hydrated because today it's gonna be one big LOL-athon.
To borrow a phrase from young Stardust, let's do this.
By now the cranky, cat-loving schtick of Maron is well known. "So, what's going on with me?" he asks, gently mocking his own oversharing. We already know but, hey, you gotta start somewhere. Maron keeps it real, talking about politics, relationships, family and cats. There's hilarious bits on how hard it must be for Dave Matthews fans to come out and an overly relatable story about sneaking out of a rock concert early to beat traffic. Maron's material may be new but the song remains the same. Rating: 4 LOLS.
Shaffir's comedy special Double Negative wasn't not funny. In fact, both were really good. Huh? I say both because he's split his one comedy special into two. The first deals with his disdain for children and the second deals with, ya know... stuff. He's a stoner so he kinda jumps around. If you don't like babies then go for the first one. Parents, maybe skip straight to the second. Rating (both): 3.5 LOLS
Norm Macdonald: Hitler's Dog, Gossip & Trickery.
Macdonald is an old hand at this game and a lot of his material revolves around him being old and finding himself increasingly mystified by the world. His delivery is slyly methodical, and his material gets darkly surreal. At times he's so deadpan you may need to check for a pulse. Rating: 3.5 LOLS.
Lynne Koplitz: Hormonal Beast.
Koplitz is like your drunk aunt, knocking back bubbly and telling you outrageous stories about her misspent current life. Her humour's mostly of the "men do a thing like this but women do a thing like this" variety, but she does it well. The whole middle section is basically an extended PSA dedicated to helping the sexes understand each other so they can live in harmony. An unlikely outcome, but a funny set. Rating: 3 LOLS.
Maz Jobrani: Immigrant.
Sex, farts and politics. Not in that order but that's mostly what Jobrani talks about. It's a polished performance and Jobrani is a likable chap. Whether that's enough to keep him being deported from Trump's America however is the big question at the heart of his politically motivated set. Rating: 3 LOLS.
Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King.
I wasn't as fascinated by this dude's life as he obviously is. I was mildly amused but confess that I ended up giving up halfway through his life story. He's a regular contributor to the Daily Show, and recently gained fame roasting Trump. Like a self-indulgent double album this is strictly for the fans. Rating: Did not finish.
"You want to know something about me?" Scovel asks, opening his comedy special with an innocent question. "I butt-f***". He then spends the next 15 minutes not going into graphic detail (thank gawd) but instead riffing on various permutations of that phrase. The brute repetition, unyielding in its awkwardness, delighting in the uncomfortable pauses before starting right back up again, hits Andy Kaufman levels of anti-humour. Hilariously cringe but 100 per cent one to not watch when the folks are round. Rating: 3.5 LOLS.
Oh, Hello: On Broadway.
Oh, lordy this was terrible. I don't even know what the hell this was supposed to be. I'm fairly sure it was supposed to be good. It wasn't. The usually solid comedians Nick Kroll and John Mulaney wobble in character as two old cranks. I didn't get it and quickly said 'Oh, goodbye'. Rating: Did not finish.
Lucas Brothers: On Drugs.
I was so high when I watched this I thought I was seeing double. LOL. No. Just jokes. I don't get high. Hugs not drugs is my policy. These twins though, they do get high and this comedy special is them talking all about that. Cheech and Chong 2.0, basically. Rating: 3 LOLS.
I rate Schumer but disappointingly this wasn't a hit for me. I also now know way too much about the various aromas of her privates tbh. Rating: 2 LOLS.
