Thursday, September 20, 2007

It's after my bedtime. Do you know where your kids are?

I know that I have covered this man before, but I just saw Jeff Dunham’s Arguing With Myself on Comedy Central. That man is phenomenal. There are very few comedians that can interact with the crowd in a positive manner. Many comedians will either insult people sitting in the crowd or do a monologue. Mr. Dunham held conversations with people in the crowd. Walter insulted the guy who took a bathroom break. He pointed out that Mike (the guy who left) was taking “a $600 piss.” He proceeded to call him a dumbass. Multiple times. But that was the puppet insulting people, not Jeff. Keep that in mind.
The best was a conversation with a man named Nick, who worked in construction. Jeff asked him for the title of his job, and Nick replied with drywalling and framing. Then Walter said, “You know Nick, we have jokes for lawyers, doctors, hell we even got trash guys. But drywalling and framing are not in our repertoire of snappy comebacks. We were going to learn what, but hell, what are the chances now?”
This is the type of wit that should be seen in more shows. Going to a club to get insulted is pointless. I could just hang out with people that don’t like me. All the time. Then I would be insulted plenty. Done. This, however, is a higher level of comedy. Dunham doesn’t just present a preset skit like many comedians do. You know, some comedian gets a lot of laughs for one train of thought, then never changes it again for the rest of his career. The ability to interact with a crowd is what will keep Jeff Dunham’s show fresh and original every time. While there will always be some skits that the crowd expects to hear, most of the show is different every time.
I would like to take my hat off to Mr. Dunham. For those about to crack wise, I salute you.

No comments: