This evening, HBO debuted a comedy special unlike any other comedy special they've ever aired. Featuring performances from Jerry Seinfeld, Louis CK, Chris Rock, and God-amongst-men Ricky Gervais, Talking Funny wasn't a standup special so much as it was a special about standup. Seinfeld, Rock, Gervais, and CK talked for a solid hour about their craft, their careers, and each other's best bits, and it all would've been completely perfect...if only there'd been more of it. Read on for our official Talking Funny review, my gentle Examiner readers...
My biggest complaint-- hell, my only complaint-- about HBO's Talking Funny? It's not a weekly series.
Tonight, HBO aired their heavily-publicized, eagerly-anticipated comedy special Talking Funny, and if it wasn't the best thing HBO's aired since last week's Game of Thrones premiere, I'll eat a loaded ashtray. Jerry Seinfeld (of the dearly-departed NBC sitcom Seinfeld), Louis CK (of the incredibly funny Louie, a show that's about to get its second season on FX), Chris Rock (star of an endless series of vital HBO comedy hours), and Ricky Gervais (creator of The Office) all sat down-- in a seemingly empty room; they appeared to be alone except for the cameramen-- to discuss their careers, their favorite bits, what is and isn't "funny", the "N-word", and a million other comedy-related odds and ends for a solid hour.
For comedy fans, this was nirvana.
Now, these are four of my favorite comedians. You won't find a bigger Ricky Gervais fan, and as far as I'm concerned, Jerry Seinfeld is the only comedian-who-doesn't-swear that's worth a damn (go on, name another one: I guarantee you they're nowhere near as funny as CK, Rock, or Gervais). I've seen Louis CK perform multiple times, and Chris Rock might be the best all-around standup performer of the past two decades. These are comic's comics, guys whose every word is of interest to someone like me: they could've sat there reading from a phone book for a solid hour and I would've been transfixed. So, admittedly, I'm biased.
That said, one wonders if some viewers were confused as to how this particular group was selected. For instance: despite the fact that he's long since proven his genius, Louis CK still isn't a household name. And what about Gervais? He won just as many haters as admirers during his triumphant performance at this year's Golden Globes (yeah, that's right: triumphant, and if you didn't think so, you weren't in on the joke). One could also make the argument that there remains a good number of people who just don't "get" Chris Rock. Only Seinfeld would be considered untouchable here, but if that was your first thought upon learning who made the Talking Funny lineup, this special probably wasn't for you, anyway.
As I understand it, Seinfeld put this motley crew together, and for my money there's no one else I would've rather heard from (one might say "What about Larry David?", but I'm going to count Seinfeld as adequate representation for that style of comedy) more. Plus, it probably helps that-- at one time or another-- all of these guys have had their own shows on HBO. Louis CK had Lucky Louie, Gervais has the going-into-its-third-season Ricky Gervais Show, Rock had The Chris Rock Show (not to mention all those standup specials), and Jerry's had a few HBO specials over the years, too, not to his involvement with the network's comedy-crown-jewel, Curb Your Enthusiasm. So, this made sense on more than a few fronts, and-- again-- if anyone here seemed out of place, your finger isn't on the comedy pulse.
That said, if they concoct a follow-up, they should go full-geek and bring on Patton Oswalt, David Cross, Zach Galifianakis, and Tim and Eric. Just sayin', HBO.
What non-comedians don't realize-- and what this special served to demonstrate-- is that there's nothing comedians like more than talking about their craft. Oh, sure, they've all got hobbies, passions, and lives outside of comedy (well, kind of), but this-- the art of the joke-- is what they'd always prefer to be talking about. Since making the move to writing full-time, I've all but retired from performing standup (I still get up there from time to time, which isn't to say that I'm anywhere near as funny as these geniuses), as writing has scratched my creative itch better than standup ever did. But watching Talking Funny tonight, I felt that familiar itch to get back behind a mic. I imagine that Gervais, Rock, CK, and Seinfeld would appreciate that sentiment.
Hearing this group talk about comedy reminded me of all the hours I spent shooting the sh-t with fellow comics after shows, going over bits, dissecting why one joke worked and another didn't, analyzing the show, and on and on. Girlfriends and wives would be bored stupid by these conversations, but we were unable to stop ourselves: there's something truly damaged about the standup mind-- ask a comedian, and they'll agree that the drive to perform comedy is a truly insane impulse-- and part of that psychosis involves the need to endlessly deconstruct each and every bit, moment, and breath that goes into a performance. Talking Funny perfectly captured the kind of post-show BS session that every comedian has engaged in.
Highlights included: CK and Rock differentiating themselves from Seinfeld and Gervais by noting that they both used the "N-word" onstage; Seinfeld performing one of CK's bits, not getting it quite right, but still making the bit work; CK telling a story about the time when, at age 19, he opened for Jerry Seinfeld and enraged him by introducing him as "The Best Comedian in The World"; Gervais stating emphatically that he "doesn't care" what his audience thinks for the umpteenth time (and I say this as a fan: we get it, sir); and-- this was the highlight of the whole thing for me-- Jerry Seinfeld talking about why he doesn't use profanity onstage...and what happened when he did early in his career. An instructive story, indeed.
HBO will surely be running Talking Funny in repeats many times over the next month, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled if you somehow missed it this evening. You're going to have an awesome time watching it, but my guess is that you're going to come away with the same complaint I had: there simply wasn't enough, and HBO needs to make Talking Funny a monthly-- if not weekly--series. Let's hope that the Talking Funny DVD is packed with hour upon hour of cutting-room-floor footage.
My grade? A- (would've been an A+ if I had another episode to look forward to)
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