Myq Kaplan has pretty much based his act on three things: he's vegan, he's an atheist and he's a nerd. Despite the fact that, a decade into his career, this character-defining trifecta has become commonplace in comedy, the New Jersey standup sticks to his M.O. with his 2014 Netflix special, Small, Dork and Handsome.
Recorded at the 1,200 seat Wilbur Theater, the Boston University alumni returns to his old stomping grounds for his first televised special. Warming up the crowd with his cerebral and wry observations about how comedy is the only art form that only exists when it's working, ("If you don't like a movie, it's still a movie").
Although Kaplan's set comes off very typical, including jokes on philosophy ("I was a philosophy major… or was I"), feminism ("When you add a 'y' to 'womyn,' you're taking the man out but adding a male chromosome") and being a beta male in an alpha male world ("If you didn't want to hear rape jokes, you shouldn't have dressed like you do"), his humour possesses so many layers that it manages to separate him from his peers.
Although Kaplan spends the hour delivering short setups, as he's not characteristically known as a storyteller, while never truly pushing the envelope, Small, Dork and Handsome shows Myq Kaplan giving the audience a package of typical material into the most clever, informed and atypical manner possible.
Exclaim! is reviewing every standup comedy special currently available on Netflix Canada, including this one. You can find a complete list of reviews so far here.
Recorded at the 1,200 seat Wilbur Theater, the Boston University alumni returns to his old stomping grounds for his first televised special. Warming up the crowd with his cerebral and wry observations about how comedy is the only art form that only exists when it's working, ("If you don't like a movie, it's still a movie").
Although Kaplan's set comes off very typical, including jokes on philosophy ("I was a philosophy major… or was I"), feminism ("When you add a 'y' to 'womyn,' you're taking the man out but adding a male chromosome") and being a beta male in an alpha male world ("If you didn't want to hear rape jokes, you shouldn't have dressed like you do"), his humour possesses so many layers that it manages to separate him from his peers.
Although Kaplan spends the hour delivering short setups, as he's not characteristically known as a storyteller, while never truly pushing the envelope, Small, Dork and Handsome shows Myq Kaplan giving the audience a package of typical material into the most clever, informed and atypical manner possible.
Exclaim! is reviewing every standup comedy special currently available on Netflix Canada, including this one. You can find a complete list of reviews so far here.
