Known as one of the first comedian to fully embrace Twitter — certainly among the most successfully — Rob Delaney has found a large and diverse audience thanks to this proclivity for giving away jokes for free.
On Live at the Bowery Ballroom, shot in 2012, Delaney packs Manhattan's snug, smug and iconic 575-capacity Bowery Ballroom. As many of the people in attendance haven't actually heard Delaney tell jokes in person, the Boston-born comedian starts off his hour-long set with a barrage of outrageously explicit material that wildly differs from his online presence, as he lasciviously discusses trying anal sex with his girlfriend, fucking mouths on his tour bus and having a new year's resolution of losing 20 pounds of... wait for it… jizz.
As Delaney moves into less sexual but equally uncomfortable material, including bits on contracting Hepatitis A from a shit-covered cake and locking eyes with a Hasidic woman while experience a release of diarrhoea, it becomes apparent that Delaney's humour doesn't miss the mark because of its sophomoric nature — which is fair game (and often welcomed) during any standup set — but because he never seems the least bit interested in presenting these thoughts in any sort of clever or subversive manner, as if he's hoping that the raw shock and awe of his material will suffice.
Following this up with more jizz material, including how the new style of hand soap dispensers are basically cumming in your hand, followed by a cheerily detailed description of exactly how he ejaculated in his wife to impregnate her, along with an anecdote about masturbating in a parking garage to deliver his doctor a sperm sample, the Netflix special finds Delaney repeating much of the same style of jokes ad nauseam.
But throughout his set, Delaney does possess the ability to come off compellingly charming and likeable, even while audience members are shown laughing with their hands covering their faces in embarrassment. Live at the Bowery Ballroom shows a talented comedian with the gift of a built-in audience showing off just how daring, edgy… and unfortunately single-minded he can get.
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.
On Live at the Bowery Ballroom, shot in 2012, Delaney packs Manhattan's snug, smug and iconic 575-capacity Bowery Ballroom. As many of the people in attendance haven't actually heard Delaney tell jokes in person, the Boston-born comedian starts off his hour-long set with a barrage of outrageously explicit material that wildly differs from his online presence, as he lasciviously discusses trying anal sex with his girlfriend, fucking mouths on his tour bus and having a new year's resolution of losing 20 pounds of... wait for it… jizz.
As Delaney moves into less sexual but equally uncomfortable material, including bits on contracting Hepatitis A from a shit-covered cake and locking eyes with a Hasidic woman while experience a release of diarrhoea, it becomes apparent that Delaney's humour doesn't miss the mark because of its sophomoric nature — which is fair game (and often welcomed) during any standup set — but because he never seems the least bit interested in presenting these thoughts in any sort of clever or subversive manner, as if he's hoping that the raw shock and awe of his material will suffice.
Following this up with more jizz material, including how the new style of hand soap dispensers are basically cumming in your hand, followed by a cheerily detailed description of exactly how he ejaculated in his wife to impregnate her, along with an anecdote about masturbating in a parking garage to deliver his doctor a sperm sample, the Netflix special finds Delaney repeating much of the same style of jokes ad nauseam.
But throughout his set, Delaney does possess the ability to come off compellingly charming and likeable, even while audience members are shown laughing with their hands covering their faces in embarrassment. Live at the Bowery Ballroom shows a talented comedian with the gift of a built-in audience showing off just how daring, edgy… and unfortunately single-minded he can get.
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.