In Finding the Funny, Tammy Pescatelli makes her identity very clear: she's a Sicilian-American woman with a family, and she's definitely not a softy. Though she makes her personality memorable, the same cannot be said about her comedy. Her jokes rely on familiar tropes like "women are crazy" and "I don't like my mother-in-law." She laughs after her weaker jokes to make them less awkward. Worst of all, the whole theme of her show isn't interesting and unique enough to focus on in the first place. She repeats that it's important to "find the funny in life" so often that the phrase loses its meaning, and it homogenizes her material more than it ties her act together.
Pescatelli's comedy almost always misses the mark. Her bit about how white women over 40 with flowers in their hair are crazy is a little amusing, but it's too specific to be relatable, and too odd to even feel real. Other times, her jokes are relatable, but they feel like they're barely anything more than statements. For example, her premise that women are crazier the thinner their eyebrows has some great potential. Unfortunately, she doesn't expand it at all. She just claims that her mother-in-law proves her theory, then quickly moves on without sharing any comical details.
Having said that, there are a few things that are redeemable about Finding The Funny. Pescatelli's line about how the theory of relativity aptly describes her hurting her relatives is smart, but it's more of an impressive pun than it is actually funny. Similarly, her opening joke about a toothless prostitute goes in a surprisingly intelligent direction, but it only lasts long enough to trigger a chuckle.
At the end of the day, the most entertaining parts of the special are just innocently dumb quotes from Pescatelli's husband. From the time he muttered "I gambled and I lost" after he crapped his pants to the time he said "You can have one of mine" when she told him she might need a liver transplant, the humour she finds in his denseness provides most of the hour's few highlights.
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.
Pescatelli's comedy almost always misses the mark. Her bit about how white women over 40 with flowers in their hair are crazy is a little amusing, but it's too specific to be relatable, and too odd to even feel real. Other times, her jokes are relatable, but they feel like they're barely anything more than statements. For example, her premise that women are crazier the thinner their eyebrows has some great potential. Unfortunately, she doesn't expand it at all. She just claims that her mother-in-law proves her theory, then quickly moves on without sharing any comical details.
Having said that, there are a few things that are redeemable about Finding The Funny. Pescatelli's line about how the theory of relativity aptly describes her hurting her relatives is smart, but it's more of an impressive pun than it is actually funny. Similarly, her opening joke about a toothless prostitute goes in a surprisingly intelligent direction, but it only lasts long enough to trigger a chuckle.
At the end of the day, the most entertaining parts of the special are just innocently dumb quotes from Pescatelli's husband. From the time he muttered "I gambled and I lost" after he crapped his pants to the time he said "You can have one of mine" when she told him she might need a liver transplant, the humour she finds in his denseness provides most of the hour's few highlights.
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.