It felt like I required a bong in hand to decipher some of Birbiglia's jokes.
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A good number of the stand-up comics that have come and gone over the years have some sort of angle or gimmick as their unique signature and claim to fame. Jeff Foxworthy has his "...you might be a redneck" routine, Tim Allen has his tool belt and manly grunts, Carrot Top has his trunk full of ridiculous props, and Pauly Shore has his hoard of Razzie awards honoring him as the worst new star and actor of the 1990s. I'm not sure how that last one slipped in there, I swear I proofread this DVD review before hitting the publish button... honest.
Anyhoo, Mike Birbiglia is one such comedian to develop a little trademark of his own, at least for this particular televised special on Comedy Central. Apparently, so the story goes, Birbiglia was in the middle of sharing some of the more awkward moments in his life with his therapist, but once his time was up, she suggested writing these anecdotes down and save them for the next visit. Mike took the advice, and decided to go one step further and share them with the public in his online blog and e-mail mailing list. These supposedly true stories became an instant success, and that's how Mike Birbiglia's Secret Public Journal was born.
But just like with mythical urban legends, most of the stories comedians tell on a regular basis have some ring of truth to them, don't they? The funnymen (and women) just add a few embellishments here and there to spruce up their material to make them interesting and entertaining. I just have to get this off my chest because I really don't see how Birbiglia's special is really any different. The only difference I can gather is that he's given a common, run-of-the-mill practice of stand-up comedy a clever name. It's the wolf in sheep's clothing, that's all.
Back to the actual concert, "What I should have said was nothing" is the punch line for one of his better jokes on this DVD, which I won't spoil here in case some people are Birbiglia fans and haven't seen this comedy special yet. One could also say that it's kind of a recurring theme for his stories where his mouth gets him into trouble out in the real world.
While I did laugh at a handful of Birbiglia's jokes, there were other times where I just couldn't see what was so hilarious. Maybe I'm in the wrong demographic or something, because I just don't find any humor in eating a whole box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and conking out in the bathtub. It felt like I required a bong in hand to decipher some of Birbiglia's jokes. I also thought sometimes he milked his material one step too far, and a couple of his impressions were more annoying than funny. I do think his George Bush impression was great for a laugh, but then again who can go wrong poking fun at the president?
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[release]23712[/release]