Subjective ‘Best Comedy Specials of Recent Memory’ List
Dave Attell's Skanks for the Memories and Doug Stanhope's Something to Take the Edge Off would be top 5 if they qualified.
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- DirectorCraig GriffithStarsStewart LeeNot for everyone. Somewhat of a statement more than a comedy performance. There's a 30-minute bit about his walk with Jesus with as much conviction as possible.
- DirectorBeth McCarthy-MillerStarsPatrice O'NealJosh FademElephant In The Room, filmed at the acclaimed Montreal Comedy Festival, is Patrice's first full-length special.The first half he demonstrates his crowd work, the second his paradoxical, contrarian, trolling, and profound genius.
- DirectorRocco UrbisciStarsGeorge CarlinWhen George Carlin is asked which HBO concert is his favorite, his answer is always, "Jammin' In New York." The reasons are several: It was his first HBO show done live; it was the first he had done in his hometown, New York City; and it was the largest audience he had ever worked before: 6,500.But Carlin says it also represented a newfound sophistication in his writing. "It was the first time I had done truly extended pieces consisting of separate sections all flowing together. It was a big leap for me."The show, taped at the Paramount Theater in Madison Square Garden and winner of the 1992 CableACE Award, is a perfect blend of biting social commentary and more gently-observed observational pieces.Here he pointedly cuts through issues people still don't understand 30 years later.
- StarsMitch HedbergMitch All Together is stand-up comedian Mitch Hedberg's second comedy album before his death in 2005. It is a recording of a performance at the Acme Comedy Club in Minneapolis, Minnesota from May 2003.This is really for his Comedy Central presents special.
- DirectorTim KirkbyStarsStewart LeeNick PynnAfter hearing comedian Frankie Boyle say that all comedian over 40 should quit because they're not angry enough any more, 42-year-old Stewart Lee ponders youth, piracy, pears and the hatefulness of the Top Gear presenters.The controlled chaos of getting unhinged and going into the crowd to work sells it for me.
- DirectorLouis C.K.StarsLouis C.K.In this unique and dynamic live concert experience, Louis C.K.'s exploration of life after 40 destroys politically correct images of modern life with thoughts we have all had...but would rarely admit to.Shameless is very good but this is where he hit his full stride.
- DirectorRocco UrbisciStarsGeorge CarlinGeorge Carlin continues making people laugh with his 13th HBO stand-up special.Contains the American Dream bit and also the bit from "I Kinda Like It When a Lotta People Die" that was perfect, here it's a bit neutered but still expert.
- DirectorJaime Eliezer KarasStarsBill BurrComedian Bill Burr's 2014 stand-up comedy special.I prefer the storytelling Burr.
- DirectorSteven J. SantosStarsLouis C.K.In his first one-hour special, comedy and television star Louis C.K. returns to HBO for an hour of no-holds-barred, adults-only stand-up comedy taped before a live audience at the Henry Fonda Theater in Los Angeles.Where he made his name.
- DirectorShannon HartmanStarsBill BurrStand-up comedian Bill Burr's 2010 comedy special.
- DirectorShawn AmosStarsDoug StanhopeRandy McClearyDoug Stanhope performs at Seattle's Comedy Underground.A man against the world and barely losing.
- DirectorMichael BliedenStarsZach GalifianakisJoe WagnerBrian UngerA master of the one-liner with an absurd rambling style, Zach's sharp, resonating humor makes his show at the famed Purple Onion in San Francisco one of the funniest performances in recent comedy.Just the right amount of unhinged. You can't do better than this as a debut so he was right to stop trying.
- DirectorTim KirkbyStarsJim JefferiesShare this *Alcoholocaust: (Meaning: The aftermath of a drinking party, usually resulting in every available horizontal surface being covered in empty booze containers, spilled beverages and a general sticky alcoholic residue.) Jim Jefferies, the globally renowned Australian stand-up, returns to Just For Laughs with his brand new solo show. Alcoholocaust includes some of Jim's favourite wild antics over the past year. As always, his material is set in reality, which is what provides him with his trademark brutally frank style. Among other things, you will hear about a hilarious yet touching true story involving his friend's severely disabled brother, plus Jim's traditional pet peeves - religion & idiots.The bit about his friend with muscular dystrophy might be the best and most heartfelt comedic story ever recorded.
- DirectorMichael MathesonStarsDylan MoranAcerbic, eternally world-weary comic in stand up routine. Dylan Moran holds forth on matters important to him such as smoking (pro rather than anti), drink, drugs, music, women and children.Great if you're in the mood for it. A thoughtful and meditative work.
- DirectorStan LathanStarsDave ChappelleDave jokes about the sexual assaults dominating the 2017 entertainment news and how and why people allow themselves to be abused.His comedic ability is amplified even more so in a small room.
- DirectorKeith TruesdellStarsChris RockSlick RickDoug E. FreshChris Rock's third HBO comedy special shows him performing his stand-up routine at Apollo Theater in Harlem.
- DirectorLawrence JordanStarsEddie IzzardExecutive transvestite Eddie Izzard takes his show to San Francisco to give a brief history of pagan and Christian religions, the building of Stonehenge, the birth of the Church of England and of Western empires, and the need for a European dream. Along the way, he dramatizes Dr. Heimlich's search for a maneuver, the naming of Engelbert Humperdinck, Scooby and Shaggy as archetypes, Neil Armstrong on the moon, society's tolerance of mass murderers, how we sing anthems and carols, Hollywood adapting British films, JFK's trip to Berlin, thoughts on puberty, and how to work schoolbook-French phrases into Parisian conversation. Closeups catch the glint in his eye and his carefully-applied make-up.I don't know if I like this or want to seem varied, but here he's at his most brilliant.
- DirectorSam WrenchStarsJimmy CarrA man, with an incredibly stupid laugh, tells jokes to an audience.This is more of a blanket entry for all his work. Set up, punchline, nothing more.
- DirectorJessica YuStarsMaria BamfordRiver ButcherAlex Blue DavisMaria Bamford performs a rapid-fire, playful stand-up set for crowds at park benches, bowling alleys and LA theaters in this roving comedy special.Well written, even in concept.
- DirectorJaime Eliezer KarasStarsJim JefferiesAl JacksonFoul-mouthed Australian comedian Jim Jefferies puts everything out there in this raunchy EPIX comedy special -- and shows off his skill for skewering sacred cows and virtually everything else with brutal honesty.Best flow and front-to-back special he ever did.
- DirectorJohn BrenkusStarsBrian ReganThis contains some of Brian Regan's best stand-up comedy including: Emergency Room, Visiting the Doctor, Food, UPS, Refrigerator, Phones and Codes, Airline Stuff, Inventions, Eye Doctor, Dinner PartyBest clean comic ever.
- DirectorJaime Eliezer KarasStarsJim GaffiganJim Gaffigan does it again with his new stand-up Mr. Universe. Gaffigan jumps from topic to topic joking around with a varied number of topics. Some of the topics included are McDonalds, family, Disney World, and much more.The special where he is perfectly himself and epitomizes his schtick.
- DirectorScott GawlikStarsDave AttellVeteran New York City comic Dave Attell is back with his Comedy Central stand-up special "Road Work." This unique special cuts together multiple performances from Attell's past tour. From New Orleans to Philadelphia to Minneapolis and more, "Road Work" feels more like a concert film than a traditional stand-up special. Of course, it wouldn't be a proper Attell show without his expert crowd work and clever R-rated material in what he calls "a filthy, dirty mess of a show."Arguably the best working comic, but I'm not sure I love the format of this one.
- DirectorRocco UrbisciStarsGeorge CarlinLegendary comic Carlin comes back to the Beacon theater to angrily rant about airport security, germs, cigars, angels, children and parents, men, names, religion, god, advertising, Bill Jeff and minorities.Perhaps I'm in a minority to believe Carlin for the most part got better with age. It came out a few years before 9/11 yet predicts it. Pure, unabashed vitriol.