NBC’s Last Comic Standing tempted us with surprisingly palatable audition rounds, building expectations for this show higher than they have been in years. But as we have seen here too often before, many comics can be funny once for a couple of minutes before growing tiresome and letting us down. In fact, that very pattern hasn’t been enough to prevent someone from winning this competition. Say, in the first season, for example. The semi finals have arrived, where we get more of everything: new material, longer sets, and a better chance to judge how funny the contestants really are.
Host Craig Robinson kicked things off at the historic Alex Theater in Hollywood, seated in a plush leather chair on stage, bathed in ominous light. He looked and sounded like a vintage Bond villain as he asked, “Who will survive? Who has what it takes to make it? Why am I holding this cat?” He informed us that the top 20 audition performers had advanced to this point, and that “only the funniest” will move on from here. He didn’t quote an exact number, but something around 10 is a safe bet.
First up was Myq Kaplan, he of the interesting name spelling and highbrow material. He explained that his audition last season did not go well, leaving him as “one of the first comics not standing.” Things should be different for him this time. He kept his stuff smart, beginning with a great run on books and how authors fool people that don’t read by re-releasing their work with a different cover when it is made into a movie. He also joked about religious fiction, “Like The DaVinci Code, or The Bible…sure, The DaVinci Code might be real.” From here he smoothly transitioned into funny bits about people that believe Satan exists, but that he isn’t gay. “He’s horny and flaming, close enough,” said Myq. This year the three judges critique each comic after their set, exactly like on American Idol, except without any incoherent ramblings or anyone getting told they were “a little pitchy.” The panel loved Myq’s set, with Natasha noting that his “subdued, kind of intellectual” presence was not hampered at all by the bigger auditorium. He did very well.
Next was Jamie Lee, both excited and nervous. “I am quite terrified to know that millions of people are watching,” she stated. But she showed no problem with nerves on stage, delivering a solid set that began with good stuff about her rocky relationship history. “I used to date a comedian,” she explained. “And I guess I knew the relationship was falling apart when even our inside jokes were bombing.” Andy Kindler summed things up perfectly, saying, “I love your style and…not all of it hit with me, but when it hit it was really, really great.” Natasha Leggero was also positive without gushing. “I think you have huge potential,” she said.
Mike DeStefano made quite an impression during the audition round with his Bronx bravado, so it was no surprise that the attitude carried over here. In fact, he ramped up the intensity even further. “I’m not interested in making friends with anybody. I’m here to win and be a better comic than all of them.” I love the confidence, and yet I’m shocked that he, of all people, was the first one to spout off a classic reality show cliché. But unlike most idiots that have uttered something like that before, coming from him it just sounded genuine. That’s really who he is. Give us more, Mike. “I want to make it so that I’m so good that if I don’t win that the audience will just light the theater on fire.” That’s what I’m talking about! He brought the same feel to the stage, talking about his upbringing, when everyone acted Italian, including a Chinese friend named Carmine. He talked a lot about his family. “My father was a gambler,” he said. “We were rich seven times.” The crowd and the panel really enjoyed it. “Great material, great point of view,” said Greg Giraldo succinctly.
Kyle Grooms is one of the more seasoned performers in the field, yet he admitted that tonight’s show would have his biggest audience ever. He was very comfortable on stage, with jokes about how derisive people are about his home state of New Jersey, claiming that it is “up there with Iraq.” However, apparently the situation is even worse elsewhere. “Detroit’s doing so bad that Haiti’s throwing them a benefit concert.” He didn’t hit anything out of the park, but was very solid. “Do people really hate Jersey that much,” asked Natasha, “Or is it just Snooki?” Greg continued piling onto the Garden state. “I think Jersey sucks too, I agree with you 100%,” he joked.
Shane Mauss was the night’s first polarizing performer. “It’s the only thing I’ve ever been good at in my life,” he said of stand up comedy. “I have to make this work.” Well, kudos to him, then, for not compromising at all, jumping right into a very dark run about waiting a long time in line for an amusement park ride and then hearing that later a woman on the same ride lost both her legs on it in an accident. The audience seemed like they weren’t with him at the start, but he won them over by the end of his set, including a great closing line about the woman in question and how she will no longer ride roller coasters…because she doesn’t meet the height requirement. “The crowd obviously loves dismemberment humor,” noted Andy mockingly. “As we all do.” Natasha clearly understood where Shane was coming from as well, stating “I like someone who’s comfortable with a good groaning audience.”
Adrienne Iapalucci was thrilled that advancing this far meant she might have a shot at ditching her day job for good. “Sorry to the guys in the office,” she explained. “I love you, but not enough to hang out with you 40 hours a week.” Judging from her set, she doesn’t spend much time hanging out with her mother, either, despite living in her basement. She transitioned from that confrontational relationship to her trying job as a nanny. She stated that the kids she watched were so awful that, while she would never hit them herself, she “could kind of…coerce one into hitting the other.” Her mostly deadpan delivery was well received by the panel. She was unique and enjoyable.
Next was the imposing presence of Felipe Esparza, with his shaggy hair, scruffy beard, and nouveau-homeless chic stage apparel. The crowd loved him immediately, before he even finished his bit about the unsavory characters present on mass transit. “The back of the bus looks like the bar in Star Wars,” he noted. “I think there is a variance in the material,” observed Andy, before saying that overall he thought it was funny. “You’re one of these guys that’s able to talk about your real life,” said Greg. “And make it very funny.” This was a wise observation, because that certainly seemed to be the basis for all of Felipe’s material thus far.
Jonathan Thymius made no apologies for his motivation to this point. “Making it to the semi finals is huge for me because I want to be famous.” If he continues doing it like he did this week, he’s got a very good shot at it. He had one of the night’s best jokes: “So my wife called me a scatterbrain…I said, listen, whatever your name is, I want to find the car as bad as you do.” Quoting it here just doesn’t do it justice, because so much of the humor comes from his unique presence and brilliant delivery. He was so good that the crowd was already laughing during the set ups of his jokes. He ended by jokingly asking the crowd if they wanted to see a ventriloquist act. When they responded enthusiastically, he slowly removed one shoe and put his own sock on his hand…before holding the microphone up to his bare foot. Again, explaining this joke just makes it sound weird. It killed. “I love your delivery,” gushed Andy. “I don’t care if you’re insane.” Greg agreed. “You’re an absolute original,” he said.
“I really want to bring everybody into my comedic world,” proclaimed Lil’ Rel. I think he did that, but the problem was that it was just loud, long, and not funny. He performed one single, extended bit about a man’s desire to read his mother’s obituary aloud at her funeral. This isn’t exactly a comic goldmine of a topic to begin with, but Lil’ Rel’s decision to have the character he played repeat himself over and over made things even worse. The judges had been almost entirely positive to this point, so I wondered if this was just an instance where the material didn’t work for me personally. It was not. “You did one long bit,” said Andy. “It didn’t so much connect with me.” Natasha jumped right in and piled on, adding “Not only was it just one bit, but for even the first laugh, it seemed like it took a really long time to get there.” Lil’ Rel defended himself by explaining that he was performing character comedy. He then compared himself to Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor, and was struck by a bolt of lightning. Okay, maybe not the last bit, but…wow. That may have been what he was going for, but he clearly didn’t get there.
Jason Weems was another performer relishing the opportunity he had been given. “Tonight can be the defining moment that gets me…from performing for 18 people to hopefully 18,000.” He was clearly excited to be there, and that positivity carried over to his very first joke. “I have always wanted to point into a balcony,” he noted, doing just that to the fans upstairs. “I have made it.” From there he went on to talk about his day job as a kindergarten teacher, including one little girl who watched him intently as he ate a banana. “Ahh…he is a monkey,” the girl said, with Jason quoting her in a very funny, near-whispered revelatory voice. He talked about trying not to take offense, before realizing, “All that lets me know is you had a previous discussion on the possibilities of me being a monkey.” I found this bit hilarious, but Natasha said she had a hard time connecting. Apparently the audience agreed with me, because they voraciously booed her upon hearing that statement. “I thought you had some jokes that were really good,” said Greg, “and some that weren’t as good.”
Ryan Hamilton feigned confidence by noting that he could always return to his non-competitive valet parking job if comedy didn’t work out. But he won the audience over immediately with his self-deprecating remark that “I know you can tell just by looking at me that I’m a big risk taker.” Everything about him made this funny, from his gangly build to his, umm, “interesting” face to his voice that quavers on the verge of cracking. He then rolled through a funny, extended bit about his sky diving experience on a jump with an instructor who insisted on being called Tandem Master. “You’re already strapped to my back,” said Ryan. “I know who’s boss in this situation.” He had several other really funny jokes about the experience, but once again Natasha did not feel a connection…and again, the audience booed her. I thought she was supposed to be the Paula of the panel, not the Simon. Natasha did give him credit for his physicality, and Greg observed how Ryan got laughs merely by walking on stage. “In real life, that’s not good,” Greg quipped.
Paula Bel was a brusque, no-nonsense lady during her audition and that demeanor carried forward to her mindset for the semis. “I’m going to do what I like to do,” she stated. Her set featured jokes about how President Obama’s time in office is aging him so much that eventually he’ll look like Grady from Sanford and Son. She had some other bits that seemed to connect with the audience, but I noticed a small but distracting tic, in which she often seemed to stumble or pause slightly right before delivering a key word in a punch line. The judges didn’t comment on it, so maybe that was just me. But then again, the panel didn’t have much of a chance to say anything, as Paula shot down each of them with biting, funny comments.
Jesse Joyce looks forward to getting to celebrate his success in the “comedy locker rooms,” which is probably a place not many of us would ever want to go. He began with a funny bit about having played a comedian in a movie, and how movies never depict the profession accurately, comparing it to how a pizza delivery guy must feel watching a porno flick. Joyce then ventured into a joke with a very long set up about breaking down while driving in a tunnel, and then having to exit on an access road and return to the beginning of his trek. These semi final sets are short, and yet the set up to this one was so long that he actually asked the audience “Are you with me so far?” The payoff was strong, though, with him realizing that he was now sitting in a traffic jam that he had created himself. Natasha noted that his material would have benefitted from a longer set, and that was certainly the case. Greg seemed impressed with the attempt to do something different, rather than the rapid-fire jokes we had seen so much before.
Rachel Feinstein was another comic with a different approach. “I tell stories, I don’t so much do joke-punch line,” she explained. She had funny stuff about dating a guy with a unique physique, including his “pronounced hips.” She performed a couple of distinctive characters, showing talent for voices, which Natasha found fun to watch. Greg noted that some of the male audience members reacted “like filthy pigs,” when Rachel walked on. “It’s very hard to be hot, and get that reaction, and then be funny,” said Greg. “And you were.”
Many of the night’s comics commented on the possibility of exposure, but Kirk Fox let us in on a different kind completely, something he experienced when his pants fell off on stage in Tijuana. “I believe I exposed more there than I will tonight.” His strength is his unique personality and stage presence, and even he admitted that he thought he was funnier between his jokes than during them. However, his bit about knowing how he is going to die because his 100-year-old upstairs neighbor recently bought a .357 Magnum was very solid. “I love your energy on stage,” said Andy. “I love your approach.”
Amanda Melson wasn’t sure if she was most excited about the show serving as a chance for more money, better exposure, or just as an opportunity to prove something to herself. She led off with a very funny bit about her recent haircut, because her prior style had gotten “long to the point where I looked like I might have been home schooled.” She then transitioned into talking about working for a cool company that felt the need to be edgy in everything they did, including their clothing drive for the homeless. Greg summed things up nicely, observing that “Maybe it wasn’t the hugest reaction but I thought the jokes were really well written.”
Chip Pope finally gave us a completely new reason for enjoying being on the show: because it means he might not die in the same apartment he’s been living in for the past ten years. Chip explained that he is gay, but that his family lived in an efficiency growing up, so he couldn’t even come out of the closet. “I had to come out from behind the curtain that separated the living room from the kitchen.” He also had a very smart bit about imagining what Paul Simon’s latest song would sound like. It’s hard to explain exactly how Chip did this, but it worked very well, mimicking Simon’s vocal tone and songwriting style. “I’d never heard anything like it,” raved Greg.
Let’s take a moment to acknowledge new host Craig Robinson, who has been doing a great job holding everything together so far, with a quick quip here and a funny aside to the judges there. However, he might be at his best when he’s talking right to us. “You’re watching the show that I know I could win if it weren’t for these damn bunions,” he said. “Oh, wait, that’s Dancing With The Stars. That show sucks!” I just find him really likeable.
Alycia Cooper showed no ill effects from such a long wait to go on. “I’m just ready to do it,” she proclaimed. She opened with a riff on the current invasive state of airport security before making a simple request of guys everywhere. “Men, please stop cheating,” she implored. “You suck at it.” She followed this with jokes about Tiger Woods and his 18 “side pieces,” and their less than stellar quality, telling guys that if they’re going to cheat, at least “cheat up.” Greg was right in stating that some of the jokes were very funny, while others didn’t rise up.
David Feldman wrapped up the night with a wry observation about how he was thrilled to be a part of the 2500 people that reached the semis and really hoped to advance to the next round of 1500. Tonight’s performances were mostly very solid, but his numbers didn’t feel far off at this point, so I was just happy to see him do something different. David has a velvety smooth vocal tone, like a radio announcer or voiceover artist, which made his dark jokes about his daughters sound even more cutting. Greg loved the twists and surprises in David’s joke writing, noting that with that kind of stuff, the audience doesn’t even matter. “The crowd gets in the way,” David deadpanned. He was distinctive and memorable, if not an outright laugh riot.
That brought us to the end of the first semi final performance round. And while this show takes blatant shots at American Idol, they did everything aside from bringing in Ryan Seacrest to say, “dim the lights,” for the manner in which they announced the five comics moving on. Everyone was brought to the stage as a group, and this is where I first noticed something a little off. At the start of the show, it was stated that 20 comics were performing, but there were definitely more than that on stage. Around 23, I think. Now, I’m not going to rewind and freeze-frame this thing like it’s the Zapruder film, but I did find it odd. Maybe there were some performances that were actually a part of next week’s show, which would make complete sense.
Anyway, then Ryan, I mean Craig, divided the comics into five groups, having them step forward as a group one at a time. One comedian from each group advanced to what they now told us was the final ten. After this 3200-plus word monstrosity, I’m not going to list every member of every group for you, but here is who moved on: Felipe, Myq, Rachel, Mike, and Jonathan. There were a couple of cuts that I thought were kind of painful, but I was not surprised in the least to see any of those five move forward.
I’m still a little confused, because the previews showed essentially the same format taking place again next Monday. But my program guide lists a one-hour episode coming on Tuesday. I don’t know what to tell you, so I guess we’re in the dark together, waiting to see exactly how the last five spots get filled.
