Here at JustPressPlay we go through quite a bit of stand-up comedy, whether it's as an album or DVD release. Since comedy albums feel out of place under "Music Reviews" we've decided to give them their own little corner where they can stand-up and do their thing. We know the internet doesn't really have "corners" per se, but shut up. You get the point. Today we're looking at Dan Levy (a writer for the upcoming Whitney Cummings sitcom Whitney) and more specifically his album Congrats On Your Success, released on August 16th.
Is there a point where the coolisms of Justin Timberlake cease to be hip? Yes, and Dan Levy found them, along with a few other things as he prepared his routine for Congrats On Your Success, which features both his 50-minute audio routine as well as his Comedy Central stand-up spotlight gig. There may be a little bit of overlap between the two, but for the most part they’re different routines with the audio version easily being the funnier. And while there are plenty of laughs, Levy is a generation of comedian who has clearly grown up in a post-Dane Cook and Jack Black world and thus, even if it is ironic, uses phrases like “Delish” or comical variations of words ending in –ish (like “Magish”). He bounces between some truly solid observations and otherwise empty pop culture digs, but if you can tune out the wannabe frat boy element to his comedy which feels out of place, then it proves a rather fun time.
Stories about pot overdoses and bad cell phone service take Levy’s routine into the mundane, but then segments about friends with disturbing pick up methods or the surprising resilience of Radio Shack steer it back on the right track. If anything can be said about Levy it’s that he has superb comic timing and he’s not above waiting for all the laughter to subside before dealing out the second punchline. It’s refreshing to see it in a young comic whereas many of his peers tend to either resort to much simpler gags with only one punchline or they just bulldoze through it all, unappreciative of the buildup that a little bit of silence offers. His comedy is made about twice as funny because of this, and he exhibits a better example of this timing on the audio track than he does in his Comedy Central special.
His TV special still scores a few laughs and it’s a good split between setup and punchline gags and brief storytelling jokes. For a funny guy, he’s lacking a bit in the charisma that comes with plenty of time spent on the mic in comedy clubs. I’m sure he’s done a fair bit of that in his time, but there’s still a bit of a wavering quality to his voice and consequently, though expertly timed, his jokes are slightly hindered by an air of insecurity. For some jokes, it’s that very quality that really makes it all work, but for others it sabotages the delivery and makes it ring untrue.
Rarely is the audio presentation of stand-up better than a video set, because let’s face it: body language is a major part of comedy. Only a few comedians, like Seinfeld, rely almost wholly on the verbal element. He’s a rising star to look out for as Levy has some funny stuff here, but his lack of experience seems to be working to his disadvantage.
