The Awkward Comedy Show has lofty goal in mind – it hopes to change how you view not only black comedians but also black comedy as a whole. In a scant 80 minutes, it doesn’t quite reach these heights. It does act as a calling card for five stand-up comedians of varied cultural origins but equal skill on the mike. These are funny people, make no mistake about it, and the best decision director Victor Varnado (who appears as one of the comics) makes is to focus more on their sets than conversational pieces and a few animated sequences that seem to exist more to pad out the running time than to personify the five comics.
Marina Franklin, Victor Varnado, Hannibal Buress, Eric Andre and Baron Vaughn are what the back cover of this calls “alternative comedians.” That’s another way of saying you don’t of them very often. The biggest favor The Awkward Comedy Show does for these disparate comics is let them take the stage and do some solid, often gut-busting work. The performances are bookended by a round table conversation among the group, which adds little to the film and feels like an afterthought. Also included are brief and a bit recklessly animated sequences relating a personal story from each of the comedians.
The film opens with interview clips of several people on the streets about what they expect from black comedians, underlining the prevalent structure of black comedy (at least according to a couple of people) – life in the ‘hood, sex, and cultural affirmation. Marina Franklin kicks off the show with her brand of humor, downplaying the sassy black woman stereotype by referencing childhood growing up in a largely white neighborhood. She comes off sweet, with expressive eyes and a skillful control of her intonations, but she is also sharply funny when she parlays her awkwardness to subvert what is expected of female comics and black female comics specifically.
Baron Vaughn is up next and joke for joke, he may have the most solid set on display. He tackles everything from HIV to walking through a bad neighborhood at night and does so with a kind of lopsided ambition, sometimes looking like he feels sorry for both himself and the audience. Vaughn is comfortable moving from absurd comedy to criticism of popular norms and his body language and voice are above average – a particular ‘improptu’ song that Vaughn admits is catchy is probably the highlight of his set, a surprisingly funny bit that might stick with you for a while after.
Eric Andre’s style can best be described as a go-for-broke, throw-everything-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks comedy. He bounces on stage with inexcusable energy, variation between self-ware fratboy and Internet connoisseur – I dare you to watch his sidesplitting Baconator bit and not think of this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRuNxHqwazs). Andre is maybe the most energetic of the group and certainly the most indulgent in potty humor. He tosses out random combinations in words and very often gets the laugh he aims for. For that alone, he is worth keeping an eye on.
Hannibal Buress knows what he’s good at – delivering criticisms or punch lines in a completely apathetic voice. His body hangs loose and his voice is soft, rarely if ever noting a punch line. His shtick is the laid back guy and he does it very well. His commentary on rap music videos that end in “To Be Continued” definitely tickled my funny bone.
Last up is Victor Varnado, the director of the film as well as a performing comedian. You have to give Varnado a decent amount of respect when the first thing out of his mouth when he gets on stage is the following: “You guys will probably say, “Victor, you’re a black albino…what are your superpowers?”” Varnado is in fact a black albino and his pocking fun at his extremely light skinned complexion. His delivery is also the most awkward of the bunch and he milks it for what its worth. I found Varnado’s set the most straightforward but that’s not necessarily a criticism against his work but more of a statement.
Overall, The Awkward Comedy Show works well a collection of sets highlighting hard-working talented stand-up comedians in need of more exposure. It rarely returns to an earlier point in how it approaches black comedy and dismantles the stereotypes of the black comedian, and despite the comedians mentioning the question of race and how different audiences respond to them, the theme is largely in the background. But maybe that’s for the best, since given the 80 running time, The Awkward Comedy Show tackles just as much as it can handle, remaining light, sharp and also a little dangerous.
DVD Bonus Features
The extras are pretty decent for comedy DVD, with audio commentary with director Varnado, producer Jay Stern and Hannibal Buress. It’s conversational and drops some background on how the documentary came to be. “Backstage With The Comedians” clocks in at around 5 minutes and provides some brief insight behind the scens of the show. Rounding out the collection are bonus interviews and jokes, clocking in at about 20 minutes all together. The interviews expand on the background and experiences of the individual comics as well as the coming together of the group for this sow while the bonus jokes are just stand-up material cut from the film. Also include is a trailer.
"The Awkward Comedy Show" is on sale May 4, 2010 and is not rated. Comedy, Documentary. Directed by Victor Varnado. Written by N/A. Starring Baron Vaughn, Eric André, Hannibal Buress, Marina Franklin, Victor Varnado.
