Performance artists Smith and Skinner use heavily coded comedic costumes and performance, including extensive play with puppets, to articulate the simultaneous banality and ironic reflexivity of "popular comedy."
Doug

Performance artists Smith and Skinner use heavily coded comedic costumes and performance, including extensive play with puppets, to articulate the simultaneous banality and ironic reflexivity of "popular comedy."
1994-03-09
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7.6Taking the stage in Washington, D.C., funnyman Bill Burr brings his stinging brand of humor to the spotlight, uncorking a profanity-laced, incisive routine that pokes fun at plastic surgery, reality TV, gold diggers and more.
7.3Comedian Bill Burr sounds off on cancel culture, feminism, getting bad reviews from his wife and a life-changing epiphany during a fiery stand-up set.
7.1In a rowdy stand-up set, Shane Gillis riffs on his girlfriend's Navy SEAL ex, touring George Washington's house and being bullied by an Australian Goth.
6.4Chris Rock takes the stage for his first comedy special in 10 years, filled with searing observations on fatherhood, infidelity and American politics.
5.9A ratings hit! Amy Schumer debuts her one-hour special in front of a live audience at the Historic Fillmore Theatre in San Francisco. Nothing is off limits as Schumer airs every hilarious, messed up detail of her dating and sex life, from encounters with unexpected body parts to hate-filled personal grooming appointments. In her matter-of-fact raunchy style, at odds with her self-described "Cabbage Patch Kid" appearance, Schumer tells stories of a boyfriend who makes dirty requests over dinner, the way she outsmarts her birth control, and a shocking ending to a seemingly innocent cab ride.
7.6An HBO special edited from three performances from Chris Rock's 2008 comedy tour: London (dark suit, dark shirt), Johannesburg (black suit, white shirt) and New York (shiny jacket). Topics include the ongoing presidential campaign, the possibility of a black president, George W. Bush, gas prices, low-paid jobs, ringtones and bottled water, sex, relationships and the correct use of the n-word
6.7Facing a world gone sideways, comedy icon Dave Chappelle delivers bold truths and potent punchlines in this no-holds-barred special.
7.5With his signature pitch-black sense of humor, Ricky Gervais takes the stage at the London Palladium in this provocative stand-up comedy special.
8.1Dave Chappelle returns for a stand-up to D.C. and riffs on politics, police, race relations, drugs, Sesame Street and more.
7.3Returning for a second Netflix comedy special, Jim Jefferies unleashes his famously ferocious black humor to a packed house in Nashville, Tennessee.
6.1Chris Rock delivers an electric stand-up set on non-racist yoga pants, spoiling his kids, the Kardashians and his thoughts on the Will Smith fiasco.
7.0Wanda Sykes tackles politics, reality TV, racism and the secret she'd take to the grave in this rollicking, no-holds-barred stand-up special.
7.7Armed with boyish charm and a sharp wit, the former "SNL" writer offers sly takes on marriage, his beef with babies and the time he met Bill Clinton.
7.8In 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.
7.3Eddie Murphy delights, shocks and entertains with dead-on celebrity impersonations, observations on '80s love, sex and marriage, a remembrance of Mom's hamburgers and much more.
8.1Rowan Atkinson and Angus Deayton in Boston doing a live performance of the same styles of humor we've seen in Mr. Bean and Blackadder. Included are lessons on Shakespearean acting, a school headmaster meeting with the father of a boy he's beaten to death, and tips for having a successful date.
7.6Dave Chappelle takes on gun culture, the opioid crisis and the tidal wave of celebrity scandals in this defiant stand-up special.
7.4Jimmy Carr delivers more of his cynical take on life's little absurdities in his trademark deadpan style in this live stand-up release. Jimmy unleashes his rapid-fire joke-telling and razor-sharp wit on topics ranging from religion and sex, to bullying and political correctness. Those brave enough to heckle are quickly put in their place by an array of colourful if brutal put-downs.
6.2Jerry Seinfeld takes the stage in New York and tackles talking vs. texting, bad buffets vs. so-called "great" restaurants and the magic of Pop Tarts.
7.7In his first special in seven years, Ricky Gervais slings his trademark snark at celebrity, mortality and a society that takes everything personally.