Aziz Ansari: Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening

When Aziz Ansari was 18, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue comedy. He began performing at the United Citizens Brigade, the sketch and improv comedy group famous for launching the careers of such comic legends as Amy Poehler, Ed Helms, and Donald Glover.
He joined forces with fellow UCB pros Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer to start Human Giant, the critically acclaimed MTV sketch show that ran from 2007 to 2008.
Born and raised in South Carolina, Aziz is probably best known for his energetic portrayal of Tom Haverford on NBC's Parks and Recreation.

Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening is the first of Ansari's 3 full-hour specials, and was recorded in 2009.

Opener: “I recently moved to L.A. and a big issue here is gay rights. I was walking down the street once and this guy came up to me with a clipboard and he said ‘Hey man, do you have a minute for gay rights?’ and I said "Sorry, man, I’m in a bit of a rush." And then that guy watched me walk into a Jamba Juice!”

Ansari radiates so much energy during his performance, that it's a shock he's not a sweat-drenched corpse by the time the curtain drops. He is bouncing around the stage non-stop throughout the whole performance, animating every bit and constantly keeping your attention on him. 

So many comedians keep a low-energy stage presence and it's nice to a comic who is willing to make use of the whole stage and really occupy the space.

Mechanics of Comedy: The rule of 3 is a foundation of comedy, and especially sketch comedy. You'll see it clearly if you watch Saturday Night Live or Monty Python's Flying Circus. 

Jokes come in 3s. The first is to establish a "premise", like "this character doesn't understand anything about airplane travel.". Then another joke is made in the same vein, a "pattern" is established. Thirdly, the real joke of the sketch comes in as something in the joke is given a hard turn, and our expectations are subverted.

Example: "I didn't have much time to pack so I only brought the essentials: my toothbrush, underpants, and my samurai sword."

Ansari's experience as a sketch comedy writer really shines through when he goes into a longer, more structured bit. He'll often create punchlines in the form of hypothetical dialogue; the idea of "this is what this person would say in this situation". In doing so, he simplistically uses the rule of 3 to get huge laughs.

His fans are young, they're contemporary, they're in on the latest trends. He riffs on auto-correct getting him in trouble with friends, on messing with his favourite cousin through Facebook, on hanging out with Kanye West at a club. 

Like many comics, Ansari is also playing a character while on stage. The Aziz Ansari that we are listening to is easily agitated, superficial, and lives the high-life. Many of his bits end in a huge exaggeration ("I could totally have had sex with that kid!") to applause breaks.

BONUS:

Some of you may have seen Funny People, a movie about stand-up comedians written and directed by Judd Apatow. Aziz has a bit part in the movie playing an insane and obnoxious stand-up named Randy. 

For the encore of his special, Aziz does 10 minutes of the material he wrote for the character, who is essentially the unfiltered, superego caricature of himself and it is as funny as it is terrible. 

(The clip from Funny People contains NSFW language)

If you don't like sexual or at-times vulgar comedy, I would not recommend Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening for you. If you are not the kind of person who gets offended easily or loves high-energy and accessible comedy, I would bet you'd love this special.

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John Mulaney: New in Town

John Mulaney is a Chicago born comic who joined Saturday Night Live in 2009 as a writer. Best known for co-writing the character of Stefon with performer Bill Hader, Mulaney quickly became a popular name around the New York City stand-up circuit. He released his first comedy special, New in Town, in 2012 produced by Comedy Central.

Opener: In a couple of days I'm turning 29, and I'm very excited about that. I was hoping by now I was going to look older, but it didn't happen.

The best way of explaining John Mulaney’s comedic style is to describe him as a young Jerry Seinfeld.

Mulaney is an experienced writer whose act is primarily observational. He jokes about his own experiences and mixes in quick bits of Seinfeld-ian perception. His delivery is more natural than Seinfeld’s iconic “What’s the deal with…?” but it seems clear that he was an influence.

Visually there is a resemblance too; Mulaney is dressed in a fitted suit, something that was common among comics in the comedy boom of the 1980s but has fallen increasingly out of style with the rise of alternative comedy.

Mulaney is a precise storyteller. His set feels airtight, as if not a single word was not used intentionally, but still avoids the pitfall of sounding like he was reading jokes off of cue cards.

His strength is the boyish self-deprecation that flows between each bit, making himself the punchline in most of his jokes. He knows when a funny voice, a well-timed smile or nod, or the right inflection on something makes or breaks a joke.

He is a “writers comedian”, structuring each bit with a beginning, middle, and end. Often, “writers” write high-minded and conceptual comedy, but Mulaney toes the line expertly, giving you the feeling that you are in on a joke that perhaps others are missing.

His topics range from his relationship with his Jewish girlfriend (“I used to date Gentile women”), to movies from his past (“I wish I had been a Def-Jam comedian when Home Alone 2: Lost in New York came out”), to his hard-drinking youth (“I would black out and ‘ruin parties’. Or so I was told”).

My favourite bit was Mulaney being shocked at how young his babysitter was when he was a kid. (The link contains another fantastic bit about Home Alone 2: Lost in New York).

I wouldn't put this at the top of my recommendation list for anyone who doesn't already love stand-up, and there are certainly comedians who I would consider more accessible.


That being said, John Mulaney is one of my favourite stand-up comedians. He doesn't feel the need to bring down other people for comedy's sake; he is smart, quick, and clever.


For anyone who wants to laugh at something a little more than the tired stereotypes or wacky absurdist humour that is so popular these days, I would highly recommend John Mulaney's New in Town.

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