Nick Offerman: American Ham

Nick Offerman was skyrocketed into pop culture in 2009 with his portrayal of Ron Swanson on NBC's Parks and Recreation. Ron Swanson is so traditionally masculine that Hemingway himself might think twice about trading shots with him. 

Interestingly, Nick Offerman's personality is nearer to Swanson's than many actors are to their characters. He has successfully operated a woodshop for a number of years, and has made everything from canoes to ukeleles himself. 

I've listened to Offerman's great interviews on the Nerdist Podcast (first and second) and loved his philosophies and attitudes on life, acting, and what it means to be a man. 

I've said all this because I want you to know how ready I was to love his special, American Ham. Offerman is not a stand-up, per se, but a "humourist". Think of Mark Twain, and how he wasn't doing bits about airplane food, but more specific observational anecdotes.

Sadly, I did not like American Ham.

I know Chris, I know Leslie. I was shocked too.

Offerman doesn't even have the problem of being "not funny". He has the problem of being a very funny person doing material that is unoriginal and, more much of the special, rather boring.

He does almost 15 minutes on "Man, the Bible sure says some stupid stuff!" which isn't bad because it could be considered offensive by some, but bad because it's so unoriginal and uninspired that you'd hear much of it at Sunday School (minus the frequent references to oral sex).

There are, of course, redeeming moments, like when he is forced to cut out a parody of a Johnny Cash song and it cuts to a pre-taped video segment featuring Offerman in his workshop feigning bewilderment at the "lawyer" telling him why he can't show the song, while speaking to camera about where fans can go find the song on YouTube. 

I will continue to love Nick Offerman despite this special. I think he's still an inspiring figure, and I tend to agree with much of his personal philosophy. I just won't concern myself with seeking out tickets to any of his one-man shows.

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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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