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01-20-2015 "Bitch bitch bitch bitch bitch bitch bitch. Bitch bitch bitch bitch bitch. Kyle's mom's a bitch, and she's a stupid bitch." -Eric Cartman This is a recurring column I've been meaning to, um, start, for a while now. It's hard for something to recur if it doesn't actually happen the first time. So, a couple things: I like comedy. I'm at least an enthusiast, if not an expert in the field. I've listened to comedy that there was never any video to go along with - Cheech and Chong's Sister Mary Elephant and Adam Sandler's cassettes, and listened to some where there was video that I didn't see until later, like Crank Yankers and various Eddie Murphy routines. And of course, I've watched countless hours of Monty Python, SNL, stand-up, Cheers, Old School, Black Dynamite, Jim Shorts Cavalcade of Sports, South Park, Jersey Shore, Seinfeld, Letterman, Chappelle, and ALF. Some of it holds up well. Some of it doesn't. But what matters is the present and future of comedy. So I'm here to provide you a service. And that is simply to tell you what's funny. After all, your time is valuable. I'm going to sort out the shit from the shinola...or however that phrase goes. Unless...wait - are both of those things bad? Anyway, I'm going to tell you what is and isn't worth your time, and why, because everyone's tastes are different. And that's the second part of my 'couple things.' People's senses of humor are like snowflakes: unique, cold, delicious, and full of acid. I try to stay open-minded, and I give a wide berth for things that are creative, even if they miss the mark for me personally. The list of popular things I don't like could extend for miles: Chelsea Handler, Two and Half Men, 50% of SNL (although that's probably universal), Jeff Dunham, Frank Caliendo... well, you get the point. Today's subject: Larry Wilmore: 
Last night was the debut of Wilmore's "The Nightly Show," which slid into The Colbert Report's time slot after "The Daily Show." (Get it? *groan*) It's not entirely fair to compare this project with the beloved Colbert Report, which claimed copious amounts of hardware over its 10-year, 9-season run, including Emmys, Peabodys, the Word of the Year ("truthiness"), and Tweet of the Year. Or is it fair? Both were spawned from The Daily Show's correspondent machine. Both have the same time slot and that same-ish smarmy sarcasm. The difference there is Colbert was a character. Wilmore is just... Larry Wilmore, smarm factory. I didn't like his particular brand of humor on The Daily Show, where he was always (or very often) the "Senior Black Correspondent." The formula was usually Jon bringing up a story with a racial angle and then look to Larry for the black response. Larry would initially give a "Not so fast, Jon," type of answer and explain why blacks shouldn't be offended by something that was clearly offensive. Then Jon would somehow overstep his bounds and Larry would abruptly keep him in check. Once I'd seen about two of these segments, I fast-forwarded through them for the rest of eternity because the formula was so fucking boring. (See also: Samantha Bee.) Finishing up this mini-rant, I thought if The Daily Show wanted to spin-off a correspondent, they should have given either Jason Jones or Jessica Williams their own show. Jones is a great interviewer, way funnier and more creative, and has way more range. Jessica Williams, though young, has proven to be charismatic, both smart and sharp, an equally quick-witted and informed interviewer, and she has a strong delivery. Based on his work on The Daily Show, and last night's debut of The Nightly Show, Larry is armed with only two things: schtick and racial commentary. Both wore thin in just the opening segment. First, Wilmore tried to drop the schtick. His voice still hits high notes ala Jay Leno when he wants to make certain points, but it seems like he wants to be a man instead of a character. Which is great. I'm all for that if he's interesting. So far, though, he's not. If you want to be interesting, bring something to the table besides racial discussion. One, it's dangerous as hell. I know because I drop jokes about different races, cultures, genders, sexual orientations, etc. It's all out there. Rather low-hanging fruit in most cases, but so is a kick in the groin, and that makes me laugh too. The deal with that kind of stereotypical humor is that you'd better know your audience. And I definitely DON'T mean to advise you just tell black jokes at Republican fund raisers and hope no one has a cell phone camera running. No, I mean make sure your audience knows you so you don't end up being defined by one joke or one word choice. Be an equal opportunity offender! Chappelle was awesome at this. And I bring him up for a very important reason. Someone not familiar with his whole body of work might think he lives only in a wheelhouse of racial humor. Not true. Chappelle is a GD comedic genius because he made fun of everyone - our differences, our quirks, society, the media, and even himself. Larry Wilmore, unfortunately, was a one-trick pony last night. I wanted to re-watch today to count the number of times he said "black," "white," and "protest" during his 22 minutes, but I can't watch it again just for that. I'm sure it was around 50. This is stale, and it's unproductive. Strictly racial humor cannot sustain an audience. It can barely even sustain yawns and sighs before it succumbs to channel-changing. Oh, and did I mention it wasn't funny? It's hard to imagine what this show's sweet spot is gonna be. From last night's episode, the formula is going to be a news-based monologue followed by way too long of a panel, which for fuck's sake, isn't that played out by now? If you're gonna have a panel, you'd better nail it. He didn't. Having a host and four panelists doesn't leave a lot of room for anyone to speak. I like Bill Burr. I like Cory Booker. (I don't care who the other two were.) But Booker has turned into little more than a politician - all charm, an endless bubbling spring of hope with little substance that I can see. And Bill Burr was speechless at one point, which is hard to do. That probably sums up how awkward the panel segment was. Or as Anthony Jeselnik would say, "That panel panel panel up how panel the panel panel panel." Now there's sarcasm I can stand behind. Wilmore described his show as his "barber shop." Larry, I'm sorry, but you're not gonna cut it. To provide just a slight semblance of balance, Kyle Kinane has a stand-up special "I Liked His Old Stuff Better" debuting on Comedy Central this Saturday (technically, Sunday) from 12-1AM. Watch it because he's funny. Follow him on Twitter (@kylekinane) because he's funny on there too. Kinane is a genuinely unmotivated person, but a smart dude and a good story-teller. Have fun! -T You can now find me all over the web:  Like Monster Cards on Facebook (Frequent updates and scans of new inventory - graded and ungraded!)
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