Friday, July 31, 2009

David Cross is a Very Funny Comic

I saw David Cross a few years ago at the DC Improv, and he was off the meat-rack. Fucking hysterical. He's one of those comics who, instead of relying upon gags, impressions, and hey, true story middle-of-the-road crowd pleaser shit, actually takes some risks and goes for the neck with really creative and acerbic material. There were a few times -- particularly when he was doing this bit about racist zombies -- when there were some people who were flatly unamused (these were typically the times I was laughing the hardest). He's not a moron, he definitely knows when he's wading into deep shit with some of his material, and he was ready for the inevitable hecklers; he spent like five straight minutes gutting one particularly retarded heckler in front of the audience, which was one of the funniest moments in the show.

Cross gets lumped in with Janeane Garofalo and other political comics, but I really don't think that's a correct designation for any of them. David Cross seems to be one of those people who can't stand hypocrisy, stupidity, and contradiction in American society, and sees it for the comedic gold mine that it is; it just so happens that politics offers a practically limitless supply of material, and these past few years have been really rich in that department if your politics are even remotely left-leaning. Cross takes note of those contradictions, both the subtle and the gargantuan, and rubs them right in your face. I guess not everyone likes that, but F them. I love it.