“Some people are black, and some people are luckier” – David Cross
For the record, David Cross is not black. With parts in Arrested Development and Waiting for Guffman, fans might already know that. The same brand of awkward humor found in his numerous TV and movie roles is found here in his new act. It kicks off with a small (and I mean, small), hilarious intro and continues with everything from airplane jokes to heroin addicts. No jewish stone is left unturned here.
David Cross: Bigger and Blackerer on DVD is his second filmed stand up act and is comprised of footage from two back-to-back shows taking place at Boston’s Wilbur Theatre. This comes as both a CD and DVD release with the same name, but each contains unique material exclusive to the medium. The DVD has far more material with the inclusion of all the extra bits thrown in as special features. On top of that, David manages to mix in enough physical comedy to make this version the one to see.
David Cross is one smart MoFo. He manages to take issues like the health care bill, Obama’s previous decisions, global warming and The Bible and turn them into comic genius. He provides strong opinions on all of these while keeping the comedy fresh and unique. Calling The Bible “the world’s oldest game of telephone” was not only funny, it made sense in context. His bit on how humble Jesus was almost made me cry. People easily offended by religious comedy should steer clear but for the rest of us, it’s great stuff.
The first part of the stand-up act sounds like David Cross has never done stand up before. His jokes feel really rough around the edges, almost like he’s reading them off a piece of paper. There’s just far too many “um”’s, “ah”’s and dead silence throughout that make the first few skits in the act drag on longer than they should. The whole foods skits, as well as the beginning of the deaf guy bit are examples of this. Past that, this is one of the better stand-up DVDs I’ve seen this year.
Special Features
David Cross: Bigger and Blackerer comes as a single disc collection and contains the following:
- An Existence Predicted Upon Manufacturing Necessity
- Liveblogging!!!
- An Unpopular Stance
- The Most Surreal Thing I’ve Ever Experienced
- How to Make Your Own Yogurt
- Unnecessary Bonus Bullshit
All the special features are extra bits taken from both live show and can be watched all at once or individually. The bit on Coors Light as well as well as the Liveblogger is awesome. All of the extra stuff is good enough that it could have been part of the main show and I wonder why there wasn’t an option to run the main feature as an extended edition with all these bits added. In addition to all these extras, there’s a little Easter egg for those that highlight David’s eyes on the DVD menu. The DVD version also came with a poster of the box art for those that want to stare at David Cross constantly.
Overall
David Cross is an overly smart comic who covers a LOT of material in this live show. He generally plays an awkward character in most of the films and TV shows he’s cast in and his stand up act feels similar. If you can get through the first few bits, this is a great addition to any stand-up comic fans library.
ComicsOnline gives David Cross: Bigger and Blackerer on DVD 3.5 out of 5 deaf comedians.
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