Last Comic Standing: Staggeringly Lifeless And Painfully Unfunny Episode 10 Recap by CC McCandless
August 23, 2007
As Last Comic Standing lurches toward the finish line of another uninspiring season we are left to wonder what could have been. The concept of holding worldwide auditions proved to be a great idea in theory, and yet the judges botched their choices in its execution. We had a decent field of ten semi finalists, only to see some of the best comedians inexplicably bounced before this week. Sadly, we're left with what we've been left with before all too often with this show: a stand up comedy show that just isn't that funny.
With five comics remaining, at least they'll each get a much bigger chunk of stage time, right? Of course not. Up front, we are informed that they'll each get a paltry four minutes to perform. Even accounting for roughly 25 minutes of commercial time, that means that we're subjected to at least 15 minutes of pure filler or, in tonight's case, couldn't-be-less-timely Bill Clinton jokes by Bill Bellamy. The comics also received the ominous warning that if they exceeded that four minute mark their microphones would be turned off.
In most cases, they could have been turned off after four seconds and we all would have been better off.
Lavell Crawford was first and he was staggeringly lifeless and painfully unfunny. Usually he brings a boisterous and jovial manner to the stage at the very least, and even that was lacking tonight. Maybe he felt safe enough to phone it in, but he just wasn't good. Neither was Jon Reep. He did have a bit about people wanting privacy on cell phones in public that didn't make me want to kill myself, but his continued insistence on shaking his head back and forth like an angry rooster makes me want to break my remote control. I just don't dig him, and despite being less annoying than usual he did nothing to change my mind.
Ralph Harris was next and he continued his season-long trend of relying on broad physical comedy and nonsensical goofy voices and once again it did nothing for me. This guy has won not one but two head to head showdowns and I don't think he has ever caused me to crack even a smirk.
Someone would did, thankfully, was Amy Schumer, the only woman left and the least experienced comic in the competition. She was at least mildly amusing and she didn't seem intimidated by the moment. Amy, I'm pulling for you the rest of the way. Keep up the not-nearly-as-bad-as-most-of-these-hacks work. Gerry Dee wrapped up the night and he was okay too. He didn't light up the stage, but compared to the trio that kicked off the night he might as well have been Jerry Seinfeld.
Naturally, this means that Amy or Gerry is going home next week. This hour dragged on so drudgingly long that my mind began to wander, hoping that NBC might pull another "unexpected twist" and boot more than one comic next week to make this agony come to a quicker end. Alas, they already revealed that next time just one comic will go home. They did, however, tease us with a reference to two special guests. Let's hope it's Mel Silverback and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, because this is what we're dealing with at this point-hoping for animals that are guaranteed to be funnier than their human counterparts.
C.C. McCandless is an independent filmmaker and freelance writer. He has a Bachelor’s degree in broadcasting from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.
You can contact C.C. here: cc.mccandless@gmail.com
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