David Cross: Bigger and Blackerer (2009)

I may not have seen as much of David's material as his biggest fans but even I could tell that he was not as funny as usual in his Bigger and Blackerer performance. David's style is intelligent -- he is articulate and unafraid to use the right (even bigger) words to make his political (or apolitical) point and to express the humor in it. Just the same, I spent 95% of this show (streamed, no DVD extras) with a deadpan expression -- and I watched it twice through while in a good mood. A couple of his racial or ethnic zingers made me cringe and grin (like "Ouch, drew blood with that one!") and I chuckled through some of his potshots on religion (even my own) but his best material was about the irrational Tea Party wackos (who prove they have no sense of perspective, objectivity, or humor). I didn't like the opening act of a cussing kid, the hackneyed bit about messing with the ASL interpreter (who, as part of the act, had one funny line: "Stay deaf!"), or the ignorant riff on the Bible as "rewritten" and "retranslated." To my mind, the whole performance can be summarized by his final "joke" where he claims to be serious then explains his lifelong issue with depression: "Then I found out that, all along, I had a rock in my shoe." That's how funny this whole show is. I hope you enjoy it and can appreciate David with laughter and not just for his logic (or lack of it)! 3 stars.