Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity (2007)

After watching several of his performances, I have concluded that Jeff Dunham skates on very thin ice for the quality of his jokes and then keeps skating over and over the same spots till he falls through -- and even then his audience keeps laughing. (This makes me wonder if they all shop at Sam's Club but that's another issue. BTW see if any non-whites are in the audience.) His opening monologue is folksy, self-deprecating, and brings in members of his family -- the opening scene to this show even depicts his wife in bed with Jeff and several of his characters -- though unfortunately, it's usually to make lame gay jokes about lotion or "playing with dolls" or being "fabulous!" Of Dunham's six characters (ventriloquism dummies), Walter is my favorite. (OK, he's the only one I can stand -- and even he gets on my nerves.) Walter's schtick gets old because it's thin and sooo repetitive: "Waaah. Boo-hoo. I don't care. Whatever." Walter is mean and pretends not to care but is lovable; Peanut is mean and really does not care so he says whatever the hell he wants. Bubba, Big Daddy D, Jose Jalapeno on a Stick, and Achmed the Dead Terrorist are frankly offensive to rednecks, blacks, Hispanics, and Middle-Eastern persons. They would be funny if they were not threadbare stereotypes that rely on catchphrases (esp. "on a steeck" and "Silence! I keell you!") and facial ticks. While Dunham has great talent as a ventriloquist, his race-tinged humor has little more subtlety than a white man depicting a black man demanding watermelon or fried chicken. Finally in disgust, I began predicting Dunham's jokes by saying out loud the stupidest thing that sprang to mind before he said that very thing, which threw my youngest son. Frankly, Dunham's humor appeals best to boys aged 10-14. God save us from Jeff Dunham and those who laugh at him -- on a schtick. 2 stars.