Norm Macdonald: Hitler's Dog, Gossip & Trickery

(Flash Review)

Norm is on point in this one. His set is full of a steady barrage of solid jokes delivered only as Norm can. The one knock I'd have is here occasionally there are some pointless and forced cursing. Felt out of place. He could also lose the formal suit. If you like Norm you'll enjoy this.

I'm sorry but screw this audience. They should of been howling. Too many dead spots. You witnessed history. Perhaps you didn't get it till the ride home. You all should of been passed out in your seats from lack of oxygen due to laughing. Perhaps that's why it's quiet you all fainted.

In this new stand-up special, Norm Macdonald delivers sly, deadpan observations from an older -- and perhaps even wiser -- point of view.

I'm not sure if I have heard these jokes before, or if I accidentally watched this special twice. Either way, despite a feeling of deja vu, it was still a knockout performance.

The style is not for everyone. The deadpan delivery, the odd observations... this is not Jerry Seinfeld and it is definitely not a series of laugh-out-loud jokes. This is a slow burn that builds until you are inside the world of Norm. Apolitical, not terribly obscene or offensive... just offbeat. And it works.

This is probably the best comedy special I have ever seen. I first randomly drunk watched it and couldn't remember who it was. I went all over the place searching the one joke I could remember until I was recommended to look up Norm independently.

I've since totally immersed myself in Norm and this special and his podcast Norm MacDonald Live are his best work. I would say this is the best special I have ever seen. If not Straight White Male 60 by Dana Carvey.

Norm MacDonald is a guy that's openly against doing specials, so it's nice that we actually get some televised stuff for the first time in six years (apart from a brief Letterman appearance). To start out with the good: Norm's still an absolute genius, making people laugh at the sheer absurdity of his premises. There are no rapid-fire punchlines, as the years progress Norm's increasingly comfortable with just having long, meandering stories and takes his time to set up a joke. The absolute best bit in the special is the one where he teaches us you never have to lie... if you say everything in a sarcastic voice. The way he acts that out is classic stuff.

With that said, there are two somewhat disappointing elements about this special. For one thing, Norm doesn't like it when his performances get edited but this could have definitely used some editing. Some bits just go absolutely nowhere and just confuse the crowd. For instance, there's a bit on George Washington that just completely dies, and it makes you wonder if Norm really thought his delivery could save a bit that literally has no jokes. Norm's delivery and timing is amazing, maybe the best of all time. But you still need to write, even if you can make people laugh by mispronouncing the word 'capsule'.

Another thing that's somewhat of a letdown is that a lot of this material is old. There are some decent quality bootlegs available from 2009 and 2010, and I recognised a lot of bits from those bootlegs. He's been doing these bits for seven or eight years now? For a guy who allegedly hates to tell the same joke twice, that seems pretty lazy. I can laugh at the restaurant bit a hundred times, but I was hoping I'd discover lots of new material. That didn't happen, I knew pretty much everything.

However, it's good to see he's still having fun with this. He's a natural and an incredibly mysterious guy, so all the new footage you can get of him is a gem. Furthermore, I don't think I've ever laughed more at the ending of a comedy special, because it was just so perfectly in character for Norm. Overall I'd say this special is a little below 2011's "Me Doing Stand-Up", but certainly not by much.