Neal Brennan: 3 Mics

Easiest way to say it. Neal is a damn genius. And if you don't get it you are the idiot his joke is about and the problem with society. I want to marry this man and I think marriage is a sham.

Neal Brennan could hide (and probably he does hide to this day) behind the familiar, behind supremely talented Dave Chappelle, to-an-extent-talented Amy Schumer. Some of his directions are lame, some are okay, none of them are exceptional. I have never liked his stand-up either. Amd this one changes it. I was little apprehensive about the gimmicky use of 3 microphones, but in the end, everything falls into place.

What is similar with a Dave Chappelle stand up is the thoughtfulness, the introspection, the meditation. Now to look at three acts separately, at least a few one-liners are more like dad-jokes, the regular stand-up bits are mostly funny but not laugh-out-loud variety except the last bit which is very Amy Schumer-ish and brought nothing new to the table. What stands out is the meditation of the center mic, the non-rant version of everything that can be rant on, and the satire and the irony living a life that is partly felt and mostly numb. But Neal creates the vehicle that gives you a taste of his own life and reflected on it, a taste of your own life, partly felt, mostly numb.

I rated it 10 on 10, although I do not think it will be counted as classic, but somehow this standup resonated with me, reminded me of Tig Notaro, Dave Chappelle among others.

Part comedy part deep life reflection. Great comedy is about life, and with 3 mics you get both the good and the bad of it. You can be rolling back in your seat with laughter one minute, but on the edge of it the next. Amongst the waves of laughter, lay brutal life reflections, both funny and tragic. Definitely worth a watch.

The actual comedy in this show isn't always stellar. It's not incredibly unique. What makes this special worth watching is the 'real' parts of the show. Neal dives into some really deep subjects and it makes the viewer think. This special isn't just a comedy show, it's a real-life story with ups and downs and cuts and notes. If you're looking for traditional comedy, it might be best to avoid this, but if you liked Bo Burnham's Make Happy, you'll probably like this.

My buddy, whose opinion I respect, ,sent me this and was raving so that was my expectation. I was underwhelmed at first. There was also the Hannah Gadsby comparison for the content, which was unfair because it came out before Nanette. So after stopping it and allaying that last bias as well as lowering my high expectation I went back to it; and it had some funny parts.

His personal narrative was the best part as well as offering up the funniest lines. It was never boring, just some of the jokes seemed a little cliche or low effort. His switch from personal story/anecdotes to one-liners was a little off-putting at first but by midway a flow had been developed.

Is this a constant flow of snickers and guffaws, no, very few are,, but it's darn insightful, funny and enjoyable to watch all the way through and I recommend giving it a go. I like the dude and look forward to hearing more.

In case you haven't heard of him before this like me, he was a writing partner with Dave Chapelle for the Dave Chapelle Show. But he stands on his own completely! (You really do, Neil.) Great work!