David Cross: Making America Great Again

While many of the things said by reviewer Caio are correct, i.e. Cross kind of drags and engagement is not always there, I disagree strongly with the idea Cross has a "rusty edge". Still there are, again as mentioned by Caio, the bait-and-switch jokes that really lead to gut laughs, the Cross-ish mannerisms, and above all, the wit. Yes, there are times in this where he becomes more preachy than in previous works; this is probably where most people will lose him and go do other things. Being of (mostly) the same worldview as Cross and having cut my teeth watching Mr. Show late night in the mid 90s when I had school the next morning, I hung around and was glad I did. Cross really is talented in elocution, and very whimsical in leading you in to a twisted joke in this special. If you can stay to the end, he always makes the punchline worth it. I was also impressed by one of his analogies and for pointing out some things I didn't think of (even in being highly political, myself). Speaking of which, one downside of his political rant was the exclusion of the Democratic party and establishment for their collusion in many of the things I felt he correctly pegged the "other side" of doing. I'll stop there as to not make this about my political beliefs, but will say that I hope he comes around on that. Anyhow, if this is what David Cross is like after an ostensible hiatus from stand-up, I must say I have high hopes for his future specials!

His topics aren't new for him or most comedians but he still manages to find a way to make em hilarious. Im sure alot of these negative reviews are from trump supporters or what not but the sandy hook victims material had me in tears.

Quite honestly, I didn't feel entertained.

I like David Cross but this just didn't do anything for me. A bunch of political and nazi jokes with no real punchline just isn't a good time for me and as great as his beard looks in this, doesn't make up for the lack of humour.

Sorry David, just wasn't for me!

This is an odd thing to see. I don't mean Netflix producing a special for David Cross, but more so him doing stand-up. It seemed like his glory days were behind him and this sort of proves it. His topical comments on politics take longer to make people laugh compared to his last three comedy specials. You could tell the audience respected him as a comedy giant but the content was just underwhelming. His energy level is really low and keeping the audience engaged for an hour is just stretching jokes out. Honestly, I did enjoy watching it; but when I went to go listen back to his previous work, I was reminded on how skillful his edgy comedy was.

The tempo in his previous shows was at a steady rate. This time it doesn't live up to his career. There is always typically a time where an artist is at their peak. And it seems this is the point where he's climbing down. He's gotten quite rusty this time around. The only moment I actually laughed hysterically was one joke at the end. And what Cross does best is get people to laugh with his tone, cadence, mannerisms, and hyperbolic the minimalist bait and switch jokes. But you can't ride on that with just sub-par material. I liked some of the content, but at some point it was like he was riding a wave for too long without changing course appropriately. Usually David Cross' bits are very quick and the longer ones are multi-faceted or connect to another point to move the entire show along. The theme is extremely muddled and sloppy when compared to his previous work.

If you like David Cross but if you never seen/heard his stand-up before--I'd recommend that much more.

David Cross behaves like a grown up that still blames his parents for all the problems he faces in everyday life. His stand up is basically always the same thing, he just recycles it. He gives it some new jokes but it's always the same routine. Church, right wing politicians, church, church, church... If you don't want to be disappointed, just watch one of his stand ups and then nothing else, ever. This way you will actually enjoy it. He is a smart and funny guy but can't break out of a circle he drawn himself. I wish he would stick to just staring in shows. He is amazing when someone else writes his material. I hope he will entertain us for a long time, just not with stand ups.