Neal Brennan: Crazy Good

Neal Brennan's latest Netflix special, "Crazy Good," is a tiresome take on the intersection of comedy and mental health. Brennan, known for his incisive wit and candid storytelling, delves into his personal journey with mental health.

In "Crazy Good," Brennan aims to move away from the more somber tone of his previous specials to embrace a newfound sense of well-being. He opens up about the various treatments he's explored, from conventional therapy to more unconventional methods.

Brennan often comes across as obsessed with white guilt and white self-loathing. This Netflix special is peppered with skin color jokes, the underlying point of which is always that white people should be ashamed. I understand that these jokes are tailored for an American, white liberal audience, but for a European, it gets tiresome.

Moving on from saving himself and/or others in the Blocks special and podcast, Brennan addresses that off the bat saying that he's feeling pretty good. And it shows clearly!

He's so sharp and the focus here is really just on the jokes, well-crafted and really well delivered. He might go a little overboard on the rape/killing joke, but I think that's a comedian classic. The intentional overdoing it is the meta-joke. Don't believe me, ask The Aristocrats.

Anyways, the pacing is just about perfect, and zingers at the end of each of the religious attack ends right on the money. Watched this immediately after the Golden State Warriors squandered their season, I'd recommend it to Klay Thompson and to you.

I suppose in a few years or decades we may see Neal as the spokesperson for legalized ayahuasca. I prefer to just imbibe it second-hand via this excellent stand-up. Reader's Digest was right, laughter really is the best medicine.

Far out, this gets off to a kind of bad start, which surprised me, because I remembered watching at least a couple of Neal Brennan specials some years ago and enjoyed them pretty thoroughly. Crazy Good does eventually start hitting a little at a point, but I was wondering for about 10 to 15 minutes there whether I'd laugh or exhale a little air through my nose at all.

I was going to put it down to just being tired (hence watching a stand-up special tonight instead of trying to stay awake through a full movie), but no, I think it just started out kind of crazy mediocre. Brennan has some good jokes eventually, though. It's an inconsistent special, and the guy feels a little out of touch and less relatable compared to how he'd been before, but the good stuff makes it decent overall. He takes some risks, too. The riskier stuff isn't very funny, but in a fair world, it could be used to shut up those people who say comedians don't take risks anymore. Some don't, some do. Nuance is nice and underrated.

Maybe it's another stand-up special for the ever-growing pile of them on Netflix. I watch fewer than I used to, as there's only so much most people can do. Brennan had some hooks to his earlier specials, which helped them stand out. This one is more bare-bones. It is just okay as far as bare-bones specials on Netflix go.

Neal Brennan is completely hilarious in his latest special "Crazy Good." He is so funny that I laughed hard, loudly, and cried tears of joy. After watching his special last night, I have literally thought of nothing else today. I cannot wait to get home from work, so I can re-watch it on Netflix. I am a huge comedy fan, but it is rare that I am impressed with stand-up specials. However, there are a few exceptions. For example, "The New York Story" by Colin Quinn, and those are the ones I watch relentlessly. I have added "Crazy Good" to my re-watchable comedy special lifetime list, and so should you. Congratulations Neal Brennan, you have performed one of the funniest stand-up specials in comedy history.