Brett Goldstein: The Second Best Night of Your Life

Brett Goldstein's first stand-up special, The Second Best Night of Your Life, is a mixed bag that showcases his comedic potential but struggles with consistency.

Known for his early starring roles in SuperBob, Tom in Ricky Gervais - "Derek" and later for his Emmy-winning role as Roy Kent in Ted Lasso and co-creating Shrinking, Goldstein brings his signature gruff charm to the comedy stage.

The special, filmed in New Jersey, leans heavily on cultural observations - British vs. American quirks, Muppet encounters, and self-deprecating humour. When he's sharp, like joking about his "exotic" name in England versus its banality in America, the laughs land well.

His bold dives into personal topics, from botched relationships to masculinity, are refreshing and often endearing, avoiding the pitfalls of crude comedy. However, the pacing falters, and Goldstein's stage persona feels undefined.

Some bits, like rants about U. S. public toilets, meander into confusion, and his delivery can feel rehearsed or overly vulgar, lacking the organic flow of seasoned comics.

While fans of his TV work will enjoy his charisma, the special doesn't fully coalesce. It's a promising debut but uneven, leaving you wanting a tighter set.

Rating: 6/10.

This was like a person deciding to do his first open mic night at a comedy show because of the pressure of his friends to get up there and give it a try. It fails miserably. Not a single funny moment throughout the entire hour. It just dragged on, while I waited for a good moment to arrive. The jokes were unoriginal. There was nothing creative or unique about it. Just a British guy pointing out the strange aspects of America, throw in a few self deprecating reflections, add a little sex, loop back around to a recurring theme that gets you minimal laughs. There are so many good, original, hilarious comics out there. This is undeniably not one of them.

Loved him in shrinking, He can play pure emotion and sadness. Loved him in Ted Lasso as Toy Kent. He's funny angry but thoughtful. All that and comedy stand up. He's brilliant! I would love to see more acting from him. He's already shown a wide range. He'd be scary in a thriller. Can't you see him menacing someone or perhaps an entire city with those world class caterpillars he sports for eyebrow? He's the whole package. Give him a break all you haters on his first comedy special. It's not like he wrote it all. He has a bright brilliant future and I for one look forward to seeing more of anything from him.

Brett Goldstein is an engaging, handsome and charismatic performer. This special had good pacing and some good jokes. If you like stand up, you'll find things to like in this stand up special. Overall I was amused and laughed out loud twice.

I cannot score higher because the delivery of the jokes felt really awkward. Typically comics act as if they are telling the audience the jokes organically and naturally. This performance felt like a dress rehearsal that perhaps should not have been filmed. I don't know if this is his style or if he was just nervous. I did find this element to be distracting.

Zzzzzz is it over yet ???? I really wanted to laugh and was just waiting for something funny but it just never came though out the whole show, I mean it sounded like he was just talking about his own life experiences and don' t know who would find this funny maybe the Americans do but felt most of those laughs we're out of pity really (Ahhh look at the cute British guy trying to be funny !) Even his punch lines were miss timed and the jokes were long forgotten by the time they came. I don't know who wrote his material but I would have actually been embarrassed to repeat it in front of a live audience.