Zach Galifianakis: Live at the Purple Onion

Zach Galifianakis is probably one of the best comedians to come out of the scene in the last 10 years…he's definitely that good, he's a top ten without a doubt on anybody's list who truly understands comedy.

No, his humor is not always right there for you to "get." Case in point, interspersed throughout his stand-up at the Purple Onion (San Francisco), are "interviews" with his twin brother Seth from the South. These segments contain very subtle comedic touches and sometimes they even seem to intentionally protrude into the going-ons that are taped at the club.

But it's okay, once you realize that Zack/Seth is really a total nutcase which is evident when he deviates from his usual "jokes" and begins to engage with the audience members…there is no one out there in today's comedy scene that I know of who is best equipped to handle total chaos than Zach. I'm not saying that he caused nor were there any chaos present at the club that night…but when he interacts with paying customers, there really is no one out there in today's world that can hold a candle to his improv.

He chastises them, he loves them, he makes fun of them, he screams at them, and he wonders overall (out loud) if they even understand his jokes. It all adds up to one of the most unique and satisfying stand-up performances you're likely to see out of all the current "newbies" out there.

King of the one-liner, insult comedy, strange lying-down comedy, meta comedy, musical comedy.

This is a SPECIAL special. This film of a Zach G stand-up set captures a comedian at the peak of his powers, completely self-deprecatory and self-deconstructive, if that's a thing, Zach is just plain funny. That's all you need to know.

The only moments that didn't work for me bordered on insult-comedy and audience- participation, the sort of moments normally aimed at hecklers. Just not a fan of that sort of thing. They still worked well to showcase how quick Zach is, because he bounces instantly off something the audience-member says into something brilliant.

The chief genre here is one-liner. If you don't care for one-liners, steer clear. If you've never seen a Zach G comedy set (like I hadn't) highly recommended.

I won't lie, it starts off rough. It takes a bit for Zach to get good, but once he's 2-3 beers in, it gets much better. Zach has a lot of one liners and silly characters, some land, some don't. He also likes to pick on the audience, somethings it's funny, sometimes it's just painful. But the drunker he gets, the more entertaining he is. What starts off cringe turns into a laughing fit by the end, you just need to hang in there. By no means tho will every joke land, and for some I can understand why they'll bail out early. Again, it starts out rough.

Interspersed throughout the show is cutaways to Zach talking about his life or playing a character as his "brother". These bits are odd but very humorous. If you are a fan of the Hangover, you will see where a lot of the inspiration for Zach's role comes from between his jokes and his characters.

By the end tho, it is funny. And shout out to Carl, the real hero of this special. We need more good sported audience members like you.

Big fan of stand up, this is the single funniest comedy act I have ever seen.

It is hard to call it stand up, it is not just him standing in front of a mic telling zingers. It is him mostly on piano the whole show sharing with you a peak inside is hilarious, self-aware yet sometimes self-loathing mind. There is dark humor, there is witty humor, there is eccentricity that makes you laugh, there are audience interactions that make you cringe (seemingly intentionally) and parts that make you jealous you weren't in the room. It is electric!

I cannot recommend this special highly enough. It has been over 15 years from its release and I still have not laughed harder at a comedy act. Truly brilliant!

I like most of what Galifianakis has done outside this and I understand his comedy, but I found this show to be a little bit too indulgent, ill-disciplined and not very funny. I can do without seeing long inserts of him driving a Kombi and the 'twin' character didn't add anything but highlight the weakness of the main set: In a 1 hour show nothing should be trying to detract from the stand-up unless there are problems with the stand up in the first place. And there were; (unintentionally and repeatedly) flubbed jokes; excessive and repetitive interaction with one audience member; lack of much coherence; and inconsistent delivery. There were occasional lines that brought a smile, but more often the comedy fell flat or awkwardly for me.