T.J. Miller: Meticulously Ridiculous

I mean, a lot of times it was.

I mean as far as things go, things like this, there were a lot of funny moments and stuff that was also not THAT great but we all have our moments and our letdowns. Besides. It was funny.

Sometimes it's just nice to stay at home and make yourself a foot bath.

A nice foot bath.

NOT funny. Never even smiled. I think a few folks - who must have been easily amused - chuckled at a few lines, but perhaps they were 'sympathy laughs'. Seems like the guy in high school who's trying desperately to impress, but his 'material' is so self-involved, you walk away! At least his material wasn't foul (for the most part). But that just means this may be the most lame 'clean' comic show in history. This was such a lame show, toward the end i skipped to his closing joke. Still disappointed. Does this guy actually think waving a battle ax like he has palsy is funny? Does anyone? 10-15 minutes of self-absorbed discussion of why he bought a battle-ax and thinks it's cool? Doesn't even rise to the level of juvenile. An incredible waste of close to an hour. It's enough to put you off comedy altogether :^) Seriously though - is HBO so lacking in talent spotters that they can't get someone who's actually funny???? Or are they so cheap they can't afford real talent?

When I first saw him in Silicon Valley I thought he's so incredibly talented, perfect delivery of his lines. You could tell he poured a lot from his own personal style into that character and I appreciated that immensely. In Deadpool he was also pretty good, reminded me of his Erlich Bachman character a little bit, but that was a welcome reminder. And then I watched this... "special".

My initial conclusion is that he should absolutely, under any circumstances, not write his own material. His special is rife with juvenile, stale jokes and word play, obscure references that are near impossible to relate (and I enjoy comedians from Hart and Rogan all the way up to Louis CK and Lewis Black). His delivery is good, he's a talented actor, but the material is extremely stale and obscure. As if it's almost improvised on the spot, very poorly. Near the 20 minute mark I was visibly waiting for it to be over.

I think the most fortunate consequence of watching this thing is that the beloved character of Erlich Bachman is untarnished. If he ever makes another special I will not waste my time again unless it comes extremely highly recommended.

I actually like TJ Miller, despite his off screen issues. Loved him in Silicon Valley and She's Out of My League. But man this was a letdown. The jokes felt forced and most of the laughs felt like pity laughs. Definitely skip.

I loved every single moments and jokes (I got a bit mad when he's wasting the water though), but if you haven't lived in the US you won't get it. A lot of inside jokes that needs some basic knowledge, background. If you have those, you'll love it. THX T.J. I want more like this :)