Dane Cook delivers a new style and generation of stand-up comedy in his debut release Harmful if Swallowed. Cook’s innovative style of topical humor will be sure to take you down a bizarre and awkward memory lane that only an adolescence of being raised in the ’80s can attest to.
Cook is originally from Boston and has worked the New York and Los Angeles comedy club circuits for more than eight years, creating his own niche in the field of comedy.
Taking on everyday subjects like basic automobile mishaps, fast-food restaurants, electronic reading tutors (we all remember the obnoxious but useful Speak n’ Spell) and male testosterone and delivering them in an honest but hilarious style is where Cook’s approach to comedy truly shines.
In one joke featured on the CD, Cook talks about the Kool-Aid mascot featured in commercials from the late ’80s. Already the listener is laughing as they envision the giant talking bowl of fruit punch crashing through walls and into a house to play with a bunch of kids. Cook takes the minutest details of the playful childhood monster and exposes them as the audience connects with his left-field viewpoints and laughs uncontrollably.
“The thing just bursts through the wall screaming ‘Oh yeah! Oh yeah!’ and the kids are all happy … laughing and jumping around, drinking juice filled with debris from his enormous open head.” Cook explains, “If I was that kid, I would be like, ‘You clean this shit up before my dad gets home! He isn’t going to believe a giant bowl of fruit punch broke into the house’ … And he always wore tights! I don’t like that. I don’t like when juice wears tights!”
Trying to put Cook’s jokes into print doesn’t do him any favors. The obvious weakness in his comedy is that each joke doesn’t last much longer than five minutes, and the subjects he covers don’t warrant much thought. However, this probably works in his favor, as his core audience is the college crowd, which isn’t known for its attention span and views comedy as laughter, not a process of gaining valuable knowledge. His strength lies in his delivery and natural stage presence. His method of telling a joke is unorthodox and can be described as short and to the point. While it may not prompt much brain power, the ecstatic delivery of Cook’s verbal onslaught combined with his unique topics of daily life in America give him his own style in a field known for its creativity.
The root of his style can be traced to comics such as Jerry Seinfeld, a comic legend who pioneered the approach of taking basic, fundamental events in life and presenting them in satirical fashion. The traditional process of stand-up requires an element of drawn-out suspense as a comic would build up and release the humorous tension for one long and carefully matriculated laugh. Comedians from Lenny Bruce to Bill Cosby have made legendary careers developing this technique.
Where Cook makes his mark is hitting the audience with quick, rapid-fire bits that are told in enthusiastic and energetic rants. The advantage of this product is that you can hear his material on one disc and see it on the other. On the DVD, which features his Comedy Central special “Comedy Central presents Dane Cook” and three other stand-up acts originally broadcast on the cable network, the viewer will laugh and perhaps question the man’s personal sanity as Cook’s exuberant stage presence is showcased.
As the first comedian to release a CD/DVD combination, Dane Cook is not only revolutionizing the business aspect of being a stand-up comic, but also utilizing its commercial potential to expand his audience across the country. His website, www.danecook.com, offers a wide array of everything Dane as web surfers are free to listen to and view clips from this and other media projects, including numerous appearances on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno,” “Late Night Conan O’Brien” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” The site also features message boards and frequent updates on Cook’s stand-up appearances, which cover the entire country. Cook has also enjoyed moderate success in the world of acting, briefly appearing in the Farrelly Brothers’ latest film, “Stuck On You,” and has a minor role in the currently playing action film “Torque.”
Diehard followers of stand-up comedy may find Cook a bit obnoxious and his subject matter a bit immature, but they would still have to admire his natural sense of spunk and liveliness. If you enjoy fast-paced humor that relates to your everyday life, then you will laugh hysterically as Cook takes you on a satirical journey that will leave your stomach sore.
Grade:A/B
