Currently, Patton Oswalt is widely known as Doug's friend Spence on the CBS sitcom "The King of Queens." For those of us that do not watch CBS, he may also be known by his real-life personality from "The Comedians of Comedy" on Comedy Central. Hopefully with time, he will become best known for being one of the cleverest, most progressive comedians of recent years. His exaggerated storytelling style and everyday persona combine to form interesting insights into relevant — though seemingly irrelevant — subjects.
One relevant subject that Oswalt confronts in his stand-up special "No Reason to Complain," which is now on DVD, is the recent state of America. Oswalt proudly announces his disdain for George W. Bush and the crowd applauds with enthusiastic agreement. He, then, points out the fact that everyone in the audience is there because he invited them. In other words, he is not exactly making a bold statement. Of course they agree. Why else would they be there?
After making fun of this fact, he then declares his even greater contempt for hippies. The cheering is a little more lacking on this one. In fact, his deep hatred for hippies has even made him a bigger fan of eating steak. Why? Because, as he points out, "Every time you eat a steak, a hippie's Hacky Sack goes in the gutter." Ridiculous statements like this make Oswalt's standup stand out.
From hippies to little people, Oswalt continues to offend in his unique way. He begins by sharing some interesting facts about midgets. Apparently, among other things, if one were to hit a midget over the head with a stick, he or she would turn into 40 gold coins. He also states that the only reason that there are so many midgets in the world is because if you lose a fight to one, you become one. In the beginning, there was only one, and they have since multiplied. Clearly, they are good fighters.
This may sound politically incorrect, but it is so absurd that Oswalt is able to mask the offensive material within an unbelievably outrageous story. It is not so much about making fun of little people as using them as a vehicle for his maniacal mind.
To sum up the joke, Oswalt suggests that if a midget approaches someone, he or she should refuse to fight, walk away and, "Be the bigger man, literally." He concludes this joke by lifting up one of his legs and making a loud farting noise with his mouth into the microphone. The only way an easy pun about little people could become funnier is by following it up with a self-deprecating blast of flatulence. One lowbrow joke deserves another. They sort of cancel each other out.
Most of Oswalt's humor is based around this kind of model. It begins with something politically incorrect. Once this is established, the joke becomes so over the top with a comparison or implausible storyline that the viewer essentially forgets that they are offended and simply enjoys whatever they are being told. Finally, he makes some kind of self-reflective crack about how he went too far or lacked creativity. This design is so well performed that the viewer will go from being offended, to being enthralled, to being charmed by Oswalt's childish wit.
Now on DVD, the special is uncensored. The only problem is that there was not much that needed to be censored in the first place. Oswalt can be pretty vulgar, but there must have been a considerable amount self-censorship for the special. Also, the moments where commercials would have gone still exist. It would seem possible to have edited it in such a way to make the performance flow without these brief interruptions, but alas, they still exist.
What is great about the DVD, though, is that it has the complete main feature, "No Reason to Complain," deleted scenes from the performance, and his "Comedy Central Presents" special. Not to mention, the DVD has some fascinating menus.
Patton Oswalt provides social commentary in an intelligent way — pretending not to be as intelligent as he actually is. Still, he clearly prides himself on being a nerd, and it often shows. Occasionally he will ramble post-joke, providing ancillary information as though on an Internet forum. He seems so comfortable on stage and yet possesses such insecurity that it is hard not to relate to him, especially for those that share his love of comic books and science fiction. Right now he may just be a comedian of comedy, but soon he shall rise to be a god among geeks.
Rating: 4 out of 5
