I love Jim as a comedian, but I've found that most of his specials are too focused on current news events. This makes the specials irrelevant far too quickly.
Before I ever listened to O&A my friend told me about how funny they were, specifically comedian Jim Norton, this was like 2009. I trusted the guy so instead of listening to the show, I listened to one of Jim's specials. I chuckled a couple times, laughed once or twice but ended up thinking "Mike's an idiot, this guy is mediocre at best". It wasn't until I actually listened to a few shows on a long road-trip a couple years later that I realized how fucking funny Jimmy is
That show's a perfect example of why he's not good (enough).
He throws away the title bit of his special. Instead of hitting all the details and hanging threads from them like he did on O&A, he speed-mumbles it like an obligatory aside he has to get past so he can go back to being mad at TV (or as he calls it, "America").
There's some great stuff in that show—almost everything that's not topical, plus some of the insult lines in the TV bits—but it's not thematically coherent, doesn't have an "arc," doesn't build or even smoothly proceed. It's a really fucking long talk-show monologue (from the year before it came out) with a couple too-short, no-details, unexamined sex/humiliation stories added to it.
WHY THE FUCK IS IT CALLED MONSTER RAIN?
Standup Jimmy doesn't use Actual Jimmy's strengths. He should be dirty Spalding Grey up there, not bachelor Bobby Slayton—who he hates and is exactly fucking like.
He's slightly above average as far as headlining comics go. Off the cuff he makes me laugh more than anyone I've ever listened to but he rarely brings that to his stand-up. I've seen him live twice and both times his set was mostly angry topical humor; most of which was outdated. He spent a good 10 minutes on the Dark Knight which had come out about 2 years prior to his set.
I also think that he spends far to much time on stage trying to prove a point or show how intelligent he is by making vague points that everyone in a comedy club will agree with. "Censorship is garbage", "Liberals tend to be disingenuous babies!"
He'll make you laugh for sure but he'll also make you groan when he abandons humor to jerk himself off about how enlightened he is about the problems of the world.
That's probably more criticism than he deserves but I've been listening to him for so long that I can't not notice that stuff. Jimmy gets a 6.5/10 as a comic in my eyes............................peckaz.
Yeah worm is constantly stuck in the past, he didn't see the Star Wars prequels until about 10 years after they'd came out. Too much edging to tranny porn to keep up to date on issues of the day yet he insists on trying to have his comedy reflect current pop culture.
He is usually good until someone turns a camera on. Then he starts thinking about what he looks like and gets nervous so he has to use memorized material that has to be completely written by himself and tested over the radio with Opie as his main live audience. He is fine when he knows he won't ever see himself.
12 comments
5 NorthShore8 2015-10-28
I love Jim as a comedian, but I've found that most of his specials are too focused on current news events. This makes the specials irrelevant far too quickly.
4 carribbeanjimmy 2015-10-28
Before I ever listened to O&A my friend told me about how funny they were, specifically comedian Jim Norton, this was like 2009. I trusted the guy so instead of listening to the show, I listened to one of Jim's specials. I chuckled a couple times, laughed once or twice but ended up thinking "Mike's an idiot, this guy is mediocre at best". It wasn't until I actually listened to a few shows on a long road-trip a couple years later that I realized how fucking funny Jimmy is
3 mrta66 2015-10-28
Yeah. We are too familiar with his act and have high standards so we could find plenty to criticise but hes good
2 Opprobriousness 2015-10-28
Monster Rain was an amazing piece of stand up comedy.
It's been downhill since.
But to answer your question, yes.
1 Pat_Battle_Storage 2015-10-28
That show's a perfect example of why he's not good (enough).
He throws away the title bit of his special. Instead of hitting all the details and hanging threads from them like he did on O&A, he speed-mumbles it like an obligatory aside he has to get past so he can go back to being mad at TV (or as he calls it, "America").
There's some great stuff in that show—almost everything that's not topical, plus some of the insult lines in the TV bits—but it's not thematically coherent, doesn't have an "arc," doesn't build or even smoothly proceed. It's a really fucking long talk-show monologue (from the year before it came out) with a couple too-short, no-details, unexamined sex/humiliation stories added to it.
WHY THE FUCK IS IT CALLED MONSTER RAIN?
Standup Jimmy doesn't use Actual Jimmy's strengths. He should be dirty Spalding Grey up there, not bachelor Bobby Slayton—who he hates and is exactly fucking like.
Shit's infuriating.
2 MoosePuncher93 2015-10-28
He's slightly above average as far as headlining comics go. Off the cuff he makes me laugh more than anyone I've ever listened to but he rarely brings that to his stand-up. I've seen him live twice and both times his set was mostly angry topical humor; most of which was outdated. He spent a good 10 minutes on the Dark Knight which had come out about 2 years prior to his set.
I also think that he spends far to much time on stage trying to prove a point or show how intelligent he is by making vague points that everyone in a comedy club will agree with. "Censorship is garbage", "Liberals tend to be disingenuous babies!"
He'll make you laugh for sure but he'll also make you groan when he abandons humor to jerk himself off about how enlightened he is about the problems of the world.
That's probably more criticism than he deserves but I've been listening to him for so long that I can't not notice that stuff. Jimmy gets a 6.5/10 as a comic in my eyes............................peckaz.
0 AlimonyKills 2015-10-28
Yeah worm is constantly stuck in the past, he didn't see the Star Wars prequels until about 10 years after they'd came out. Too much edging to tranny porn to keep up to date on issues of the day yet he insists on trying to have his comedy reflect current pop culture.
2 ChrisCapezza 2015-10-28
I saw him in Irvine when he came out a few weeks ago and he was hilarious
2 amaral69 2015-10-28
he's great live in a small club. His specials however are comedy abortions.
2 baraksobamas 2015-10-28
He is usually good until someone turns a camera on. Then he starts thinking about what he looks like and gets nervous so he has to use memorized material that has to be completely written by himself and tested over the radio with Opie as his main live audience. He is fine when he knows he won't ever see himself.
1 TheDarkFezRises 2015-10-28
No. I find it very difficult to believe he's improved even one iota since his very first time on stage.
1 blackirishlad 2015-10-28
he's B-level, i guess you could say.