STAND-UP TUESDAYS: Norm MacDonald

We have been saying it for weeks, but Under The Gun Review is undergoing an evolution of sorts and part of this change involves the unveiling of many new, recurring features. Today we are debuting one of our most anticipated features, a weekly comedy spotlight written by the wonderfully talented Angie Frissore. Covering both known and unknown comics, Stand-up Tuesdays is your new source for all things funny.

We are kicking off this feature with a spotlight on Norm MacDonald, one of the comedy’s living legends, and his latest special, Me Doing Standup. If you or your comedy troupe would like to be featured on Stand-Up Tuesdays, please email utgjames@gmail.com.

Even if you happened to catch the original airing of Norm MacDonald: Me Doing Stand Up back in March, you won’t want to miss out on the extended DVD and CD of the special that are out in stores today. Containing thirty minutes of previously unaired material, Me Doing Standup is MacDonald simply doing what he does best – being hilarious.

Unlike his release Ridiculous in 2006, the new special contains no special guest appearances and is, as you’d expect, just Norm. Doing stand up. His candid, story-telling brand of humor touches upon everything from cancer and dying to alcoholism and penis size, all with an almost innocent likability that makes you feel as though he was merely having a conversation with you.

MacDonald made the return to stand-up with a tour in 2010 that, naturally, made a stop at Boston’s Wilbur Theatre – and those of you who were at that show will recognize a few of the jokes on his new DVD. His take on death, particularly cancer, might seem morbid at first, but what makes it brilliant is the simple logic he puts behind it:

“I’m not a doctor, but I’m pretty sure… if you die, the cancer also dies at exactly the same time. So that to me is not a loss; that’s a draw. It’s not like… the cancer’s going to jump up and go, “Arrrgh I f**ked Uncle Bert’s wife, where is he? I won fair and square.’”

It’s not just more of the same, however. MacDonald has never been a fan of recycling jokes, telling Splitsider in March:

“It just seems, if you’re going to go around doing standup, it doesn’t seem very interesting to me to say the same thing over and over again forever. It seems like it would drive me insane. I just, because I think I’d lose my mind, don’t do it. That’s why I can’t really understand people wanting to do that.”

The release of the special follows last week’s season finale of Sports Show with Norm Macdonald, which left fans disappointed only in the aspect of the show’s rather short first season, which only debuted in April. In typical MacDonald style, Sports Show features his brand of brilliant, yet simple humor. Remarking on a coal-carrying competition, he quips, “This exciting sport combines the back-breaking work of heaving 44 pounds of coal with… nothing.”

The show features segments such as Wait, What? – a clip which features an odd or funny sports-related clip of the week, with Macdonald stopping the clip at particularly outrageous spots by exclaiming – well, you get it. There’s also What the H?, where MacDonald goes off on a rant about a particular topic. In the May 17th episode, he goes off about Michael Jordan’s new Hitler-like mustache in his recent Hanes’ commercial, saying that the commercial’s director, after seeing Jordan’s new mustache, must have exclaimed, “‘Good lord! His upper lip is sporting the most universally recognized symbol of evil ever known to man!’ What the H!”

MacDonald also debuted as the new host for GSN’s High Stakes Poker in February, after Gabe Kaplan’s departure from the show, and reflected on his new role in an interview with PokerNews.com’s Rich Ryan.

“When I first got the call, I was shocked because Gabe Kaplan is an awesome host who knows a lot about poker and is also a really good comedian. I grew up watching Welcome Back, Kotter, it was a great show. I definitely don’t know as much as Gabe does about poker and I really wish I was filling someone else’s shoes.”

If you’re not into golf, or sports in general, don’t sweat it – Me Doing Standup contains nearly no sports references. Having started his career as a stand-up comic in Ottowa (and getting his first major break at the 1987 Just For Laughs festival), it’s clear to see how much MacDonald enjoys returning to his craft. Aside from the hard-to-ignore lack of movement on Norm’s part (his legs barely move, which is something I’ve never seen a stand-up comic do), the extended DVD will make you laugh from start to finish, and leave you a bigger Norm MacDonald fan in the process.

Preview Norm MacDonald: Me Doing Standup below, or head over to Amazon.com to pick up your copy today.

Written by: Angie Frissore

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