Stand-Up Tuesdays is 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.

This week, Angie puts a spotlight on Joey Coco Diaz. If you or your comedy troupe would like to be featured on Stand-Up Tuesdays, please email utgjames@gmail.com.

I’m a fairly curious person by nature, so when approached by a UTG cohort with the news that comedian Joey ‘Coco’ Diaz was at the top of the iTunes comedy charts last week, I naturally decided to find out why. Not having been familiar with Diaz, I was driven to listen to his new release, “It’s Either You or the Priest”, as I can’t stand to miss out on all the fun.

Diaz is a Cuban-American comedian who’s better known for playing various television roles, including ‘Jhoey’ on the TV series My Name is Earl, as well as movies roles in such films as The Longest Yard and Taxi. In his blog, Diaz shares with us his lifelong dream of being the next Richard Pryor – a lofty aim, to say the least – but also a realistic side of him as well, as he admits he can’t stand to listen to himself perform. These are probably facts best sought out before diving in to “It’s Either You or the Priest”.

For a good ten or fifteen minutes at the onset of Diaz’ recording, one could not be blamed for thinking they instead picked up a copy of “The Sopranos” book on tape: Diaz’ overly-thick New Jersey accent betrays his Cuban nature and his over-use of gratuitous foul language should successfully weed out the weak of heart in the audience. While his material does seem to pick up a little as he gets further along in his set, it’s a painstaking process to get there.

“What ever happened to time? It was slow,” Diaz laments early on in his set. “It’s like a trick, they get ya – up to high school it moves fucking fast. Or it moves slow. Remember when you were a kid? You were like, ‘I can’t wait to fuck’.”

Diaz’ insight on time moving too fast (or too slow, I’m still not sure what his stance on that was) is rather reflective of the recording’s overall lack of focus. If I had the mental fortitude to listen to the album again (which I simply do not), I’d make a drinking game out of each time Diaz resorts to asking, “You know what I’m saying?” The comedian throws this phrase around far too much – often seemingly replacing entire punch-lines with the question.

Thankfully, reading Diaz’ blog offered some insight into his methodology, which assures me that I’m correct in assuming Diaz is capable of much more. He alludes to his not-so-formal writing style and his ability to perform off the cuff – a skill which, I feel, he relies on far too often in his act.

Diaz’ material itself is definitely not for the easily offended: most of his jokes focus on overly graphic sexual stories that almost have no comedic value at all, save for the filth of it all. I’m not sure if Diaz is simply going for shock value or if there’s a humor in being fearful of being sexually assaulted by a homosexual while doing the ‘happy baby’ yoga position that is simply lost on me. In describing the many layers a woman will don when she doesn’t want to have sex, Diaz quips, “Houdini couldn’t get to that with a pocket of tuna.”

Ultimately, my quest to determine how Joey Coco Diaz’ “It’s Either You or the Priest” found itself at the top of last week’s iTunes charts fell quite flat, as I’m left scratching my head wondering what I’m not getting about the comedian. Clearly he is loved by his fan base, but he has some work to do before he entertains the notion of another live recording. ” It’s Either You or the Priest” is available now via digital download for only $5. Pick up your copy today, and help me figure out what I’m missing in Diaz.

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Angie Frissore

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