STAND-UP TUESDAYS: Chris Turner

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 Chris Turner’s  comedy career. If you or your comedy troupe would like to be featured on Stand-Up Tuesdays, please email utgjames@gmail.com.

The British are coming in this week’s Stand-Up Tuesdays, as we take a look at comedian Chris Turner‘s new album, Pretty Fly, which was released last week via Comedy Dynamics. A Reddit sensation, Turner boasts a sold-out Australian tour and four sell-out runs with the Racing Minds improv troupe, and was a BBC New Comedy Award finalist. Also, the guy can rap pretty decently.

British humor is often something that is either loved or hated stateside, and I, for one, absolutely love it. While British comedians can certainly dole out blue comedy with the best of them, I’ve often found their style of comedy to be a bit more, dare I say, intelligent than we Americans may be used to – and Turner is a great example of intelligent comedy.

Upon opening his set with some delightful Roman numeral jokes (hey, I took Latin in high school), it struck me that Turner was, in essence, the UK’s answer to our own Myq Kaplan. Maximizing on word play and puns, Turner immediately drew me in as I never knew where he would end up with each joke. While some may groan with awkwardness during obvious moments where Turner’s punchline went far over the heads of his American audience, I found it utterly delightful waiting for them to catch up.

“There are very few comedians that do gangster Roman numeral jokes,” Turner quips. “I is one.”

Turner’s material is well balanced: while he often interjects puns and word play into his jokes, he also shares personal stories with his audience, making him a bit more substantial than just a guy who has fun with words.

“The first time we went to stay at her parents’ house, her dad would not let us sleep together,” Turner states, describing meeting his girlfriend’s family for the first time, “which was a shame because he’s very sexy.”

With a degree in archaeology and a private school background, Turner’s intelligence radiates in his performance – but he doesn’t lose his healthy sense of silliness, which is quite endearing. His love of hip-hop is displayed in an amazing finale, in which Turner improvises a rap based on audience suggestions. And he nails it.

For me, Chris Turner came out of nowhere, leaving me feeling like a stereotypical American who can’t see past her own borders. Pretty Fly is everything it promises to be and then some, and I really hope we get to see a lot more of Chris Turner here in the states. Pick up a copy for yourself via iTunes and feel a bit smarter in the process. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Grade: A-

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