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 Strait! If you or your comedy troupe would like to be featured on Stand-Up Tuesdays, please email utgjames@gmail.com.

I must admit something that, for some reason, I tend not to talk about often – I’m a huge fan of TruTV’s World’s Dumbest. There’s really nothing I love more than watching people act like complete morons, so couple that footage with hilarious comedian commentary, and you’ve got a recipe for success in my book.  That being said, I naturally jumped at the chance to listen to World’s Dumbest regular Chris Strait’s new CD, Hitting the Wall.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Strait has also been seen as a commentator on the E! Channel, Fuel TV’s Daily Habit, and tours all over the world (even entertaining US troops overseas in the Middle East, Cuba, Japan, and Europe).  As a 6’6” white guy, he’s used to standing out, whether it’s growing up in a predominantly black neighborhood or  being the only tall guy at the boxing gym – and it’s a theme that’s consistent throughout his comedy.

“When my daughter was born, it was my mom’s first grandchild,” Strait explains, “so she joined this grandma’s club in the neighborhood – she’s the only white grandmother on the block.  So I bought her a t-shirt that says ‘Gram Cracker’.”

Strait’s observations of the world around him are certainly humorous, albeit slightly dated – in one drug-themed joke, he ends up on a rant about erectile dysfunction pills.

“When you’ve taken the pill, and it’s still not the right time,” Strait pitches as mock-commentator, “ask your doctor about chloroform.”

There are many high points throughout Hitting the Wall, but a lot of what stands out as hilarious is soon overshadowed by awkward Jewish jokes and the slight overuse of the term ‘cracker’ to describe himself. In one somewhat uncomfortable moment, Strait makes reference to an online auction site which negotiates lower costs on users’ behalf, suggesting it should be named ‘Jewgle’ or ‘Oi-bay’ – a bold move, given he’s not made his own religious preference known.  Call me old-fashioned, but I’m much more comfortable leaving Jewish jokes to, well…the Jewish (we do find out that Strait is in no way a religious person).

Perhaps it’s Strait’s life as a family man that lends itself to some of the observations he makes that seemingly fall flat at times, but overall I expected a bit more from the comedian. He’s certainly got the stage presence and humor, and it very well could be that he’s targeting a certain demographic – but much of Hitting the Wall simply didn’t stick for me.  Strait is not a bad comedian – and I doubt Hitting the Wall is demonstrating him at his best – but I’m going to hold out that we’ll see bigger and better things from Chris Strait in the near future.

Hitting the Wall is available today on iTunes.

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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