‘Josh Widdicombe Live: And Another Thing’ DVD Review
I will admit this week feels like a long week, turns out watching so many stand-up comedy DVD releases is a tiring task. I’ve sat through the comedy created to shock, the comedy related to make you think a little and comedy that didn’t really need brain power at all. I’ve still got a few to go through which is why today I’ve watched two and Josh Widdicombe Live: And Another Thing was the first one for today. A comedian I’ve seen mostly on Mock the Week, Josh Widdicombe is yet another example of a different type of comedy.
I’m not saying that other comedians I’ve watched don’t have the same type of observations, but Josh Widdicombe is what I’d call the slightly angry type of comedian. He uses observations about life, but where others go for the lighter kind of humour he picks the things in life that really annoy him. This type of satirical and cynical humour really connects with me because I’m the kind of guy who tends to like to bitch about things in life – I’m not always pissed off, but watch me sometimes on social media and you will see I have my moments.
I’ve noticed that around the world people have a view of people who are British, we are meant to be nice and so polite, have you ever really spent much time with us though? We can complain about anything. Yes, we know when to be polite but we live in a country that is controlled by greedy privileged fools who don’t understand what the population of the country truly want, but don’t realise that because quite honestly? They don’t give a crap about us. That is where cynical humour comes from lately, that to live in the United Kingdom honestly sucks.
This is not to say that Josh Widdicombe is political though far from it, I’m just pointing out where cynicism in comedy is coming from in the modern day United Kingdom. The truth is we are a nation of truly negative people and in a way that is where Widdicombe’s humour comes from. He’s an observational comedian who looks at moments in his life and starts to tell the story, getting more and more annoyed as he goes on. It’s not too negative of course, it’s about humour so there is the inevitable punch line. His questioning of cash machines asking you about your shopping preferences in relation to Coco Pops is something many can relate to.
To some this cynical side of humour may not be funny, but for me I found it entertaining, I like the fact that there are people out there can be as cynical as me, and also make it into comedy. The fact is no matter how boring where we live is, or how weird things can get comedy should be found in anything. Trust me, I’ve listened to enough comic acts this week to know even the Jimmy Saville situation has become a thing for comedy, it’s the new “edgy” subject (not on this DVD though).
Thinking about my stand-up comedy Christmas List I’m building up, Josh Widdicombe Live: And Another Thing is the DVD that I would call the cynical choice for Christmas, and honestly I’d be happy to get it. Cynicism done rightly can be funny, and Josh Widdicombe is good at finding just the right level of annoyed cynicism to use. Comedians do have to understand their audiences, and he does a good job at this, and that is what makes a good comedian.
