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Promotional art for A Breath of Fresh Air
Cover image credit: Promotional image via Apple

A Breath of Fresh Air

Nick Di Paolo

YouTube · 2019 · 64 min

A combative, anti-PC stand-up set recorded in upstate New York.

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Nick Di Paolo has never made an effort to endear himself to the mainstream, and this self-released hour doubles down on the combative, right-leaning persona that has defined his late-career comedy. He recorded the set in front of a receptive crowd at the Cohoes Music Hall in Cohoes, New York, opting to bypass conventional networks and upload the final cut directly to YouTube for free. The move came shortly after his 2018 firing from SiriusXM over an offensive tweet, a pivot that pushed him fully into the independent podcasting space where his brand of unfiltered social commentary thrives.

The material takes aim at a familiar slate of modern cultural grievances, with routines targeting the #MeToo movement, ‘toxic’ masculinity, and what he views as the excesses of political correctness. His best bits, however, focus on more trivial irritations, including an extended rant about the environmental guilt-tripping at ‘green’ hotels and the strange etiquette of modern wakes. It is a set built entirely on grievance, delivered with the aggressive, New England cynicism of a comic who is happy to work outside the industry gates.

The set list

5 bits

  1. Vince Lombardi rest area

    Riffs on how a legendary coach is commemorated by a New Jersey Turnpike rest stop where people relieve impacted bowels, wondering why there isn't a Jerry Sandusky rest area instead.

  2. Jussie Smollett hate crime hoax

    Criticizes the Smollett scandal and acts out how poorly thought out it was compared to how he would attempt a reverse hate crime.

  3. Speeding on the Taconic and using the Waze app

    Discusses driving 106 mph with the Waze app to avoid cops, making jokes about Uber and the irony of the Israeli military inventing a navigation app after Jews spent forty years lost in the desert.

  4. Taking up cigarette smoking late in life

    Explains why starting to smoke late in life makes sense to avoid dying of old age in a nursing home, mocking electronic cigarettes and airport smoker glass booths.

  5. Bill Cosby in prison

    Riffs on Cosby's prison sentence and mocks people for being shocked by his actions.

How it plays

Tone
Controversial, offensive, crude, politically incorrect, and biting.
On stage
Ruthless, battle-hardened, unapologetically anti-PC, combative, and conservative.
Pace
Aggressive, high-conviction delivery with sharp timing.
About
#metoo, Fox News, Green Hotels, Wakes and Funerals, Toxic White Males, Political correctness

What the critics said

Heavily polarizing; embraced by right-wing and anti-political correctness audiences as bold and unfiltered, but sharply criticized by other reviewers on Letterboxd as angry, offensive, and unfunny.

In the room: Energetic working-class audience response mixed with tense moments where the comic attacks audience members for hesitating to laugh.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: imdb.com, thetvdb.com, letterboxd.com, southmag.com, nickdip.com, en.wikipedia.org, rss.com.

Backstory

Billed as being released independently and free to the public after being labeled too 'dangerous' for Netflix and too 'honest' for Comedy Central, amidst contemporary culture wars and PC culture.

Details

Released
Taped
Cohoes Music Hall
Runtime
64 min
Where
YouTube
Director
Rich Schlansker
Topics
Before
Inflammatory (2017)

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