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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy

Blocks

Neal Brennan

Netflix · 2022 · 63 min

Neal Brennan uses physical blocks to organize his deepest anxieties.

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Neal Brennan uses physical blocks on stage to represent the personal and systemic obstacles that make him feel unacceptable. Instead of a standard stand-up hour, he physically moves and arranges these visual aids to map out his neuroses, starting with his complicated relationship with his dog Keith and moving to his anxiety about dating models. It is a highly structured hybrid of a one-man show and stand-up, directed by artist and magician Derek DelGaudio, who helps ground the high-concept visual gimmick.\n\nFilmed at the Belasco Theatre in Los Angeles, Blocks is the follow-up to Brennan’s 2017 special 3 Mics. By 2022, the Chappelle’s Show co-creator was working as a writer and correspondent on The Daily Show and establishing himself as one of comedy’s prominent chroniclers of clinical depression. The set leans heavily into this vulnerability, featuring memorable routines about his attempts to cure his mental illness through everything from transcranial magnetic stimulation to ayahuasca. One of his strongest segments involves his liberalism block, where he recounts his immediate NIMBY reflex upon receiving a letter about a homeless shelter opening across the street. He also compares dating a model to owning a dune buggy (it looks great but is impractical for daily life).\n\nThe special made headlines in comedy circles for a bizarre post-production detail: Brennan admitted to using deepfake technology to alter his own mouth in three scenes during the final edit. He had forgotten specific lines during the live tapings and opted to CGI his face rather than cut to the audience. While some critics felt the hour veered too close to self-pity by its end, others praised the formal ambition and the dark, confessional humor.

The set list

6 bits

  1. Brennan examines humanity's weird dynamic with dogs, proposing that dog owners are dognappers rather than parents or rescuers.

    Observational routine delivered after picking up the carved dog block.

  2. The U.S. military calls gun hoarders on their bluff with an annual 'NRA-Military Showdown'.

    Satirical premise executed with play-by-play commentary and field interviews with both sides of the Second Amendment debate.

  3. Liberalism and navigating political correctness, comparing having a take on transgender issues in 2022 to 'conversational Jenga'.

    Self-mockery and cultural critique with a reference to Dave Chappelle's controversies ('Don't go out like your boy').

  4. Attending a party at Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos' house among comedy legends.

    Name-dropping narrative highlighting his feeling of alienation and being the lowest-status person in a high-status room.

  5. Trying numerous therapies—from talk therapy to shock therapy to ketamine—to fix his inner negativity.

    Confessional bit accompanied by inserted quick-cuts, exploring how self-help turns into self-harm.

  6. Dating a model is like owning a dune buggy.

    Humorous observational comparison regarding romantic relationships.

How it plays

Tone
Edgy, introspective, vulnerable, thoughtful, and dark.
On stage
Bluntly honest, introspective, vulnerable, cerebral, and self-deprecating.
Pace
Relaxed delivery with casual needling; a nimble and observant first half transitioning into a traumedic second half marked by quick-cut editing and an ebb and flow of building and holding emotional tension.
About
mental health and depression, relationships and dating, relationship with his dog Keith, drugs and alcohol, liberalism and politics, white privilege

What the critics said

Praised as an edgy, original, and deeply introspective special that balances sharp surface comedy with raw emotional trauma, further proving Brennan's talents as a standalone comedian.

In the room: Engaged and deeply moved; receptive to intimate storytelling, tension-building, and introspective revelations.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: vanyaland.com, imdb.com, decider.com, rottentomatoes.com, deadant.co, jenagregoire.com, thedailybeast.com.

Backstory

Toured Off-Broadway and across America under the title 'Unacceptable' before becoming 'Blocks'; shaped by personal struggles with mental health, therapy, depression, alienation, and navigating modern cultural/political discourses.

Details

Released
Taped
The Belasco Theatre, Los Angeles
Runtime
63 min
Where
Netflix
Director
Derek DelGaudio
Topics
Before
Comedians of the World (2019)
After
Crazy Good (2024)

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