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25x2

Brian Posehn

Seeso · 2017 · 63 min

An aging nerd tackles dog rescue culture and turning fifty.

He confronts the realities of turning 50 (hence the title, a cheeky nod to Adele’s “25”) by leaning into his signature nerd-rocker persona. Performing with his usual slow, deadpan baritone, Posehn focuses on the mild indignities of middle age. He takes on the societal guilt of owning a purebred puppy in a culture that demands everyone get a rescue dog, and details the repeated, agonizingly awkward moments when his wife has walked in on him masturbating. The special was filmed over two shows at Revolution Hall in Portland, Oregon, in October 2016, and originally premiered on the short-lived streaming platform Seeso in January 2017. At this point in his career, Posehn was juggling recurring acting roles on “The Big Bang Theory” and “New Girl” while remaining a regular fixture of the stand-up circuit. The material focuses heavily on his aging nerd interests and frustrations with the cultural landscape, featuring a dedicated segment on his enduring love for Star Wars and a rant against contemporary music where he wishes Imagine Dragons could be trapped in an Arcade Fire for an entire Vampire Weekend.

The set list

5 bits
  1. Guilt over owning a purebred dog

    Explores the awkwardness and guilt of having a purebred dog within modern rescue culture.

  2. Wife walking in on masturbation

    Shares stories about multiple awkward incidents where his wife walked in on him masturbating.

  3. Loss of heroes

    Laments childhood and personal heroes lost to death or exposed as terrible people.

  4. Re-found love for Star Wars

    Rekindles and professes his passion for the sci-fi franchise.

  5. Aging rocker hating new music

    Takes jabs at recent musical acts and pop culture from the perspective of an older rock fan.

How it plays

Tone
Personal, silly, profane, dry, self-deprecating, and screwed up.
On stage
Self-deprecating, dry, aging rocker and nerd persona.
About
Loss of childhood heroes, Science fiction and Star Wars fandom, Aging rock fan critique of modern music, Owning a purebred dog in rescue culture, Marriage and awkward sexual moments

Backstory

Reflecting on the recent loss of personal heroes to death or misconduct, aging as a rock and pop-culture fan, and marital life.

Details

Released
Runtime
63 min
Where
Seeso
Director
Ryan Polito
Topics
Before
Criminally Posehn (2016)
After
Posehn 25x2 (2017)

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