Unconstitutional
Netflix · 2015 · 55 min
A gravelly, blue-collar lecture on 200 years of American dysfunction.
The entire American experiment was essentially written during a four-month bender in Philadelphia, resulting in a national psyche that behaves like a boastful, irresponsible drunk. That is the core argument of the show, which strips the sacred mythology from the U.S. Constitution and frames it as a series of compromises made by sweaty men in wigs who just wanted to leave the room.
Filmed at the Tarrytown Music Hall in New York, the 2015 special catches Quinn at a productive moment in his career, released the same summer he appeared as Amy Schumer’s father in Trainwreck. Here, he trades standard club setups for a structured, history-minded lecture delivered with his signature gravelly, blue-collar skepticism.
Rather than taking standard partisan sides, the show aims at the broader cultural absurdities permitted by the document itself, arguing that everything from megachurches to the Kardashians is the logical endpoint of freedom of speech. His own ideology remains proudly inconsistent, summing up his beliefs as “pro-choice, pro-gun, pro-death penalty, pro-gay marriage,” which he notes simply adds up to being “anti-overcrowding”. He likens the three branches of government to three guys at a bar trying to agree on where to eat, and points out that the Founding Fathers banned the press from their meetings because they knew the whole thing would immediately turn into reality television.
The set list
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The 1787 Constitutional Convention was a four-month drunken binge and pub crawl.
Points out that historical receipts prove the founders ran up massive bills for wine, port, and beer while drafting the document.
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The Preamble's phrasing of 'in order to form a more perfect union.'
Compares seeking something 'more perfect' rather than simply 'perfect' to the philosophy behind plastic surgery.
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The three branches of government function like people in a bar.
Deconstructs the constitutional separation of powers through everyday barroom dynamics.
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The original intent behind the Second Amendment.
Defends the historical context of the right to bear arms by noting that in 1787, '20 percent of the country was bears.'
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Bruce Springsteen's persona as the musician of the working man.
Questions how dedicated Springsteen really is to working people if he schedules 4.5-hour concerts on Tuesday nights.
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The Kardashians as a reflection of American history.
Frames the family as a modern manifestation of American identity, representing the national struggle between art, nature, and commerce.
How it plays
- Tone
- Deadpan, witty, sardonically biting, irreverent, and didactic.
- On stage
- Burly, raspy-voiced, plainspoken, blue-collar New York satirist playing the role of a funny, astute college lecturer translating dense political history into barroom wisdom.
- Pace
- Fast-and-furious, rapid-fire pacing where he barely takes a breath, occasionally mumbling or trailing off mid-thought as he barrels through historical text.
- About
- The U.S. Constitution and the 1787 Constitutional Convention, The Bill of Rights and freedom of speech, Gun rights and the Second Amendment, American national psyche and political division, The attractiveness and effectiveness of U.S. presidents, Modern celebrity culture and the Kardashians
What the critics said
Critics praised Quinn's fierce intelligence, smart analogies, and unique ability to make dry constitutional history engaging and laugh-out-loud funny, though some noted it felt occasionally less focused than his previous work and covered well-trodden comedic territory on free speech and guns.
Backstory
An adaptation of his off-Broadway one-man stage show exploring the creation of the United States Constitution and how the 1787 document shaped the American psyche and modern cultural polarization.
Details
- Released
- Runtime
- 55 min
- Where
- Netflix
- Director
- Jay Chapman
- Topics
- Before
- One Night Stand (1992)
- After
- The New York Story (2016)
More from Colin Quinn
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Our Time Is Up
YouTube
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The New York Story
Netflix
-
One Night Stand
HBO
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