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Brick Wall Comedy
Promotional art for Comedy Central Presents: Peter Berman
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Comedy Central Presents

Peter Berman

Comedy Central · 2006 · 21 min

A working comic explains marriage, sports officials, and Las Vegas.

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Peter Berman centers his act on the specific chaos of a domestic life he barely controls. Operating at the bewildered frequency of a guy who just realized he has multiple children and a pack of dogs, Berman works through the mechanics of a marriage where the two parties seem to occupy completely different realities. He has an affinity for mundane absurdities, building jokes around his strange tendency to cheer for the umpire at sporting events and the questionable logic of staying in a terrible relationship just to avoid the hassle of leaving.

Filmed in New York City at the Hudson Theatre for the tenth season of Comedy Central Presents in 2006, the set captures a veteran road comic who got his start when Timothy Leary caught his act and invited him to the Hollywood Improv. By this point in his career, Berman was a working professional grinding out 200 dates a year and hosting morning radio. He channels that mileage into a casual delivery, closing the act by examining the duality of Las Vegas as simultaneously the greatest and worst city in America.

The set list

7 bits

  1. Living in New York City and strange neighbor interactions

    Recounts absurd encounters with New York neighbors, including one who offered him a dinner involving rattlesnake meat

  2. Jewish mother and family dynamic

    Explores humorous situations arising from cultural differences with his family

  3. Dating life in his thirties

    Details awkward first dates and the challenges of being single in his thirties

  4. Undergoing a colonoscopy

    Converts an uncomfortable and unpleasant medical procedure into a comedic routine

  5. Las Vegas

    Explains why Las Vegas is simultaneously the best and the worst

  6. Staying in a bad relationship

    Discusses why he stayed in a bad relationship for way too long

  7. The state of the world and coping through comedy

    Discusses humor as a powerful tool for coping with difficult situations towards the end of his set

How it plays

Tone
Clever, relatable, and witty
On stage
Observational and personal, combining witty observations on human behavior and daily life
Pace
Rapid-fire punchlines with impeccable timing, animated gestures, and exaggerated facial expressions
About
human behavior, relationships, daily life, New York City encounters, family and Jewish mother, dating in his thirties

What the critics said

Described as a must-watch for fans of clever, relatable comedy who appreciate everyday experiences turned into side-splitting stories

In the room: Left the audience in fits of laughter throughout his set

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: tvmaze.com, thetvdb.com, yidio.com, imdb.com, linkedin.com.

Details

Released
Runtime
21 min
Where
Comedy Central
Topics

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