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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy

Comedy Central Presents

Ralph Harris

Comedy Central · 2000 · 23 min

A character-driven half-hour about handcuffs and the hidden grossness of women.

Ralph Harris treats his 2000 Comedy Central Presents half-hour as a showcase for his character-driven stand-up, leaning into physical act-outs to sell his premises. The core of the set zeroes in on gender dynamics, building to an extended theory on why women are actually much grosser than men. He follows up his observational material with a highly specific confession about his secret desire to be handcuffed, letting his expressive stage work drive the punchlines.

By the time he filmed this twenty-two-minute television set, Harris was already an established commodity. He spent the mid-nineties anchoring the ABC sitcom On Our Own and had previously recorded an HBO Comedy Half-Hour in 1995. This performance captures a veteran comic comfortably executing his club material, serving as a bridge between his early television success and his later appearances in Dreamgirls and Last Comic Standing.

The set list

6 bits

  1. Working at a beauty supply store

    Recounting awkward interactions with customers while working at a beauty supply store

  2. Childhood in Alabama

    Sharing stories of growing up in a small town in Alabama, interacting with his grandmother, and accidentally setting his neighbor's yard on fire

  3. Racial dynamics in public and family life

    Contrasting how Black and White people interact differently in public settings alongside observations about family dynamics

  4. Performing on cruise ships

    Highlighting the absurdity of being trapped on a boat with strangers in the ocean, including encounters with a Southern family, an over-enthusiastic cruise director, and fellow performers

  5. Dating, relationships, and differing views on sex

    Describing the extravagant lengths he went to impress a woman, such as buying expensive gifts and fancy dinners, and contrasting men's and women's perspectives on sex

  6. Women and being handcuffed

    Explaining just how dirty women can be and sharing a secret desire to be handcuffed

How it plays

About
dating and relationships, race and culture, childhood in Alabama, family dynamics, performing on cruise ships, working at a beauty supply store

Details

Released
Runtime
23 min
Where
Comedy Central
Director
Paul Miller
Topics

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