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Brick Wall Comedy
Promotional art for Complicated Apes
Cover image credit: Promotional image via Prime Video

Complicated Apes

Bryan Callen

Prime Video · 2019 · 58 min

A hyper-physical comedian tackles modern culture through evolutionary biology.

Bryan Callen brings a hyper-physical, highly animated stage presence to Chicago’s historic Thalia Hall, building his set around a plea to stop treating human beings as fixed nouns and start viewing them as verbs. The material filters modern cultural anxieties through the lens of evolutionary biology, arguing that tribal instincts are getting the best of us in the internet era.

In 2019, Callen was juggling a mainstream television run as Coach Mellor on ABC’s The Goldbergs and its spinoff Schooled with his work on the popular podcast The Fighter & The Kid. That split career (network-safe sitcom work on one side, loose podcast banter on the other) informs the tone of the hour. He shifts constantly from broad slapstick to pseudo-intellectual observations about primate ancestors.

Specific bits focus on his own physical shortcomings, contrasting his Italian-Irish peasant genetics and short femurs with his wife’s Viking ancestry. He also delivers an extended riff on why the women of the UFC should be the ultimate symbols of modern feminism, alongside a brief, bizarre evaluation of the surprisingly great posture of racists.

Directed by Brian Volk-Weiss and released by Comedy Dynamics, the performance leans on theatrical clowning rather than ideological combat.

The set list

3 bits

  1. Cultural appropriation and creole culture

    Ridiculs the misguided backlash against cultural appropriation by pointing to examples like creole.

  2. Racists' posture

    Observes and comments on the uncommonly good posture of racists.

  3. The closer (spoiler). Show it

    A lesson about heuristics closer

    A lengthy, self-deprecating anecdote describing an experience where Callen learned a lesson about cognitive heuristics that he attempts to impart to the audience.

How it plays

Tone
Self-deprecating, animated, and philosophizing.
On stage
Bouncy, energetic, physical 'funniest guy at the BBQ' persona attempting a multi-purpose entertainer/educator approach.
Pace
Energetic, physical, and zany pacing, delivered as if in a rush to convey moral lessons.
About
Equality and the culture wars, Treating human beings as verbs rather than fixed noun categories, Social media echo chambers and tribalism, Cultural appropriation, Prejudice and heuristics

What the critics said

Critical reception was mixed; Film Threat awarded it 4/10 stars, praising Callen's physical energy but arguing he took a soft 'foam mallet approach' to contentious cultural topics and prioritized moralizing over laugh-out-loud punchlines.

In the room: User reviews on platforms like IMDb were enthusiastic, calling the performance profound, hilarious, and a breath of fresh air.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: imdb.com, tv.apple.com, vimeo.com, thetvdb.com, filmthreat.com, comedydynamics.com, cbsnews.com, en.wikipedia.org, forbes.com.

Backstory

Reflecting on societal polarization, social media echo chambers, and culture war divisions, framing standup comedy as the last bastion of free speech amidst modern corporate caution.

Details

Released
Taped
Thalia Hall, Chicago
Runtime
58 min
Where
Prime Video
Director
Brian Volk-Weiss
Topics
Before
Never Grow Up (2017)
After
False Gods (2025)

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