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Cover image credit: Promotional image via Apple

Just Being Honest

Craig Ferguson

Epix · 2015 · 75 min

A loose, blue stand-up set recorded right after late-night.

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After stepping down from his decade-long run hosting CBS’s The Late Late Show, Craig Ferguson brought his loose, conversational energy to New York’s Town Hall for a set that feels like an uncensored extension of his late-night monologues. The Scottish-American comic thrives on self-deprecation and dirty storytelling, trading the constraints of network television for a set heavy on bodily humor and rock-and-roll history. His centerpiece is a lengthy, detailed account of his time following the Rolling Stones on tour, where he paints Mick Jagger as an easily bruised ego with tiny hands and Keith Richards as a terrifying force of nature. He happily makes himself the butt of his own jokes, whether recounting a confusing proposition in a New York gay bar or describing the indignities of a medical colon check while heavily medicated. The performance earned a Grammy nomination for Best Comedy Album, validating his decision to return to the road immediately after leaving television.

The set list

5 bits

  1. Developing an unproduced screenplay with Mick Jagger and following The Rolling Stones on tour

    Comically contrasting Ferguson's bumbling buffoonery with Jagger's quirks, Charlie Watts' aloofness, and Keith Richards' intimidating presence.

  2. Undergoing colonoscopy and prostate exams in middle age

    Relying on self-deprecating biological humor, describing the effects of super-laxatives and marveling at internal footage of his digestive tract while medicated.

  3. Getting hit on by a German man in a New York gay bar

    Ferguson serving as the butt of the joke when confronted with the crude pickup line asking to kiss him where it stinks.

  4. Encountering Kenny G at a social gathering

    Mocking the musician's saxophone solos and the peculiar, gliding way he moved through a party.

  5. Hatred of toe shoes

    Dissecting the visual abomination of modern footwear shaped like human feet.

How it plays

Tone
Satirical, raunchy, silly, and candidly observational.
On stage
Cheeky, self-deprecating, irreverent, and loose-limbed, blending Scottish charm with candid vulgarity.
Pace
Discursive, restless, and wandering, shifting from rapid-fire initial rants into relaxed, swaggering longform storytelling.
About
Aging and bodily decline, Sex, drugs, and rock and roll, Political correctness and sensitivity, Religion and Catholicism, Personal honesty versus rudeness

What the critics said

Reviewers noted a contrast between the first half's rapid-fire grievances against political correctness and the far superior, charming second half centered on Ferguson's captivating personal storytelling about Mick Jagger.

In the room: Packed to the rafters at Town Hall, with an enthusiastic crowd—particularly older women—remaining thoroughly charmed despite the vulgar and blue material.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org, tv.apple.com, vulture.com, pastemagazine.com, dvdtalk.com, tvinsider.com, parade.com, thedailybeast.com, uproxx.com.

Backstory

Filmed nine months after departing network television, allowing Ferguson creative catharsis and uncensored freedom from broadcast network standards and FCC restrictions.

Details

Released
Taped
The Town Hall, New York City
Runtime
75 min
Where
Epix
Director
Jay Chapman
Honors
Nominated for Best Comedy Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards
Topics
Before
I'm Here to Help (2013)
After
Tickle Fight (2017)

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