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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy
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Hot Cross Buns

Dave Attell

Netflix · 2024 · 40 min

A rapid-fire barrage of pure club comedy and recorder solos.

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Dave Attell stands on stage wearing his trademark cap, holding a microphone in one hand and a recorder flute in the other, ready to fire off a volley of quick one-liners. There is no overarching narrative, no moral to the story, and no attempt to teach the audience a lesson. Instead, the hour functions as a high-density barrage of absurd setups and quick punchlines, finding humor in the sordid details of late-night living, aging, and questionable choices.\n\nFilmed at Cobb’s Comedy Club in San Francisco, this 2024 Netflix release marks Attell’s first solo stand-up special in ten years, following 2014’s Road Work. At 40 minutes, the set is exceptionally lean, packed with jokes that move so quickly they barely give the crowd time to process the last punchline before the next one starts.\n\nAmong the memorable sequences are his thoughts on hard seltzers like White Claw, which he describes as the gateway to a night of apologies, a weirdly structured connecting flight from Wuhan, and a mushroom-fueled trip to a petting zoo equipped with baby carrots. Critics praised the performance for prioritizing pure joke-writing over self-serious storytelling. Attell wraps up the set by playing a plastic recorder, utilizing the instrument to transition between his final rapid-fire thoughts and keep the audience off balance until the very end.

The set list

4 bits

  1. Food-delivery drivers as third responders

    Frames delivery drivers as heroes delivering heroes to heroes.

  2. Touristy attractions like SeaWorld and Fisherman's Wharf

    Dubs SeaWorld 'The Aquatic Auschwitz' and warns of stepping in a 'trifecta' of poop at Fisherman's Wharf.

  3. Caring for his 87-year-old mother

    Jokes about not needing applause because she is not trans, and muses about setting up an OnlyFans account for her.

  4. The closer (spoiler). Show it

    Recorder concert and playing for the seals at the docks closer

    Plays recorder alongside the audience like a talent show, then plays on the dock at Fisherman's Wharf for sea lions to fulfill the remaining minutes of his Netflix contract.

How it plays

Tone
Bawdy, irreverent, absurd, transgressive, and self-deprecating.
On stage
Multi-layered self-deprecating 'dirty old man', draped in a jacket over a hoodie with a baseball cap over a knit cap.
Pace
Ferocious, rapid-fire, briskly paced delivery firing punchlines without pause.
About
hard seltzers, strip clubs, unsatisfying snacks, petting zoo, caring for aging parents, pornography

What the critics said

Critically acclaimed by Decider as a masterclass in joke writing and rapid-fire punchlines that defuses transgressive premises through absurd delivery.

In the room: Energetic club crowd that participated in recorder playing and endured gentle roasts.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: en.wikipedia.org, decider.com, themoviedb.org, rottentomatoes.com, letterboxd.com, podscripts.co, imdb.com.

Backstory

Attell is older, sober, caring for his 87-year-old mother, texts on a flip phone, and remains one of the few prominent comics without a podcast.

Details

Released
Taped
Cobb's Comedy Club, San Francisco
Runtime
40 min
Where
Netflix
Director
Scott Gawlik
Topics
Before
Road Work (2014)

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