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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy

Take the Hit

David Spade

HBO · 1998 · 56 min

Petty grievances and pure smarm from a self-described Arizona dirtball.

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David Spade leans fully into his trademark brand of smug, self-deprecating smarm. Returning to his home state, he embraces his self-described dirtball roots, delivering a set built on petty grievances and a complete refusal to be earnest. Whether he is breaking down the mechanics of trying to get a pet tarantula high on cheap weed or screaming about wearing a t-shirt with his own face printed on it, the comic operates with a casual meanness that masks a tight, efficient joke structure. Filmed at the Tempe Improv in Arizona in early 1998, the HBO hour arrived during a transition period in his career. He was two years out from Saturday Night Live and just starting his run on the sitcom Just Shoot Me!. The format let him stretch out beyond sketch constraints, featuring extended riffs on deadbeat dads and the misery of hotel accommodations where the first seven floors are a homeless shelter. Often cited by other working comics as an underappreciated favorite, the set cemented him as a highly capable standalone act who did not need a larger-than-life scene partner to hold a room.

The set list

5 bits

  1. A man entering a zoo animal enclosure believing the animals were calling him in

    Spade performs an act-out and vocal impression of the bears in the enclosure.

  2. A fast food restaurant incident at McDonald's

    Spade does an impression of the McDonald's store manager stepping in to fix things.

  3. Spade's grandmother looking at his childhood school photo

    A crude routine where his grandmother stops admiring Spade to aggressively lust after his supposed classmate Brad Pitt.

  4. People appearing on the reality television show COPS

    Observational riffing on the suspects and their attire, specifically 'dolphin shorts'.

  5. Walking off stage to conclude the performance

    Spade ends the show by walking directly off the stage, through the audience and the lobby, and heading outdoors as Spacehog's 'In the Meantime' plays.

How it plays

Tone
Sarcastic, goofy, caustic, and self-deprecating.
On stage
Sarcastic, caustic, and acerbic 'wisecracking imp' deploying snide asides, trademark smirk, deadpan whining, and odd facial expressions.
Pace
Rambling comedic pace with drawn-out joke setups, punctuated by recurring vocal sound effects and transitional noises.
About
dating and relationship failures, childhood and family dynamics, pop culture and television shows like COPS, airplane travel and flight attendants, concerts and rock bands, going to the movies

What the critics said

Met with mixed-to-negative retrospective appraisal citing uneven writing, over-reliance on transitional sound effects, and rambling joke setups that dilutes punchlines, though saved in moments by Spade's distinctive delivery, physical expressions, and self-deprecating charm.

In the room: A rowdy, supportive Arizona hometown crowd eager to laugh at his sound effects and signature comedic persona.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: themoviedb.org, letterboxd.com, hbomax.com, thetvdb.plexapp.com, cinemaloco.com, latimes.com, rollingstone.com, en.wikipedia.org.

Backstory

Filmed in Phoenix as a homecoming show near where Spade grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona; personal backdrop included comedic treatment of his family, with his estranged father attending the taping and his mother and stepfather attending rehearsal.

Details

Released
Runtime
56 min
Where
HBO
Director
Keith Truesdell
Topics
After
Nothing Personal (2022)

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