Undeniable
Showtime · 2018 · 74 min
Eddie Griffin mocks greedy televangelists and honors fallen comedy peers.
Eddie Griffin takes the stage at the Berklee Performing Arts Center in Boston, Massachusetts, marking three decades in stand-up comedy with a set that alternates between social critique, personal anecdotes, and high-energy impressions. He begins by questioning the hypocrisy of modern televangelists, zeroing in on mega-church pastor Joel Osteen’s controversial decision to lock his church doors during Hurricane Harvey. Griffin argues that organized religion has become more of a franchise than a spiritual sanctuary, pointing out the arrival of literal ATMs inside church lobbies to illustrate his point.
Filmed for Showtime in late 2017 and released in February 2018, Undeniable caught Griffin at an active point in his career. Beyond his Las Vegas residency, he was touring theaters with The Comedy Get Down alongside George Lopez and D.L. Hughley, and had recently filmed a supporting role as a pastor in the remake of A Star Is Born.
The second half of the performance turns personal as Griffin pays tribute to a generation of late performers, including his close friends Charlie Murphy and Bernie Mac, alongside Richard Pryor and Dick Gregory. He wraps up the set with a speculative, physical routine imagining how Michael Jackson, Prince, and Sammy Davis Jr. are adjusting to the afterlife, using his physical comedy skills to contrast the solemnity of heaven with the antics of his fallen peers.
The set list
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Donald Trump and modern American racism
Brands Trump 'The Orange Avenger' with pissy yellow hair, calls Melania Trump a KGB agent, and argues the Mexican border wall has not been built because racists are stupid
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Churches and organized religion as scams
Criticizes televangelist Joel Osteen for closing his megachurch during the Houston hurricane and attacks churches installing ATMs, setting up 'The Church of Eddie Griffin' where entry is charged upfront instead of passing a plate
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Marital fights, male libido, and fathering ten children
Recounts an argument with his wife before flying to Boston over coming home with new kids, acts out the slowing of the male libido, and riffs on sperm waiting for action
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Heavenly tribute to late friends and comedy legends
Performs impersonations imagining Charlie Murphy, Bernie Mac, Richard Pryor, Sammy Davis Jr., Prince, and Michael Jackson in the afterlife, highlighting Murphy performing stand-up while secretly undergoing chemotherapy
How it plays
- Tone
- Raw, vulgar, confrontational, satirical, and reflective
- On stage
- Animated, fast-witted, unfiltered, and unapologetic; frames his routine in part as 'The Church of Eddie Griffin'
- Pace
- Animated physical delivery with sharp pacing, pausing for audience laughter, and physical act-outs
- About
- politics and the Trump presidency, racism and the Black experience in America, relationships, marriage, and sexuality, organized religion and televangelism, tributes to deceased comedian friends and musical icons
What the critics said
Sean L. McCarthy highlighted Griffin's exceptional insight into American racism and organized religion alongside mixed, broad observations on gender and politics; audience reactions were sharply divided between fans celebrating his unfiltered bluntness and viewers finding the set excessively angry and divisive.
In the room: Taped in front of an enthusiastic, predominantly Black crowd; drew strongly polarized online reactions between loyal stand-up fans and offended viewers
Backstory
Held an ongoing residency at The Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas; addressed his recent marriage and having ten children against the backdrop of Donald Trump's presidency and race relations in America
Details
- Released
- Taped
- Berklee Performing Arts Center, Boston
- Runtime
- 74 min
- Where
- Showtime
- Director
- Gobi M. Rahimi
- Topics
- Before
- Voodoo Child (1997)
- After
- E-Niggma (2019)
More from Eddie Griffin
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E-Niggma
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-
Voodoo Child
HBO
-
One Night Stand
HBO
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