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In God We Rust

Lewis Black

Epix · 2012 · 79 min

An angry citizen tries to understand smartphones, FarmVille, and Valentine's Day.

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Lewis Black knows his comedy is an acquired taste. He opens In God We Rust by issuing a content warning to anyone unaccustomed to his particular frequency of rage, actively agreeing with anyone in the room who might not find him amusing. What follows is exactly what he promises. Black uses the hour to air his exhaustion with a modern world he simultaneously relies on and despises.

Filmed at the State Theatre in Minneapolis in 2011 and released the following year, the special captures the comedian at a point where his status as the country’s preeminent angry citizen was firmly cemented. The Minnesota crowd gets a localized jab when he brings up Michele Bachmann, earning a mixed reaction that he seems to welcome. He spends a significant chunk of the set complaining about the digital annoyances of the era, specifically FarmVille, the Verizon Droid, and the bewildering nature of smartphone apps. In one notable bit, he points out that even during a bad LSD trip, he never felt compelled to ask a rotary phone for directions. He also devotes time to the logistical absurdity of placing Valentine’s Day in the middle of peak flu season.

The set list

5 bits

  1. A local Wendover, Nevada newspaper write-up described his comedy style as consisting of 'mental breakdowns'.

    Black ridicules the small town and the reviewer's literal diagnosis of his onstage comedic fury.

  2. The timing and absurdity of Valentine's Day.

    Rants about the senselessness of celebrating romantic pressure in the dead of February.

  3. Smartphones failing at basic phone calls while offering useless apps.

    Compares his frustrating experiences with the AT&T iPhone and Verizon Droid, questioning asking phones for sushi spots by recalling a past LSD trip where he never thought to speak to a rotary telephone.

  4. Saying the word 'abortion' onstage.

    Observes how merely mentioning abortion causes complete silence and tension, commenting on how decades of unresolved debate stall government progress.

  5. The Tea Party and anti-tax populism.

    Marvels that political leaders convinced working-class people dressed as Ben Franklin to protest against taxing the rich.

How it plays

Tone
Dark, bewildered, cathartic, and cynical.
On stage
Furious, self-deprecating, and apoplectic; known for grimacing, arm-waving, frantic finger-wagging, and explosive diatribes.
Pace
Begins with quiet, conversational, and unusually sedate setups that steadily build momentum before erupting into sudden, irate screaming crescendos.
About
shortcomings of modern technology and smartphones, aging and physical decline, political gridlock and bipartisan incompetence, social media and internet culture, the War on Terror

What the critics said

Received mixed-to-positive appraisals; critics acknowledged Black's dependable rage and trademark theatrical delivery, though some felt the technological and political material was slightly dated, leisurely paced, and less sharp than his previous special Stark Raving Black.

In the room: An appreciative, paying theater audience that responded warmly with moderate laughter, eliciting audible hoots and boos when Black brought up local politician Michele Bachmann.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: thetvdb.com, imdb.com, blu-ray.com, dvdizzy.com, vulture.com, thecomicscomic.com, consequence.net, en.wikipedia.org, archive.kpcc.org, tv.apple.com.

Backstory

Performed on a tour that began in January 2010 during an election cycle, featuring a custom stage set centered around a giant red 3D cube modeled after a painting by his elderly father, Sam Black.

Details

Released
Taped
2011, State Theatre, Minneapolis
Runtime
79 min
Where
Epix
Director
Adam Dubin
Topics
Before
Stark Raving Black (2009)
After
Old Yeller: Live at the Borgata (2013)

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