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Brick Wall Comedy
Cover image credit: Thumbnail: YouTube · Jeff Dunham

Beside Himself

Jeff Dunham

Netflix · 2019 · 58 min

Jeff Dunham brings his famous puppets home to Texas.

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Jeff Dunham spent decades building an arena-sized comedy empire based on a simple premise: a guy with a suitcase full of wood and latex can say the quiet part out loud as long as he is throwing his voice. For his second Netflix special, taped in front of a massive crowd at the American Airlines Center in his hometown of Dallas, Texas, Dunham sticks to the formula that made him one of the highest-earning touring comics in the world. He opens with ten minutes of solo stand-up about family life and the perils of getting pink eye from his young twins, establishing a relatable, down-to-earth persona before bringing out the puppets.\n\nThe centerpiece of the show is the introduction of a new character named Larry, a hyperventilating, chain-smoking advisor to Donald Trump. Designed to dance along the edge of late-2010s political exhaustion without alienating either half of his audience, Larry exists to joke about the sheer stress of the presidency rather than the policy. The rest of the hour relies on his established crew of caricatures, including the curmudgeonly Walter, the hyperactive Peanut, and Achmed the Dead Terrorist, whose physical props literally begin to fall apart mid-routine. Dunham uses the puppets to voice a broader pushback against modern political correctness, aiming his sarcasm directly at the internet and media outlets that might find his act out-of-date while thousands of arena-goers roar in approval.

The set list

5 bits

  1. Solo opening stand-up on parenting twin 4-year-old boys and pink eye

    Dunham opens the show without puppets for ten minutes, discussing family life and establishing self-deprecating premises that the puppets callback later.

  2. Walter roasting Jeff Dunham's Hollywood Walk of Fame star and hygiene habits

    Walter complains about Dunham's star location and makes jokes comparing Dunham to Bill Cosby because the puppets are trapped watching him shower.

  3. Larry the chain-smoking White House advisor to Donald Trump

    Dunham introduces a high-strung, twitchy advisor puppet who laments Trump's early-morning toilet tweets, marital scandals, and administrative 'Firing Fridays'.

  4. Bubba J on how comedy works

    Bubba J explains that comedy is about saying things that upset uptight people while normal folks laugh.

  5. Peanut and José Jalapeño on a Stick

    Peanut relentlessly mocks José Jalapeño while José retorts with deadpan barbs, alongside Dunham checking if the audience still approves of José's character.

How it plays

Tone
Sarcastic, self-deprecating, irreverent, and observational, balancing edgy material with a broadly accessible comedic tone.
On stage
Stand-up comic and ventriloquist hybrid acting as a self-deprecating straight man alongside an eccentric cast of outspoken puppet alter-egos.
Pace
Electric and brisk, shifting from an opening solo stand-up set to energetic character act-outs and expeditious verbal sparring with the puppets.
About
parenting and raising twin boys, political correctness and cultural division, Donald Trump's administration and media coverage, aging and stereotypes

What the critics said

Reviews were polarized: critical commentary from Decider viewed Dunham as playing the victim of political correctness within a supportive arena echo chamber, while reviews from The Statesman and Trust the Dice praised the special's character range, high energy, and balanced political satire.

In the room: A massive, enthusiastic hometown arena crowd that eagerly participated, gave frequent applause breaks, and cheered the classic puppet lineup.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: imdb.com, trustthedice.com, caa.com, decider.com, thecomicscomic.com, vulture.com, sbstatesman.com, accessonline.com.

Backstory

Filmed in Dunham's hometown of Dallas amid heightened national political division under the Donald Trump presidency and cultural discourse surrounding political correctness.

Details

Released
Taped
American Airlines Center, Dallas
Runtime
58 min
Where
Netflix
Director
Troy Miller
Topics
Before
Relative Disaster (2017)
After
Me the People (2022)

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