Skip to content
Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy
Promotional art for Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special
Cover image credit: Promotional image via Prime Video

Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special

Jeff Dunham

Comedy Central · 2008 · 85 min

A holiday variety hour built around puppets and anti-PC grievances.

Watch it free on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Jeff Dunham converts his ventriloquism act into a holiday variety show, leaning heavily into the cultural grievances of the late 2000s. Rather than just putting Santa hats on his usual lineup, he builds the hour around a rejection of political correctness, spending a significant portion of the set complaining about the phrase “Happy Holidays”. To back up the rhetoric, he brings out his familiar rotation of characters for Christmas-themed musical numbers, tapping Brian Haner as an onstage guitarist to provide a live backing track.

Filmed at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee in June 2008, the release arrived right as the comic reached the absolute peak of his commercial dominance. Fresh off the viral internet success of his 2007 hour, he brings back the Achmed the Dead Terrorist puppet to sing “Jingle Bombs,” while Bubba J performs “Roadkill Christmas” and the grumpy veteran Walter takes audience questions dressed as Santa Claus. The anti-PC holiday angle resonated with exactly the audience he aimed for, drawing 6.6 million viewers to become Comedy Central’s highest-rated telecast of all time.

The set list

7 bits

  1. Solo opening monologue about daughter pumping gas

    Dunham performs stand-up recounting his 16-year-old daughter's first experience pumping gas, ribbing gadget-obsessed youth and women's credit card swiping habits.

  2. Walter on Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays

    The cantankerous Walter complains about modern holiday greetings, argues for 'Merry Christmas', reminisces about toys from his youth, and proposes a holiday called 'Caucasia'.

  3. Achmed the Dead Terrorist sings 'Jingle Bombs'

    Wearing a Santa hat, the deceased terrorist discusses the burdens of political correctness and sings a holiday parody of 'Jingle Bells' recounting his botched missions, accompanied by Guitar Guy.

  4. Bubba J's letter to Santa and 'Roadkill Christmas'

    The beer-drinking Southerner reads an apology letter to Santa Claus recounting Santa catching fire in the fireplace and a reindeer being eaten, followed by singing 'Roadkill Christmas'.

  5. Peanut wanting to be adopted by Angelina Jolie

    The purple puppet expresses a desire to be adopted by Angelina Jolie for nursing, segueing into jokes about nicknames for breasts.

  6. José Jalapeño on a Stick goes skiing

    José discusses the difficulties of going on a ski trip while being a jalapeño pepper mounted on a stick.

  7. The closer (spoiler). Show it

    Reading 'The Night Before Christmas' closer

    Dunham attempts to read the classic holiday poem as a family tradition, while Peanut continuously interrupts with crude commentary and highlights questionable elements in the story.

How it plays

Tone
Irreverent, politically incorrect, slapstick, and holiday-themed.
On stage
Ventriloquist switching between a straight-man persona and exaggerated, politically incorrect puppet character personas, accompanied by 'Guitar Guy' Brian Haner.
Pace
Rapid back-and-forth dialogue switching between distinct character voices, self-interruptions, and highly honed rhythmic comedic timing.
About
Christmas and holiday traditions, cultural and racial stereotypes, political correctness, family and parenting

What the critics said

Sharply polarized; mainstream critics criticized the act as repetitive, crude, and heavily reliant on dated racial and ethnic stereotypes, while reviews from fans praised Dunham's technical ventriloquism skills and festive holiday jokes.

In the room: Rapturously enthusiastic Midwestern theater audience, laughing manically with several audience members holding Peanut merchandise dolls.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, blu-ray.com, dvdizzy.com, collider.com, rottentomatoes.com, criticalblast.com.

Backstory

Dunham's first holiday-themed special; Dunham filed for divorce in November 2008, the same month the special premiered on television.

Details

Released
Taped
Pabst Theater, Milwaukee
Runtime
85 min
Where
Comedy Central
Director
Michael Simon
Honors
RIAA 10× Platinum Certification (DVD)
Topics
Before
Spark of Insanity (2007)
After
Controlled Chaos (2011)

More from Jeff Dunham

If you liked this