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Promotional art for Love at The Store
Cover image credit: Promotional image via Prime Video

Love at The Store

Jerrod Carmichael

HBO · 2014 · 54 min

A soft-spoken comic tests the moral limits of a Hollywood crowd.

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

Jerrod Carmichael delivers his jokes like a guy who just woke from a nap and remembered a few troubling thoughts he wants to share. His cadence is quiet and measured, a stark contrast to his actual material. He casually weighs the trade-offs of poverty against wealth, questions why extreme talent constantly excuses a total lack of morals, and jokes about finally making enough money to slap someone and be free by Friday.

Directed by Spike Lee, the 2014 hour was filmed at The Comedy Store in Hollywood and served as an introduction to a premium cable audience just as the comic’s acting career was taking off.

Before his network sitcom or the confessional specials that defined his later work, this set captures someone figuring out how to weaponize a relaxed demeanor. He gets the room to side with awful premises simply by refusing to yell about them.

The set list

5 bits

  1. How self-centered people are when reacting to national tragedies like the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.

    Carmichael argues that personal misfortune outweighs global sympathy by imagining that learning you contracted herpes on the day of Sandy Hook would make it the worst day of your life regardless.

  2. Remembering the September 11 terrorist attacks.

    Explains that he primarily remembers 9/11 because it coincided with the release of Jay-Z's album The Blueprint.

  3. Martin Luther King Jr. surviving into old age.

    Envisions MLK as a commercial pitchman selling Tempur-Pedic mattresses with the tagline 'I had a dream... and you can too.'

  4. Low-income Americans voting for conservative politicians.

    Questions the logic of impoverished citizens supporting wealthy politicians, calling poor Republicans absurd.

  5. Acceptance of gay marriage in Middle America.

    Posits that Middle America would be more accepting of gay marriage if exposed to understated depictions like Tom Hanks in Philadelphia rather than flamboyant pride parades.

How it plays

Tone
Nonchalant, contemplative, dark, and conversational.
On stage
Relaxed, quiet, low-key, conversational, and smilingly nonchalant while exploring dark, off-color, and contemplative thoughts.
Pace
Calm, loose, and measured, pausing to let ideas simmer and periodically pulling out crumpled notes from his pocket.
About
poverty, wealth, crime, race, national tragedies, female empowerment

What the critics said

Characterized as an unconventional and remarkably relaxed debut special showcasing a distinct, fearless comedic voice, though critics and reviewers noted an awkward, disjointed rhythm caused by pauses to read handwritten notes.

In the room: Intimate and informal within a small, dimly lit room illuminated by pink neon comic signatures, where Carmichael reacted directly to audience hesitations and groans.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: imdb.com, hbomax.com, paleycenter.org, vulture.com, thecomicscomic.com, grantland.com, washingtonpost.com, en.wikipedia.org, pro.imdb.com.

Backstory

Filmed in the historic, 150-capacity Original Room of The Comedy Store in Los Angeles, where video cameras had previously been banned and where Carmichael performed his first open-mic set after moving to Los Angeles in 2008.

Details

Released
Taped
The Comedy Store (Original Room), Hollywood
Runtime
54 min
Where
HBO
Director
Spike Lee
Topics
After
8 (2017)

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