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King Baby

Jim Gaffigan

Comedy Central · 2009 · 72 min

A quiet defense of physical laziness, Waffle House, and bacon.

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King Baby operates entirely on the physics of inertia. The comic spends the set standing mostly still, softly making the case for a life of minimal physical effort. He defends the snooze button, questions the purpose of the stairs next to escalators, and elevates bacon to an object of absolute worship. The material succeeds because he consistently undercuts his own mildness. After delivering a premise about camping or bologna, he switches into a high-pitched, judgmental whisper to play the role of an offended audience member complaining about the act.

Filmed at the Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas, this 2009 set was the heavily anticipated follow-up to Beyond the Pale. He was already established as the guy who built a small empire out of a Hot Pockets routine. Here, he cements his reputation as a mainstream act who can work clean without sounding sanitized.

Reviewers at the time noted the hour lacked a singular viral moment to match his previous work, but they praised the structural tightness and his total commitment to the persona. The set pieces simply build on one another, moving from the inherent sadness of bowling alleys to a detailed, sustained takedown of Waffle House.

The set list

8 bits

  1. Bowling

    Riffs on how unexciting bowling sounds to other people, remarking that no one is ever jealous when they hear you went bowling.

  2. Bacon obsession

    Delivers an extensive routine celebrating bacon, wondering how many bacon jokes can be made, and musing about choosing a religion based on its endorsement of bacon.

  3. Camping

    Observes the absurdity of having to pay money to sleep outside, noting it must feel insulting to homeless people.

  4. Escalators and moving walkways

    Derides broken escalators as 'an organised hill' and jokes about airport moving walkways that announce they are ending in case passengers forgot how to walk.

  5. Watching television and laziness

    Details extreme slacking, such as taking batteries from a smoke detector to operate the TV remote and wearing athletic clothes solely to sit through television marathons.

  6. Waffle House and fast food

    Explores late-night guilty pleasures, dining at low-rent Waffle Houses, and our childhood reverence for fast food.

  7. Biblical situations

    Approaches religion comfortably by imagining Abraham giving himself a circumcision, Jesus working as a carpenter, or an Apostle speaking with a Brooklyn accent.

  8. Ketchup

    Riffs on the widespread obsession with ketchup and its status as a staple condiment.

How it plays

Tone
Comforting, self-deprecating, clean, and pedantically observational.
On stage
An everyman, goofy slacker celebrating extreme laziness and overindulgence; clean, non-vulgar, and self-aware regarding his pale appearance.
Pace
Relaxed pacing with skilful timing, using rapid-fire self-dialogue to keep continuous momentum without letting the crowd catch their breath.
About
Laziness and comfort, Food and eating, Bacon, Fast food and dining, Everyday mundane activities, Religion and biblical scenarios

What the critics said

Praised as a very funny and solid special delivering Gaffigan's signature 'comfort comedy,' with reviewers highlighting his unique high-pitched inner voice and inventive turns of phrase, though some noted it felt repetitive compared to 'Beyond the Pale.'

In the room: The Austin crowd was enthusiastic and highly responsive, greeting even mild observations with adulation.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org, themoviedb.org, dvdcompare.net, chortle.co.uk, popmatters.com, thecomicscomic.com, everyview.wordpress.com, nuvo.net.

Backstory

Filmed on December 6, 2008, at the conclusion of his sold-out 2008 stand-up tour (the 'Sexy' tour).

Details

Released
Taped
2008, The Paramount Theatre, Austin
Runtime
72 min
Where
Comedy Central
Director
Troy Miller
Topics
Before
Beyond the Pale (2006)
After
Mr. Universe (2012)

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