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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy

Pale Blue Scottish Person

Billy Connolly

HBO · 1991 · 54 min

A Scottish comedian introduces himself to an American theater crowd.

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Billy Connolly treats a Los Angeles theater crowd to his sprawling, unstructured storytelling to see if his act translates across the Atlantic. The title comes from a routine about how his complexion affects beachgoers. Being from Scotland, he notes, his skin is so pale that it genuinely frightens people in the sun.

Taped in 1991 at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre, the HBO hour was part of a concerted push to break the United States market. At the time, Connolly was starring in the ABC sitcom Billy, where he played an immigrant teacher plotting a green card marriage, before taking roles in films like Indecent Proposal. The stand-up format strips away the network television packaging, giving him the space to simply wander the stage and talk.

The set list

5 bits

  1. Video Machine & Power Outage

  2. Earthquakes

  3. Scottish Tan and Pale Blue

    Riffs on Scottish complexion and pride while playing on Carl Sagan's 'pale blue dot'.

  4. Condoms And Sex

  5. Laughing At Awful Things

How it plays

Tone
Light, completely outrageous yet accessible, marked by copious and creative swearing.
On stage
Unhinged working-class philosopher characterized by physical comedy chaos, expressive facial gestures, and performing in a black vest with no shirt.
Pace
Fast-paced, medium intensity, featuring rambling stories where punchlines sneak up unexpectedly.
About
Scottish identity, earthquakes, technology and power outages, sex and condoms, drugs, music and folk singers

What the critics said

Described as comic genius featuring flawless timing and delivery across an outrageous yet universally accessible range of topics.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: imdb.com, filmaffinity.com, mubi.com, en.wikipedia.org, themoviebrowser.com, thetvdb.com, vs-uc.com, flixano.com.

Backstory

The title references Carl Sagan's 'pale blue dot'—reclaiming cosmic insignificance as working-class Scottish pride.

Details

Released
Runtime
54 min
Where
HBO
Director
Louis J. Horvitz
Honors
1 nomination total
Topics
Before
Live at the Royal Albert Hall (1991)
After
Live at the Odeon Hammersmith London (1991)

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