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Tragedy Plus Comedy Equals Time

Patton Oswalt

Comedy Central · 2014 · 59 min

A slower, narrative-heavy set about fatherhood and middle-aged exhaustion.

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Patton Oswalt’s 2014 hour finds him shifting away from his traditionally caustic club sets to document the softer and stranger realities of middle age. The centerpiece of the show isn’t a rant about pop culture, but a bleak, detailed fantasy about ending his own life in front of a supermarket Lean Cuisine display while Toto’s “Africa” plays over the PA system. It is a massive laugh built out of pure exhaustion.

Filmed at the Spreckels Theatre in San Diego during Comic-Con, Tragedy Plus Comedy Equals Time was directed by Bobcat Goldthwait and premiered on Epix. At the time, Oswalt was seeing a surge in mainstream acting work, popping up in everything from Justified to The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. That stability heavily influences the material. He details how his depression had to take on more creative forms to bypass his newfound happiness as a father. He also recounts his young daughter being unfazed by accidentally watching The Wolfman but terrified by educational television.

Other standout stretches include a miserable gig performing for hundreds of drunk casino patrons who simply screamed his IMDb credits at him. Critics noted the hour relies more on a slow-burn storytelling approach than his previous albums, hitting a peak in the middle before coasting through a closing premise about German humorlessness.

The set list

6 bits

  1. Performing a corporate casino gig for drunken patrons.

    Explores the temptation and absurdity of earning an obscene sum of money at a casino gig with virtually zero effort, questioning if that is the kind of success comics truly want.

  2. Experiencing creative depression in a supermarket.

    Describes standing in a mostly empty grocery store at 11 a.m. shopping for Lean Cuisine while Toto's 'Africa' plays overhead, evoking a 'peacefully suicidal' feeling.

  3. His daughter unintentionally saying racially insensitive things.

    Relates an awkward coffee shop moment where his toddler loudly referred to a man as a monkey because he resembled Rafiki from The Lion King.

  4. A past encounter with a prostitute in Atlanta.

    Recounts a failed, awkward outing with a prostitute from a decade earlier with candid, conversational vulnerability.

  5. Aging, health, and fitness anxieties.

    Muses on physical decline and expresses a wish to avoid having to use a Rascal scooter at his daughter's future graduation.

  6. Ripping into the state of Florida and German humorlessness.

    Mocks cultural quirks, portraying German lack of humor as a deliberate defense mechanism.

How it plays

Tone
Affable, confessional, introspective, and mildly cynical.
On stage
An affable, mellowed, self-deprecating 'Dad Patton' delivering material like a friend sharing confessional stories over a drink.
Pace
Quieter stage energy characterized by longer narrative setups, fewer rapid-fire one-liners, and distinct pauses punctuated by shifting colored stage lighting between bits.
About
fatherhood and parenting, aging and body issues, depression and mundane life, selling out and commercial success, relationships

What the critics said

Generally positive (holding an 80% Rotten Tomatoes rating), with critics praising Oswalt's masterful command, introspective storytelling, and confessional ease, though some noted the subdued tone yielded fewer explosive laughs than his earlier, angrier albums.

In the room: An amiable, supportive theater audience that warmly welcomed Oswalt and chuckled steadily throughout the performance without devolving into raucous laughter.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: en.wikipedia.org, tv.apple.com, hollywoodreporter.com, rottentomatoes.com, allmusic.com, avclub.com, pro.imdb.com, imdb.com.

Backstory

Entering a settled domestic life as a husband and father, Oswalt intentionally worked out this material strictly within Southern California to avoid flying, openly examining how his righteous anger had softened.

Details

Released
Taped
2013, Spreckels Theater, San Diego
Runtime
59 min
Where
Comedy Central
Director
Bobcat Goldthwait
Topics
Before
Finest Hour (2011)
After
Talking for Clapping (2016)

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