The Funches Of Us

Ron Funches speaks in an airy purr that would sound completely innocent if the material were not about admonishing pets with racial slurs and figuring out which members of the Wu-Tang Clan look best in scarves. The contrast is the whole point. He giggles through punchlines that a louder comic would shout, making odd premises feel disarmingly casual.

Recorded at Comedy Works Downtown in Denver in August 2015 and released by Comedy Dynamics, the album arrived as Funches was making the jump from cult favorite to network television fixture. He was starring on the NBC sitcom Undateable, winning regularly on the late-night game show @midnight, and packaging his stand-up with an album cover modeled on the video game The Last of Us, complete with an intro from Houston rapper Bun B.

The core of the set centers on his son, Malcolm, who is on the autism spectrum. Funches rejects pity entirely, framing his child as an exacting, slightly menacing roommate who runs the household like a pint-sized gangster. During a crowd work stretch, he corners an audience member into an escalating hypothetical dilemma about rescuing family members from terrorists, keeping the tone light even as the premise turns absurd.

While local coverage in Portland noted that committed fans had already heard some of the jokes on late-night appearances, the release drew strong reviews elsewhere, including a nine-out-of-ten score and a spot on Exclaim! magazine’s year-end comedy ranking.