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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy
Promotional art for A Speck of Dust
Cover image credit: via TMDB

A Speck of Dust

Sarah Silverman

Netflix · 2017

A loose, conversational hour of stand-up from Los Angeles.

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Sarah Silverman trades the cartoonish irony of her earlier years for a conversational hour that leans on a relaxed stage presence rather than immediate shock value. Fresh off a life-threatening illness, she approaches her material with a philosophical perspective, taking her time with long-form bits and making a self-aware running gag out of saying “put a pin in that” every time she drifts off on a tangent.\n\nFilmed in Los Angeles and directed by Liam Lynch, the 2017 Netflix special captures a transitional moment in her career, right before she launched her late-night show I Love You, America. She mixes her usual interest in bodily functions with lighter trivia, like a bit on how the poor memory of squirrels is responsible for most of the world’s trees, and a bizarre story about her sister’s night of heavy drinking that coin-flips into what she calls a “relief laugh”.\n\nThough some viewers missed the provocative persona of her Jesus Is Magic era, critics widely praised her warmth and command of the room. The special went on to earn Emmy nominations for writing and variety special, along with a Grammy nomination for Best Comedy Album.

The set list

3 bits

  1. A somber story about her sister Jodyne in a coed college dorm bathroom vomiting while feeling her underwear being tugged down.

    Set up straight-faced to resemble a traumatic sexual assault narrative before subverting expectations with the revelation that her sister was simply defecating with such force that her underwear dropped, eliciting a major relief laugh.

  2. Apologizing to the crowd for having to pass through metal detectors and venue security.

    Explains the costly personal security required after receiving threats stemming from a tweet misinterpreted as calling for a military coup, accepting that she is 'not everybody's cup of tea.'

  3. Surviving a life-threatening case of epiglottitis in the intensive care unit.

    Reflects on having low blood pressure that prevented general anesthesia and including footage filmed by her manager during treatment as an end-credits Easter egg.

How it plays

Tone
Darkly charming, introspective, irreverent, warm, and candid.
On stage
Deadpan, self-aware, and stony-faced; willing to make audiences uncomfortable before defusing tension with release.
Pace
Patient and deliberate pacing, holding the audience in dead silence through tense misdirections before delivering explosive punchlines.
About
near-death medical experiences and mortality, grief and personal loss, social and political issues, gender inequality and the male gaze, abortion debate, evolving language and political correctness

What the critics said

Praised by critics as an assured, introspective, and cohesive hour showcasing Silverman at the height of her storytelling powers and comedic maturity.

In the room: Rapt and dead silent during dramatic narrative misdirections, reacting with massive relief laughs and engaging in a self-conscious, two-way dialogue with the performer.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: imdb.com, tv.apple.com, hollywoodreporter.com, theatlantic.com, vanityfair.com, exclaim.ca, fastcompany.com, en.wikipedia.org, backstageol.com, glamour.com.

Backstory

Crafted in the wake of a near-fatal ICU hospitalization from a freak case of epiglottitis and the loss of three close people in under two years (her mother Beth Ann, mentor Garry Shandling, and writer-comedian Harris Wittels), alongside public controversy and threats following a tweet perceived as calling for a military coup.

Details

Released
Taped
Largo at the Coronet, Los Angeles
Where
Netflix
Director
Liam Lynch
Honors
100% Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes based on 10 reviews
Topics
Before
We Are Miracles (2013)
After
Someone You Love (2023)

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