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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy

Nothin' But the Funk

Sinbad

HBO · 1998 · 55 min

High-energy complaints about post offices and overpacking for vacations.

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Sinbad operates at maximum volume, sweating through bright shirts while pacing the stage like a man trying to close a sale. He treats observational comedy as a high-cardio exercise. The bits here lean heavily on the friction of everyday annoyances, focusing on men refusing to wear clean clothes and the specific misery of waiting in line at the post office. He builds out extended premises on why women notice everything and the absurdity of overpacking for vacations, relying on his frantic delivery to make familiar subjects work.

Filmed for HBO at the Guillermo P. Trinidad Theatre in Aruba, the 1998 set marks the end of a prolific run. Throughout the decade, he had blanketed cable television with specials and booked a steady stream of family movies. By the time this aired, he had even taken over hosting duties for the short-lived Vibe late-night talk show. This hour would be his last solo stand-up release for twelve years.

The set list

9 bits

  1. Suntan Lotion

  2. Island People Can Party

  3. Tiger Woods

  4. Non-Functional Bathing Suits

  5. BBD - Bigger Better Deal

  6. Stop Over Packing

  7. Women Are in Control

  8. Phone and Utility Companies

  9. Poor, Rich and Shrinks

How it plays

Tone
Goofy, clean-cut, lighthearted, and accessible to audiences of all ages
On stage
Energetic, spontaneous, relatable, family-friendly comic known for clean observational humor
Pace
Infectious enthusiasm with natural and spontaneous delivery that maintains crowd engagement
About
relationships, vacations, everyday life, parenting, pop culture

What the critics said

Praised as a rollicking, uproarious night of comedy in paradise that highlights Sinbad's ability to extract relatable humor from ordinary and everyday life experiences.

In the room: Energetic live crowd laughing and actively engaged throughout the outdoor paradise setting

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: bbfc.co.uk, themoviedb.org, allmovie.com, link.livebrary.com, moviereviewof.com, cinegraph.org, vs-uc.com, highlandcinema.net, en.wikipedia.org, netflix.com.

Backstory

Filmed in Aruba; originally broadcast on HBO as part of the HBO Comedy Hour series

Details

Released
Taped
Guillermo P. Trinidad Theatre
Runtime
55 min
Where
HBO
Director
Chuck Vinson
Topics
Before
Son of a Preacher Man (1996)

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