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Talking for Clapping

Patton Oswalt

Netflix · 2016 · 65 min

A sharp hour of aging, parenting, and pharmaceutical double standards.

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Patton Oswalt takes the stage at San Francisco’s Fillmore to pick apart the absurdity of aging and the shifting social rules he’s trying to keep pace with. Recorded in late 2015, this was his fifth hour-long video special and his first produced exclusively for Netflix. He balances standard observational routines with sociopolitical commentary, looking at the contrast between how language is policed and how actual empathy works.\n\nOne of the standout segments involves his bewilderment over how easily senior citizens can procure heavy-duty narcotics compared to his own struggles to get a minor painkiller prescription. He jokes that if you survive past seventy, you are invited to a pill party that would bring choreographer Bob Fosse back to life and then put him right back in the grave. The hour moves between these medical absurdities, a story about the absolute worst birthday party clown in history, and the humbling realities of raising a daughter who is deeply obsessed with My Little Pony rather than the Star Wars universe he wanted to hand down to her.\n\nReleased in April 2016, the special was instantly colored by tragedy when Oswalt’s wife, true-crime writer Michelle McNamara, died unexpectedly just a day before its premiere. The set itself remains a document of a comic at a creative peak, earning both an Emmy for writing and a Grammy for Best Comedy Album.

The set list

7 bits

  1. The worst stand-up set of his career in Roanoke, Virginia in 1990.

    Recounts battling a severe stomach flu and diarrhea on stage, relying on 'stage health' only for his body and the audience to completely betray him.

  2. Elderly parents having an endless supply of prescription drugs compared to younger adults.

    Juxtaposes his doctor reluctantly giving him four Ambien for insomnia with his mother casually offering giant flashlight-sized bottles containing a 'trail mix' of pills.

  3. His parents' obese Jack Russell terrier.

    Observes how his parents overfed and pampered the dog into a misshapen creature, triggering the horrifying realization that they raised him the exact same way.

  4. The need for a female president compared to film editors and biological reproduction.

    Uses metaphors of male directors shooting chaotic amounts of film needing female editors, and millions of male sperm requiring a woman to create something comprehensible.

  5. Pushback against anti-transgender panic and political correctness.

    Debunks political hysteria over trans people by arguing 'it's not a radical agenda if the solution is pants,' while criticizing activists who prioritize policing terminology over addressing evil policies.

  6. His daughter's obsession with My Little Pony versus his love for Star Wars.

    Shrugs off engaging with new nerdy universes only to deliver an exhaustive, encyclopedic breakdown demonstrating he fully absorbed all the lore.

  7. The closer (spoiler). Show it

    A disastrous, disaffected hipster birthday party clown. closer

    Details an incompetent, slacker clown hired for a child's birthday party and adopts the hosting mother's bewildered coping philosophy: 'I'm so pissed off right now, but I kind of want to see where this goes.'

How it plays

Tone
Sardonic, self-lacerating, sharp, opinionated, and imbued with guarded hopefulness.
On stage
An amiable, highly sardonic, self-effacing yet intellectually nimble persona driven by a collision between inferiority and superiority complexes, characterized by 'weary optimism' and 'jovial rage.'
Pace
Rambling and discursive in delivery, alternating between snappy observational bits and longer spoken narratives, deliberately slowing down into long-form storytelling mode for the finale.
About
fatherhood and parenting, aging and physical decline, prescription drugs and healthcare, political correctness vs. intent, presidential politics, depression and insomnia

What the critics said

Widely praised by critics for Oswalt's confident storytelling, writerly command of language, and effortless blend of political edge, personal vulnerability, and absurdism.

In the room: An enthusiastic, receptive hometown-style crowd at The Fillmore in San Francisco that applauded warmly before he even started speaking.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: imdb.com, rottentomatoes.com, allmovie.com, decider.com, avclub.com, exclaim.ca, en.wikipedia.org, ign.com, thedailybeast.com.

Backstory

Filmed in fall 2015 at The Fillmore in San Francisco, returning to the city where his career took off two decades earlier; released in April 2016 during the contentious US presidential primary season, and just days after the sudden passing of his wife, Michelle McNamara.

Details

Released
Taped
2015, The Fillmore, San Francisco
Runtime
65 min
Where
Netflix
Honors
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety SpecialGrammy Award for Best Comedy Album
Topics
Before
Tragedy Plus Comedy Equals Time (2014)
After
Annihilation (2017)

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