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Promotional art for The Pale Tourist
Cover image credit: Promotional image via Prime Video

The Pale Tourist

Jim Gaffigan

Prime Video · 2020

Jim Gaffigan performs customized stand-up sets for international audiences.

Watch it free on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

What Jim Gaffigan attempts here is an extreme version of the classic touring comedian’s trick: opening with a few minutes of localized jokes to make the crowd feel seen. Only instead of stopping after five minutes, Gaffigan builds entire hours around the foreign destinations he is visiting. Performing for crowds of locals and expats, he leans hard into his own persona as a clueless, pasty American outsider who has done just enough homework to be dangerous.\n\nThe material is split into two distinct parts. The first, recorded at the Centre in the Square in Kitchener, Ontario, centers on Canada. Gaffigan targets the country’s national culinary obsession, poutine, describing it as a monumentally unhealthy pile of fries and gravy that Canadians only eat because they have free healthcare. He also mocks the clam-broth-infused Caesar cocktail, the sheer size of the local moose population, and the awkward phonetics of Regina.\n\nThe second half takes Gaffigan to Barcelona, Spain, where he sets his sights on the national obsession with bullfighting (comparing it unfavorably to the American rodeo), the overwhelming number of churches, and the bizarre Catalan Christmas tradition of the caga tió (the defecating log). Throughout both halves, Gaffigan maintains a respectful, self-deprecating posture that avoids the ugly-American stereotype by making himself the butt of every joke.\n\nFilmed on the heels of his 2019 release Quality Time (Amazon’s first original stand-up special), this 2020 double feature marked a high-wire experiment for Gaffigan. Rather than relying on his usual safe territory of parenting and domestic life, he forced himself to generate fresh observations on foreign turf. While some critics noted that the extreme localization occasionally resulted in simple tourist jokes, the technical challenge of writing entirely new sets for specific countries kept the performances from feeling lazy.

The set list

5 bits

  1. Poutine and Canadian healthcare

    Argues that eating poutine feels irresponsible, but rationalizes indulging because Canada provides free healthcare.

  2. Donald Trump as an embarrassing alcoholic parent abroad

    Compares traveling Americans apologizing for Donald Trump to children dealing with an alcoholic father, explaining they are just trying to get the phone away from him.

  3. Canadian provinces and regional stereotypes

    Pokes fun at Saskatchewan being full of perverts, Vancouver raining for two weeks during a one-week stay, and Manitoba being like a friend only invited to a party because everyone forgot they existed.

  4. Waiting to see Drake at a Las Vegas nightclub

    Recounts arriving early at a Vegas club to see Canadian star Drake, where young fans assumed Gaffigan was Drake's accountant.

  5. Spanish figurines and food culture

    Examines unique regional novelties like the Caganer and Caga Tió alongside Spanish reverance for jamón, tapas, and paella.

How it plays

Tone
Warm, lighthearted, self-mocking, and observational.
On stage
Likable, self-deprecating, flabby-dad comedic persona adopting the posture of an inquisitive 'pale tourist'; frequently deploys his trademark high-pitched internal whisper voice as an imagined audience heckler commenting on his own set.
Pace
Comfortable, responsive, and steady in the Canadian performance; more reserved, cautious, and trepidatious in the Spanish performance before warming up.
About
international travel and tourism, Canadian culture, geography, and hockey, Spanish traditions, food, and regional identity, Ugly American stereotypes and Trump, local cuisine and unhealthy eating habits

What the critics said

Reviewed as an ambitious and audacious comedic experiment that avoids mean-spiritedness through well-researched observation and charm, with critics finding the Canadian hour sharper and more naturally responsive than the somewhat slower Spanish set.

In the room: Enthusiastic and instantly engaged in Ontario with steady applause breaks; quieter and more reserved initially in Barcelona before easing into the performance.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: press.amazonmgmstudios.com, comedydynamics.com, gooent.com, decider.com, nytimes.com, avclub.com, primetimer.com, en.wikipedia.org, themoviedb.org.

Backstory

Conceived during an ambitious worldwide tour that was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020; Gaffigan tasked himself with landing in each country with no scripted material, immersing himself in the local culture, and writing completely bespoke hours for local and expat audiences.

Details

Released
Taped
Centre in the Square (Kitchener) and Club Capitol (Barcelona), Kitchener and Barcelona
Where
Prime Video
Director
Jim Gaffigan
Topics
Before
Quality Time (2019)
After
Comedy Monster (2021)

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