This Year's Material

Watching Joe List try to survive an aggressive MMA class or explain why he ended up riding a roller coaster with strangers’ children is a lesson in high-anxiety storytelling. He has spent years on stage refining a style of self-deprecating comedy that makes him look like a guy constantly waiting for a piano to drop on his head. There are no grand setups, just a fast-paced barrage of punchlines delivered by a man who seems genuinely troubled by his own existence.

Filmed at the Village Underground in New York City, the special caught List at a busy point in his career. That same year, he co-wrote and starred in the indie feature Fourth of July, but This Year’s Material keeps him squarely in his natural habitat of a basement club. Notable bits include his thoughts on married intimacy, a brutal Forrest Gump impression, and a moment where he accidentally bumps into the sign bearing his own name, pausing to joke about the humiliation of being crushed by his own branding.

While some viewers noted the audience audio track in the mix was occasionally overwhelming, the hour was widely praised by fellow comics and named a runner-up for the year’s best specials by The Boston Globe. It is a performance that thrives on his inability to feel comfortable in any situation.