Neal Brennan: Crazy Good

Far out, this gets off to a kind of bad start, which surprised me, because I remembered watching at least a couple of Neal Brennan specials some years ago and enjoyed them pretty thoroughly. Crazy Good does eventually start hitting a little at a point, but I was wondering for about 10 to 15 minutes there whether I'd laugh or exhale a little air through my nose at all.

I was going to put it down to just being tired (hence watching a stand-up special tonight instead of trying to stay awake through a full movie), but no, I think it just started out kind of crazy mediocre. Brennan has some good jokes eventually, though. It's an inconsistent special, and the guy feels a little out of touch and less relatable compared to how he'd been before, but the good stuff makes it decent overall. He takes some risks, too. The riskier stuff isn't very funny, but in a fair world, it could be used to shut up those people who say comedians don't take risks anymore. Some don't, some do. Nuance is nice and underrated.

Maybe it's another stand-up special for the ever-growing pile of them on Netflix. I watch fewer than I used to, as there's only so much most people can do. Brennan had some hooks to his earlier specials, which helped them stand out. This one is more bare-bones. It is just okay as far as bare-bones specials on Netflix go.