Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special

However, very few fully knew Norm and those likely closest to him, Letterman, Chappelle, Shannon, Spade, Shannon, Sandler, added greatly to the appeal of this very Special show. Mostly comedy with shades of tragedy, it is a Must See for his current and new fans. The discussion afterwards is as rewarding as the at home performance itself (see if you hear David Spade's slip of the tongue). Highly recommend this Special.

It's norm. If you love norm you'll love this, if you don't, its norm, so you're most likely wrong.

Great fun and old fella rambles on and it's very funny. Sucks that this is most likely his last special but it'll do! RIP Norm.

Norm, we just love you. You are the best. And we miss you dearly. On account of you're dead and all. We still love you.

This was a painful reminder why we who love Norm will miss him - there is so much about his style that is so unique and so special and could not be done by anyone but him.

You know it's a bad sign when people say a comedy special made them cry. Yes, this is Norm MacDonald doing a show (sort of) but it's like when I saw George Carlin perform live at the Count Basie Theater in late 2007. Carlin walked on stage looking feeble with a few papers he had which he placed on a stool, I assumed he was using that as reference. The entire show felt like a rehearsal for doing the show live as the HBO special the following March.

Here, Norm MacDonald is basically practicing to do the show that would be the real special which he hoped to film. The timing is a little off. He has no audience to gauge the quality of one joke compared to another or bounce things off of and ad lib. Performers aren't born with the gift to be perfect every time they perform, it takes A LOT of preparation and hard work and this show is an example of that work and not Norm at his best during the real specials filmed

I feel like I have to make that point since Norm MacDonald was far more popular and nearly ubiquitous 25 to 30 years ago. He was seemingly everywhere and everyone seemed to be talking about him. A generation has grown up and another is growing up since then. If you are relatively uninitiated, this is not the place to start even if it is the one getting the most press.

All that said, it is nice seeing a hopeful Norm practicing his material and yes, it is poignant knowing he was doing this material while also facing such an ordeal like cancer. The value of work is it gives you a different focus and added purpose to keep fighting; otherwise you just rest and try not to think about being sick.

Well the old chunk of coal is back it again one last time. This special was certainly special for the fans and especially Norm as its a one-take stand-up special without an audience. The lack of an audience does make the rhythm unique as you don't hear any cheering or laughing to interrupt the flow. The material is a little rough in some spots but any fan of Norm can guess how the jokes could've turned out had Norm spent more time on it. But the jokes hold-up and the remembrance by some his friends at the end of movie make it so much more endearing as you can see how much he touched people.

All in all, I would recommend this special for any fan of Norm as well as anyone who could use a mood lifter as the final discussion from Norm's friends make the tribute all the more delightful.