Brett Goldstein: The Second Best Night of Your Life

This was like a person deciding to do his first open mic night at a comedy show because of the pressure of his friends to get up there and give it a try. It fails miserably. Not a single funny moment throughout the entire hour. It just dragged on, while I waited for a good moment to arrive. The jokes were unoriginal. There was nothing creative or unique about it. Just a British guy pointing out the strange aspects of America, throw in a few self deprecating reflections, add a little sex, loop back around to a recurring theme that gets you minimal laughs. There are so many good, original, hilarious comics out there. This is undeniably not one of them.

Brett Goldstein's first stand-up special, The Second Best Night of Your Life, is a mixed bag that showcases his comedic potential but struggles with consistency.

Known for his early starring roles in SuperBob, Tom in Ricky Gervais - "Derek" and later for his Emmy-winning role as Roy Kent in Ted Lasso and co-creating Shrinking, Goldstein brings his signature gruff charm to the comedy stage.

The special, filmed in New Jersey, leans heavily on cultural observations - British vs. American quirks, Muppet encounters, and self-deprecating humour. When he's sharp, like joking about his "exotic" name in England versus its banality in America, the laughs land well.

His bold dives into personal topics, from botched relationships to masculinity, are refreshing and often endearing, avoiding the pitfalls of crude comedy. However, the pacing falters, and Goldstein's stage persona feels undefined.

Some bits, like rants about U. S. public toilets, meander into confusion, and his delivery can feel rehearsed or overly vulgar, lacking the organic flow of seasoned comics.

While fans of his TV work will enjoy his charisma, the special doesn't fully coalesce. It's a promising debut but uneven, leaving you wanting a tighter set.

Rating: 6/10.

I know I'm probably in the minority that didn't get 'Ted Lasso'. I tried, but despite the efforts of Jason Sudeikis, Hannah Waddingham and Brendan Hunt, it was let down by awful scripts and the fact that no-one apart from the aforementioned could act. 'Shrinking' is a clever, witty and charming show, both thoughtful and thought-provoking, that was immeasurably diminished by the awful wooden 'acting' of Goldstein. Now you're probably wondering why I tuned in to Goldstein's stand up show. He must be good at something, right? Wrong. His stand up is about as funny as lung cancer, but what do I know, people pay to watch this bilge.

Brett Goldstein is definitely better suited to playing the moody handsome guy in comedies like Ted Lasso. Whilst his stand up wasn't awful, I laughed out loud in a few places, most of the jokes were "I'm British and America is strange, please laugh with me". He also did a few self deprecating jokes and briefly talked about his time on Ted Lasso. Then there was a strange bit at the end with some puppets that made absolutely zero sense other than he had a brief story about his time on Sesame Street.

So, if you're into that you'll enjoy it, just don't expect to be crying with laughter the whole time.

The special was delightful! My husband and I laughed out loud repeatedly. We truly enjoyed it. Lots of great topics covered in a funny way. I went into this thinking, "Man, Brett seems like a guy I could have a beer with" and I still feel that way afterwards. Loved him in Ted Lasso and Shrinking, loved him in this.

Reporting the review to meet the character minimum. The special was delightful! My husband and I laughed out loud repeatedly. We truly enjoyed it. Lots of great topics covered in a funny way. I went into this thinking, "Man, Brett seems like a guy I could have a beer with" and I still feel that way afterwards.