I love Adam Ray, I think he's hilarious. As a fan, it seems like he hasn't attained the same success in any one domain as some of his peers, and I'm wondering if he's just spreading himself too thin. Between acting, standup, guest appearances, and his podcast, he hasn't hit critical mass in any one area, and instead has become "a jack of all trades" or "master of none". Without a doubt, my favorite of Adam's performances are when he and Rick Glassman are playing off one another (such as on Rick's Take Your Shoes Off podcast). I also love seeing him pop up in movie roles, but they're always tiny parts.
The special starts out strong. Adam's Dr. Phil impersonation is always hilarious and, I can't believe I'm saying this, but the actual Dr. Phil is the best of the guests. Fahim Anwar shows up for a quick bit, and it's funny too. Then the special cuts to a parody commercial featuring Brad Williams with Adam narrating. It was fine, nothing special. But this is when the things start going downhill.
First guest is Patton Oswalt. I didn't find any part of this interview/bit funny. I think Patton is funny when he's performing standup he's written, and when he has a script, but I've never been impressed by his improv or interviews. The chemistry simply isn't there between Adam's Dr. Phil and Patton. You can tell Adam's trying, but he can't carry the interview. He throws Patton some Star Wars questions (trying to set him up for jokes), but nothing lands.
Second guest is Jay Pharoah and it's a similar story. Jay isn't as bad as Patton, but he has very little to offer the special. The interview devolves into "Jay Pharoah doing voice impressions", which I don't find funny. I've heard them all. He's good at them. But cycling through his impressions isn't exactly peak comedy.
During Jay's interview, we also get a guest appearance from Jeremiah Watkins. It's another highlight. Jeremiah is multi-talented and always delivers. A very good comedy wing-man.
And then just like that, the special is over. It wasn't that "Adam wasn't funny", it's that "the special wasn't very funny". Adam presumably picked the guests, and I suspect they did more than one taping to pick the best performance (at least, I hope so). But it's obvious from second Patton enters the stage that this special wasn't really coming together, then Jay shows up, and it's the nail in the coffin. I mean, why Patton and Jay? Couldn't the guests have been Rick Glassman and Andrew Santino? Comedians that Adam plays way better off of (and is seemingly closer to)?
Still worth a watch if you like Adam Ray's comedy. It's short and you'll get a few laughs. But overall, it feels like - and it bears repeating - despite Adam's capabilities and talent, he fails to gain sufficient momentum again. 5/10 because I'm a fan, and because a 4/10 would be to low (relative to my other ratings).
