Gig review by Steve Bennett at Just For Laughs, Montreal

Someone has already reviewed this chalk-and-cheese shared bill at Just For Laughs. This much we know because Michael Ian Black retweeted it, taken by the approving headline but failing to realise it was less than kind about his partner-in-comedy, Nick Thune. Much to the latter’s chagrin, of course.

That social media faux-pas is a neat in-joke that the pair share with the audience. But it also plants a seed in the crowd’s mind about the relative merits of the two acts that the subsequent hour lives up to.

Black is a slick storyteller, every word and pause just so. Thune is more of a shambles: unfocussed, louche, easily distracted and perhaps a bit drunk. He certainly plays up to that image, amusingly swigging from several punters’ beers as he lollops among them.

The pair come out together, riffing on their relationship, the festival and THAT review. It’s not clear whether they have a show, however. Their banter is relaxed, genuine and amusing in any say-going way, but it seems more ‘podcast funny’ than ‘paid ticket funny’.

Then its time for the solo slots. They toss a coin to see who goes first – lady or waterfowl? – and Thune draws the opening position. It was the empirically the way things should have been.  

His super laid-back style struggles to connect, even though there are some killer gags here. The awkward interactions between punchlines crushes the momentum, as is Thune’s crowd-shaming as he’s clearly disappointed with the struggle. ‘You are not a good audience,’ he tells us bluntly. Way to win us over!

Towards the end he brings out the big guns, a succession of whip-smart delivered to the lazy strumming of his guitar proving what a funny, original writer he is. But the fuzzy delivery made it difficult for them to land with the impact they deserve.

And there was gags nothing wrong with the audience, as  Black proved in the third segment, with tight material that got the respect it deserved.

He starts with a tried-and-tested routine about the worryingly sexist things adults say to baby girls, but his tour-de-force is a note-perfect routine about a visit to Subway.

This everyday mundanity is elevated into a sweeping epic, full of drama and jeopardy, characters you root for and strongly held opinions of what makes a decent sandwich. Black knows he has the audience, making extra jokes about just how invested we are, thanks to his superlative storytelling techniques. 

It is a perfect observational stand-up routine, with not a beat out of place and writing that’s a masterclass in the subtle art of making the inconsequential compelling. Classy stuff.

Review date: 29 Jul 2018
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett