Mo Gilligan - Momentum (stand-up comedy) - is this not funny because I'm not British?
As an American, i have substantially more exposure to British culture than the average person that lives in U.S and A. I have lived more of my adult life overseas than not and a great many of the other expats I encounter are from the U.K.. I have even adapted some of their words and I get picked on for this when i return to the States.
However, Mo Gilligan's latest stand-up special has me believing one of two things:
- I don't really understand British culture as well as I thought I did
or - Mo Gilligan isn't actually very funny
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He talks about social issues, as comedians tend to and he also talks about his rather near-poverty upbringing. I came to find out that he is the product of YouTube fame as his self-produced videos gathered the attention of some high-level celebrities and he began to be recognized on the street as a minor-celebrity. He was working in retail at the time.
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His comedy involves zero props or multimedia. It is just him and a microphone and I think that is best. One thing I don't like is that he does a lot of impersonations of the people he is talking about, and this results mostly in him doing a bunch of screaming into the mic. At one point I turned the volume down on my TV because of this.
He relies a lot on interaction with the audience but it seems almost pre-planned rather than ad-libbed. He points at people in the crowd and this all seems very fake to me because he has really bright lights shining on him at all times. I have been on stages like this... i don't think he can even see the crowd. Whatever, it's a moot point.
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He talks about how people dance in the club for like 10 minutes straight and I have to imagine that I don't find this funny because I, and most people around my age, can't really relate to this at all. I haven't been to a dance club in 20 years (haha.)
He does have a band on stage with him and it is included in his routine, which is a nice change of pace, but it wasn't particularly amusing to me... Crowd loved it though and I suppose that is the point.
There is a section that he goes on the defensive about how the media are attacking Dave Chappelle and while I didn't exactly find any of this terribly humorous, i do agree with him about that.
Mostly, I can't really recommend this special to anyone because the idea is that it is supposed to make you laugh... right? I didn't laugh at all during the entire hour. If you are under 30 years of age you might be more capable of relating to the bits.
Overall Rating: Not So Good
Stuff I rate as "Excellent"
Dave Chappelle: Sticks and Stones
Ricky Gervais- Humanity
Adam Sandler: 100% Fresh
Joe Rogan: Strange Times
Dave Chappelle: Equanimity, The Age of Spin, and Deep in the Heart of Texas
The "Really Good" stuff I have seen includes
Nate Bargatze: The Tennessee Kid
Kevin Hart: Irresponsible
Bill Burr: Paper Tiger
The "Decent" stuff I have seen includes
Zach Galifianakis live at the purple onion
Ellen Degeneres: Relatable
Ken Jeong: You Complete me, Ho
Tom Segura: Disgraceful
And the really not so good to awful stand up is
Amy Schumer: Growing
Amy Schumer: The Leather Special (quite possibly the most unfunny thing I have ever seen)
Donald Glover: Weirdo
Hannibal Buress: Comedy Camisado
Simon Amstell: Set Free
Bert Kreischer - Secret Time
Mo Gilligan: Momentum
That's cool. I like it too much.
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I can relate with what you are saying as some "comedians" try too hard and it doesn't work. There are a few i would go and watch and my must list would include Rhod Gilbert and Jimmy Carr. His shocking show is awesome and is worth the time to watch. Rhod Gilbert has a Welsh accent which makes it sound better.
I have never heard of this guy. Doesn't sound like I am missing much though. That would make sense that the younger generation actually finds him funny. It would appear that pretty much all they do is sit around and watch Youtube. I have never really understood that. I use Youtube when I am trying to fix something or learn about something, but I never just sit and watch it for hours on end as entertainment.
I'm with you on that. I wouldn't even know where to begin to try to find hours of 5 mins at a time entertainment. If this is what is 'cool' now...I'm happy to be out of the loop and/or old.
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I haven't heard of him but that really doesn't mean much. I will watch him. I love comedians really any stand up is awesome. They actually have a radio station here that is all stand up. Dave hates it but i love it...
Does that station have an online station? Sounds like something I'd like
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Nope. Sorry.