Cameron Esposito’s “Marriage Material” is her third full-length comedy album, and also her first video special.
Esposito is definitely in the crop of my favorite comics working today. Those who read a lot of my reviews may recognize that I frequently refer to comics as my “favorites” — what can I say? I am a huge fan of stand-up comedy, and I am routinely impressed by the talent of these individuals.
Cameron Esposito continues to impress me. Her command of her material, and her stage presence, are both fantastic. It is also abundantly clear that she loves what she does for a living. She is a true master of the art form.
“Marriage Material” opens with Cameron Esposito telling the audience that they are essentially at her bachelor party, because she is set to marry fellow stand-up comic Rhea Butcher in two days. The balance of the act focuses on her relationship with Butcher, her sexuality, and the hurdles associated with growing up as a lesbian. While her material does tend to focus on the struggle of being a member of the LGBT community, do not think for a second that her material is not universal. I particularly liked the bit about Butcher’s sleepwalking, which was hilarious.
The longest, and perhaps most significant, bit is a bit about the female period. She opens by acknowledging that those who criticize female comics typically say that all female comics do is talk about their periods. Well, as Esposito points out, that’s actually not true. And I concur. I rarely hear female comics talk about their periods. But, as Esposito points out, why not? 51% of the population is women, and this is a big part of their reality. So, she dissects the topic, and does so in a masterful and hilarious way.
The special clocks in at about an hour, ten minutes. Of that, about a full hour is solid and chock full of laughs. For me, though, two bits fell completely flat. The first was a bit about Cameron Esposito’s amazement with how Butcher is technologically able to actually put songs on her phone. While that could very well be something that Esposito struggles with, adding content to your phone is so commonplace these days that it “feels” untrue. The second is a bit about gun control, and my criticism here is admittedly not entirely fair. There is nothing inherently “wrong” with Esposito’s gun control segment, but just last year comic Jim Jefferies dissected the whole gun control debate in a long, 16-minute bit that, as far as I am concerned, will never be matched. The bar is now set impossibly high on this topic.
Those two, short bits aside, this is a great album and one you will certainly enjoy.
Marriage Material
Cameron Esposito
Stand Up Comedy
Comedy Dynamics 2016
Other Cameron Esposito reviews: Cameron Esposito – Same Sex Symbol Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher
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- 51The audience liked this comedy show and if you are a fan of either or both comics so will you.
