Tall, Dark, and Funny
Alonzo Bodden
Stand-up Comedy DVD
Goldhill Home Media 2006
57 minutes
Alonzo Bodden has been a favorite of mine since I first saw him five years ago at Just For Laughs. I had the pleasure of seeing him again at JFL in 2007 where he was as good as ever and even set me up for a joke His first stand-up comedy DVD Tall, Dark, and Funny is funny, enjoyable, original stuff even if Alonzo Bodden starts Tall, Dark, and Funny with a very lame trailer vs. hurricane joke. The rest of the show is very tight, smart, and not quite family friendly language wise (for those who care).
Do not let the fact Bodden won season three of Last Comic Standing -the season where they did not air the last show-make you think he is just another lame made for TV comic. Alonzo Bodden can push the envelope and does some pretty smart commentary on society. His bit on the South is three cuts above what Black comics usually do and his take on American politics pretty good.
Granted, the beginning of his war on terror, “We haven’t won the war on poverty, the war on drugs …” is not original at all but the solution is. I also liked his bit on God and war. Alonzo Bodden is not really a political stand-up comic but he does indulge in some pretty sharp jabs at the parties and Washington on Tall, Dark, and Funny. Also solid his Bodden’s bit on insurance.
Other solid bits are white kids pretending to be Black and home ownership. His routine on Black athletes and crime is dead on and funny as hell. I also enjoyed the bit on the Tall, Dark and Funny DVD where Bodden proves there is no such thing as a bad topic for a joke. Unfortunately, his short bit on teachers has a cut or mumbled beginning that takes the punch line out of it.
As a new homeowner myself, I very much enjoyed Bodden’s tribulations at buying a new home, being single, and needing womanly advice to get it right. Alonzo, my man, I share your grout problems!.I do not however, share his Bed Bad and Beyond problems though they sure are funny.
The one weak point of the Alonzo Bodden Tall, Dark, and Funny DVD is the editing is a bit choppy so some topic changes are very abrupt and jarring.