Jim Norton – One Night Stand

One Night Stand
HBO Stand-Up Comedy
HBO Video 2006
30 minutes plus extras

Jim Norton One Night Stand, one of four recent HBO Stand-Up Comedy releases, is a very unusual stand-up comedy DVD in that the 10 minutes of deleted scenes feature the funniest material on the DVD. This funny stand-up comedian who hates being called an angry comic has, in part, made a name for himself through the Opie and Anthony show can also be seen on the HBO show Lucky Louie.

One Night Stand with Jim Norton is a very good thirty minute performance. Norton does open with a very local and ephemeral Joisy joke before moving on to his adventures performing in Iraq for the troops. This Iraq material, a common feature of up and coming comics, is far superior to similar material I have heard. His next bit, on vacationing in Rio and the prostitution rules is also very good.

Make no mistake, Norton is an adult material stand up comic as his jokes about performing for the adult film awards. He is also a self-deprecating comedian who gives himself as hard a time as he does the world around him. This is clearly evident in his routine about going to Cancun for some MTV project. Granted, his Viagra material is not particularly original but, then again, whose is anymore? His bit about an old lady at the airport is very funny and original as his Terry Schiavo material.

Jim Norton is definitely a stand-up comic who gains by being watched. I had converted this release into an audio CD for my annual pilgrimage to Just For Laughs but quickly discovered that although Norton is a funny guy, you really need to watch him to get the full effect. This is a stand-up comedian who knows how to use his body and face to milk every possible laugh out of a joke without ever looking like he is working it to sell his material.

HBO Stand-Up Comedy One Night Stand with Jim Norton is a very good stand-up comedy DVD for those who like their humour on the dark side.

By the way, if you like Norton, you will like Darren Frost

Related Posts