Don Tjernagel has the best Obama slam ever: “The only thing he’s done so far is move another Black family into government housing.” If this doesn’t make you do a double take, you are ready one hell of an edgy comic. After Hours is yet another solid Don Tjernagel release. This stand-up comedy DVD features what Tjernagel does best: seemingly biographical and observational material that is funnier than it is offensive and holy communion wafer shit sandwich is it offensive!
One bit opens with a teacher having sex with an 8th grader (“it was summer so technically she was in 9th grade’) and that is just the set-up and a call back for the sounds vaginas make at various ages. This follows a bit about the stand-ups’ parents and why his mom thinks being a stripper would have been a better career choice than high school teacher.
Comedy fans familiar with Tjernagel’s stand-up will be happy to see the show features some stories about his parents and some road conquest stories that prove comics do not even come close to what even the smallest rock star’s roadie can get. His story about a first date with an Iowa girl and imaginary middle class future (“I’m at work in my cubicle; my beige putty-colored coffin”) will make anyone’s miserable life sound good. It would also make a great Coen Brothers movie.
Something I really like about this stand-up comic is his ability to bring in disparate images to make a point. A great example is the old people routine where he connects social security, V For Vendetta, Obama, Roe V. Wade, Night of the Living Dead, and Anne Frank is a single sentence.
Although Tjernagel’s Obama imitation is off, his Presidents bit is original and funny.
I was less impressed with the audience participation bit and the last few minutes of the show although the intro to that, Martin Luther King reading the church bulletin is great.
The one weak moment on After Hours is the Garrison Keillor imitation and the NPR joke. Tjernagel does not come close to imitating Keillor so the joke fails. Another weird moment is his Black rapper who sounds like he was in Fargo.
If Don Tjernagel does not make you squirm, you’ve banged one too many headless bodies.
After Hours
Don Tjernagel
Stand-up Comedy DVD
Independent Release
Black and white
60 minutes
Available through comic’s website
