Ever want to stick it to your bank but figured they probably have a service charge for that too? Man 1 Bank 0 is a one-man show about a guy who did stick it to his bank and had a lot of fun in the process. Patrick Combs received a junk mail cheque for some 95,000 dollars, drew a smiley face on the back, and deposited it in his account through an ATM. To his surprise the cheque cleared. He also got a really good story and a few trips to various comedy festivals out of it.
This is a well-told tale of a small guy who decides to take on a big bank when they show they are basically incompetent and have no sense of humor whatsoever. Patrick Combs gets even more determined when his bank tries to bully him into returning the money. It was never his intention to actually cash the cheque or use the money but when his bank does not even show the most common of courtesies it is game on.
Combs tells a good story and easily conveys the humor in it the bank failed to understand. There are a few moments in Man 1 Bank 0 that do feel staged, such as the ripping the pages off a desk calendar bit to show the days passing by, but generally it is a solid one-man comedy show. Combs is also smart enough not to milk the tale too much so that at seventy-five minutes it is just long enough for a live audience to feel it got its money’s worth but not feel bored at any time.
The ending does feel a bit rushed though there is a nice call back to the opening joke of this monologue.
Production value wise Man 1 Bank 0 is a one camera low budget affair where some of the cuts are a bit jarring. There is also the problem of the odd musical bit stepping on what Combs is saying. This does not get in the way of enjoying this DVD.
Man 1 Bank 0
Patrick Combs
Independent release comedy DVD
75 minutes
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