The cool thing about owning a stand-up comedy review website, aside from the free stuff of course, is occasionally discovering a comic I was not familiar with. This is the case for Maz Jobrani and his first stand-up comedy DVD Brown and Friendly.
Jobrani follows the usual format of ethnic jokes for and about his peeps while still keeping it open to anybody else most of the time. If the name sounds familiar, he was part of the Axis of Evil comedy tour. Maz Jobrani Brown and Friendly is a fun DVD,
Maz Jobrani opens with a bit aimed at his core audience; a routine about life in America when you are from the Middle East, especially Persian. It has its moments, especially the Persian email list. More general is the getting married and having a kid bit. Especially funny, and could perhaps have been milked a bit more, is the Mexican wedding routine. The breastfeeding bit is original.
The bit on breaking his ankle is good. Less successful is the cultural identity vs. music bit but it segues nicely into a very good bit about his grandfather. Also pretty good is the Obama election routine. It leads to a lesser bit of stand-up on international politics and customs.
This leads to a long routine Maz Jobrani’s travels. This is a good routine bit but it doesn’t quite become universal enough to really connect. Jobrani’s Middle-Eastern fans and people who have travelled in the middle east will appreciate it more than others.
Brown and Friendly ends with a messy and mild bit about growing up in America, racism, the hostage crisis, and 9/11.
This is a stand-up comedy DVD Maz Jobrani’s Persian and Middle-Eastern fans will appreciate slightly more than a more general audience.
Brown and Friendly
Maz Jobrani
Stand-up Comedy DVD
Salient Media 2010
65 minutes
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