Pete Zedlacher – The Humorist

Pete Zedlacher
The Humorist
Independent Release Comedy DVD
2 Discs
www.zedlacher.com

Pete Zedlacher is an excellent stand-up comic from Canada. His independent release two DVD set The Humorist features a fifty minute stand-up comedy show and a second DVD with other comedy extras. Although The Humorist is a low-budget affair using a single camera and has very, very average sound, it is a very entertaining and funny independent release that shows Pete Zedlacher is an original observational and biographical comedian who knows exactly what he is doing on stage. There is not a single low point in his fifty minute performance. This is probably why Zedlacher was in the 2006 Just For Laughs gala show hosted by Jason Alexander.

Most impressive about the stand-up comedy DVD in The Humorist is how Zedlacher can cover so much comedy ground so seamlessly. He has all the tools of a veteran stand-up comic like the callback, the segue, misdirection and uses each effortlessly. His wealth of material (Mike’s Hard Lemonade, celebrity names, Scottish spokespeople, diseases in the news, classic rock, songs stuck in your head, Iraqi girls gone wild, Canadian accents, Chinook helicopters, waterslides, the Olympics, his voice, chick flicks, gay men, French rappers are only some of the topics in the first thirty or so minutes of this fifty minute stand-up comedy performance) makes sure everybody in the room is going to have a bit they will want to retell at the office the next day.

Zedlacher is a somewhat blue, as in the crazy girl and French crazy girl bits, but not aggressive comic. This makes for a very relaxing and entertaining show. Some comics are so high energy they take a lot out of the audience and other comics are very cerebral and/or topical and ask the audience to think along with them and make judgments calls. There is nothing wrong with that but what I really like about this stand-up comedian is he never dumbs down a joke yet allows the audience, or in this case the viewer, to simply have a great time.

Even if The Humorist is fifty some minutes of absolutely solid comedy, I particularly enjoyed Pete Zedlacher’s very original bit on French Canadians. I hope he did that bit in his Just For Laughs gala performance and will make sure to catch the show just to see if he did.

The bonus feature DVD included in The Humorist features a series of film shorts. The first one, Zombie Girlfriend with Joanna Noble is a black and white somewhat grainy production that is really fun to watch and far superior to similar comedy shorts I have seen on other comedy DVDs. This is one of few comedy shorts I will actually want to show people I know. Afghani-laughs is a short on Zedlacher’s experience working for the troops in Afghanistan. Hotel Art Slideshow is exactly what it sounds like and a waste of time. Live in Montreal is a short bit filmed at Ernie Butler’s The Comedy Nest where the comic talks about doing a corporate show for Nissan. Also included is the short and useless Fireworks Safety. A short film titled Call Answer will make you want to hang up on it. The last short on the bonus features DVD is a series of clips from the stand-up comedy DVD.

Pete Zedlacher The Humorist is an impressive if technically flawed ( the very very average sound) independent stand-up comedy DVD set.

Like many other stand-up comics, Zedlacher has his own website. Unlike many other comics, this is a well-designed, easy to use, and content rich site. You can go there to get your hands on Pete Zedlacher The Humorist and check out the many clips he has available there.

Related Posts