You could say that Dane Cook has put to rest rumors or charges that he steals other comedians' material. But that's because not too many comedians would want to take ownership of the material he shared with about 8,000 people in the Sprint Center on Saturday.
Oh, people laughed all night at what he said. But every day people line up and wait an hour to sit down and eat at chain restaurants. That doesn't mean the food is good. People laugh at Dane Cook's material. That means he's funny, I guess, but it doesn't mean he's clever, witty, incisive, smart, analytical or comedic. It just means he says stuff that gets laughs.
He started his Sprint Center show by giving himself a hero's welcome, entering the area like some prize fighter or gladiator, high-fiving fans along the way. After taking the stage in the middle of the arena, he thanked the crowd for its reception and thanked the fans for all the high fives. Then he took some sanitizer out of his pocket and washed his hands. Har-har.
That was joke No. 1. It didn't go downhill or uphill from there, it just stayed right there, at that same rudimentary level where bits are joined by dialogue and most of it has no point except to deliver the shock of the bit.
An example: He took on the word "retarded." His jumpoff point was a random reference to a news story about a brain procedure that can improve the language skills of people who are -- and here was his point: why say stuff like "mentally challenged," etc. when there already was a word.
Now, there was room for a bit on the origin of a word and how a word becomes a pejorative and then an objectionable term. George Carlin was brilliant at working language and the ironies and paradoxes of words into comic gold.
But Cook doesn't have that kind of brain. Instead, he went low road. First he played with the word and the prefix "re" and "do you start off tarded and get tarded again?" Eighth grade humor. Beavis & Butthead all over again.
Then he made his larger point, which was more patently stupid than it was patently offensive. And it's really not worth repeating. But to make the point I will: He said he objects to that brain procedure because sometimes the voice is the only way you can tell is someone is ... pick your term. Then he put on this long silly skit to prove his point. And people laughed. But there was nothing to "get" about the entire bit. It was just Dane Cook making people giggle about this use of the word retard.
He did another bit on masturbation and the, er, volume of ejaculate. That was the point, nothing else. Just more juvenilia. Again, more giggles and some forced and nervous laughter. He spent several minutes describing in great detail the time he dropped his cell phone in the toilet -- no point, no punchline, just an excuse to talk about his genitals and say he got urine in his eye.
And what was that ridiculous bit about the guy with the robo-leg getting chased by a killer in the woods and why it'd be better to have a Nerf prosthetic leg? Huh?
He went on forever with this bit about how differently men and women play what he called the "what would you do if ..." game. The bit presumes everyone plays this game; I had no idea what he was talking about. It was all so contrived. He ends up playing the game with a male friend and they end up hypothesizing about sexual abuse at a child in a daycare center. Really. It was absurd and stupid, just a rambling narrative with mentions of genitals and oral sex. Har-har. He said erection. Everybody laugh.
He used his encore to relate a story that may or may not be true. It's hard to tell with him sometimes. He talked about all the negative press and reaction he gets and about going on-line for the first time to read a lot of it.
He also talked about his parents' dying of cancer within nine months of each other. Then he read an e-mail he received from one of his haters (and this is all paraphrased): "Your parents died to get away from your bad comedy."
Sometime later, he said, he got another e-mail from the same person: "My dad is dying from a brain tumor. I'm sorry I said what I did. I can relate to you now." After feigning some sympathy, Cook said he responed: "Your dad is dying to get away from your (bleeping-bleeping bleep). Hah hah. I win."
Yeah, Dane Cook always wins, when you consider the price of his tickets and the size of his crowd. But when you consider the value of his material? His fans are laughing, true, but the joke may be on them.
| Timothy Finn, The Star
Just curious, Tim, is it hard to interview people (musicians or comedians) that you just don't like? Or do you just go into "doing my job" mode?
Posted by: Steve | May 17, 2009 at 06:13 AM
It is easy to see why the "I am so proud to be a slacker" crowd likes Cook. His style is manic. His schicht is "Im so cool, cuz I am a slacker, and I am proud of it", "GIVE ME SOME MONEY".
His cokedup/manic/BS is mostly pointless drivel.
Posted by: DurrrrDuhuhhh | May 17, 2009 at 06:43 AM
People who laugh at Dane Cook don't know any better. Hollywood re-making movies instead of coming up with new ideas, the horrible quality of music that gets made, bad sitcoms remaining on-air season after season...Dane Cook is part of that whole hot dog of mediocrity in American pop culture today. As a businessman, he's done well. As a comedian, he has the depth of a sidewalk puddle. If I were 20 or 21 I'd probably think he was hilarious. In reality there are amateurs on open-mic nights at comedy clubs with 10 people in the audience that are far funnier and more clever than Cook.
Posted by: Dexter Morgan | May 17, 2009 at 09:15 AM
Re: Interviews. Yes. Objective job mode: What would readers want to know? It can be dicey.
Posted by: Tim Finn | May 17, 2009 at 10:22 AM
Ouch for Dane. Ahh for me.
So it is okay/justified that my 14 year old son hates my guts for not letting him go. Glad I stood my ground. Thanks for making me feel better, Mr. Finn.
Posted by: amica | May 17, 2009 at 10:38 AM
What a clever reviewer. You made up a new word "patenly".
I know, maybe you need a sense of humor to review a comedian...
Anytime a reviewer tells me how bad something was, I know I missed something really good.
Look up the word "pretentious" and then look in a mirror.
Posted by: jkk | May 17, 2009 at 10:57 AM
Thanks for catching the typo. (wasn't the only one i missed. i chalk it up to patent sloppiness and fatigue). so... i guess that means he really is funny?
Posted by: Tim Finn | May 17, 2009 at 11:35 AM
He be great at a children's book reading at your local library... and that's it.
Posted by: wadkc | May 17, 2009 at 11:57 AM
I appreciate you, Mr Finn, for doing a job that was probably out of your job description a few years ago and doing it so well. Your track record with your music reviews speaks for itself.
Appealing to the lowest common denominator is usually a good way to succeed and Dane Cook wants the big bucks. Stealing material and doing shtick that a 13 year old will like is the easy way to monetary success. The bright side? He will be a show business footnote in a year or so.
On another matter, I notice this review is not hosted on KansasCity.com. Does that me they do not own this material? Hmmm.
One thing about this method of hosting, I can't look up the other posters previous posts as I can on KansasCity.com to get a perspective on where they are coming from. Sometimes I'm surprised, but not too often.
Posted by: extremus | May 17, 2009 at 12:03 PM
Gotta say I disagree. I've enjoyed his material for some time now and will certainly be tuning into Comedy Central tonight for his new performance. However, a colleague of mine and I have disputed this very topic for a solid year. We get into it (late in the bit) here:
http://houseofgeorges.blogspot.com/2009/05/ifs-whens-and-other-things-we-love-that.html
Either way, your review was well-written. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: bankmeister | May 17, 2009 at 12:08 PM
How were the 15-minute openers?
Posted by: mankvill (GWAR review up) | May 17, 2009 at 12:28 PM
You know, I am kind of tired of people always comparing comedians to George Carlin. We get it! The guy was funny, get over it and try to enjoy different comedians without thinking of him.
I was at the show last night, and yes I enjoyed it, though I do completely agree that his jokes are about the immaturity and he did talk about his "favorite area" a lot, but people love him and even if he got up there and told knock-knock jokes or poop jokes, people would still think it was awesome. There is no reason to try to "get" Dane Cook. Youp either like him or you don't, you can insult the man's career when yours is about judging people. I would hate that job a lot.
PS-I also thought his introduction was entirely ridiculous, but the rest of his fans seemed to have enjoyed it.
Posted by: TT | May 17, 2009 at 01:17 PM
You have to give Dane Cook credit for one thing: he is the most successful comedian I know of that has no jokes. He is kind of the poster boy for the rise of the Myspace generation and seems like a cool guy. He speaks to his generation and generally reminds me of when I was in college and we would sit around drinking and saying stupid stuff that we thought was funny because we were drunk. We just never thought we could sell 8,000 tickets for $35 for people to listen to us talk. My favorite comedian is a guy named Doug Stanhope. Youtube that guy and see how Dane Cook stands up to him. Anyway, it is the critic's job to try to put the performance in perspective. So I'll conclude with this: always remember that if someone was entertained, it was entertainMENT.
Posted by: emperorhasnoclothes | May 17, 2009 at 01:20 PM
I thought the first two guys were much better than Dane Cook, and the first better than the second. I would have to say that Dane was disappointing.
I would have to agree that his comedy is very low brow...I'm a much bigger fan of comedy that is well developed, thought out and has a point. I can easily see how this would be popular with the high school/younger college crowd (I specify younger college crowd, because as a recent college grad, I didn't think he was that funny).
If I'm going to a comedian, I want to be laughing so hard my side hurts when I leave.
Posted by: Jared | May 17, 2009 at 02:06 PM
The second guy, bobby kelly (?) was funny in a Dice-Clay kind of way. Yes. I laughed at him, but it was totally debase humor. Five minute bit on farting in a baby's face? OK. whatever. I laughed. I get that kind of humor; and i'll "appreciate" it. but he said nothing that bears repeating, really.
Posted by: Tim Finn | May 17, 2009 at 03:34 PM
Why does everyone feel the need to put someone down when the become successful? I am 48 and my husband and I enjoyed a great night at the show last night. Lots of laughter. Didn't see anyone else around who didn't enjoy themselves either! Stop hating and start trying to find more good in things. The world would be a much better place!
Posted by: justgetalong | May 17, 2009 at 08:49 PM
"It is easy to see why the "I am so proud to be a slacker" crowd likes Cook. His cokedup/manic/BS is mostly pointless drivel."
very original! that is, posting the same message on the review that you (or someone else) did on the interview story. i guess you're as creative as dane cook's material. fail.
Posted by: punkyjunk | May 17, 2009 at 09:34 PM
"Stop hating and start trying to find more good in things."
....There is something actually "good" to be had at a at a Dane Cook show?? Come on, now....... The last line of Tim's review says it all. "His fans are laughing, true, but the joke may be on them." Right on, Tim!
'JKK' wrote: " Anytime a reviewer tells me how bad something was, I know I missed something really good." Yep, and I'll bet your idea of a true critic is a tasteless dummy like Shawn Edwards, the "Popcorn bag" Film Critic/dilettante from Fox 4 News.
People who think like you, JKK, simply lack the depth to understand why a critic tries to steer someone towards Art, Music, Film, ANYTHING that might have a bit more substance than the usual dreck, thus, enriching and bringing new insight into one's life. But there were 8,000+ people at The Sprint Center last night who simply don't care for such guidance. They want entertainment that doesn't challenge their fragile intellects. They want pointless, ephemeral thrills.
That's OK, though. The world will always need Fry Cooks, Tattoo Artists, Strippers, and Jiffy Lube Technicians. Hey, someone needs to pacify the lower depths of the Gene Pool and Dane Cook, unfunny mess of a Comic that he is, knows this and has made a cottage-industry of being in the right place at the right time to cash in on his audience's frightening cultural apathy. Maybe the man truly IS a genius!
Posted by: The Ghost of Gene Siskel | May 17, 2009 at 09:41 PM
"Oh, people laughed all night at what he said. But every day people line up and wait an hour to sit down and eat at chain restaurants. That doesn't mean the food is good."
First of all, I would consider myself a Dane Cook fan. I have some of his CDs. I've seen him live. I've been thoroughly entertained by his comedy. Is he particularly innovative or inventive?
I like Dane Cook, sure, but I also love George Carlin, Eddie Murphy, Ron White, Dave Chappelle, Mitch Hedberg, Daniel Tosh and many other comics. As for Tim Finn's line on chain restaurants, I've never had the best meal of my life at an Applebee's, but that doesn't mean I don't get some enjoyment out of chowing down on some of their boneless buffalo wings.
Translation: When it comes to Dane Cook, know what you're getting and enjoy his comedy for what it is.
Posted by: AllYouNeedIsLove | May 17, 2009 at 10:32 PM
WOULD JUST LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT THE BIT HE DID ABOUT THE EMAIL GUY WAS DEFINITELY A RUSSELL BRAND JOKE TOLD NOT EVEN 6 MONTHS AGO ON RUSSELL BRANDS COMEDY CENTRAL SPECIAL..DONT BELIEVE ME...LOOK IT UP.
Posted by: JAI | May 17, 2009 at 10:58 PM
I was at the show and had a great time. I think the opening acts were equal if not a little funnier than Dane. Overall the experience was good. I can't complain. I didn't hear any complaints about the lack of humor and I think I heard women laughing louder than the guys.
Posted by: rambleon365 | May 18, 2009 at 02:14 AM
Ouch for Dane. Ahh for me.
So it is okay/justified that my 14 year old son hates my guts for not letting him go. Glad I stood my ground. Thanks for making me feel better, Mr. Finn.
Posted by: amica
I had to deal with the same sort of reaction from my 13-year old son. He loves the guy...thanks youtube/itunes.
Judging by TF's review, we didn't miss much. Sounds like the concert last night featured pretty much the same material as his Comedy Central special last night. I'm indifferent about Dane, while not a big fan, I laugh occasionally at some of his schtick and overall his comedy seems pretty harmless to me.
Posted by: pellboy | May 18, 2009 at 08:56 AM
I can't believe that there is an argument over the validity of this review. "pretentious"? No, just a concern for the downfall of standup comedy
Posted by: mikeyphelpy | May 18, 2009 at 11:38 AM
i think he's funny. It's also funny to look at the people who always thought he was funny until someone starts trashing him, then they feel like they have to fit in. i have a friend that had me listen to Dane for the first time, "Dude, he's so damn funny! You have to hear this." Then he gets on the the Internet and see's something like this and thinks that it's cool not to like him. He's not my favorite comedian, but he doesn't suck. I don't have anything against the guy but if you want to talk about eighth grade humor, have you ever watched Demetri Martin? And what the hell is so damn funny about Jim Gaffigan? He talks in a high voice sometimes?
Posted by: Speedy | May 18, 2009 at 12:28 PM
careful, Speedy, even now flamers are gathering beneath the mantle of all that is critically good (or at least what they are told is good) to come after you. Dissent from the norm is neither encouraged nor appreciated here. Beware!
Posted by: aquaman | May 18, 2009 at 01:47 PM
The guy isn't even moderately funny. He is just an ego-maniac that for some reason people spend money to go and see.
Posted by: Mike | May 18, 2009 at 05:37 PM
" Dissent from the norm is neither encouraged nor appreciated here."
MOFO, Dane Cook is about as "NORM" as it gets!
Posted by: Ain't no baby daddy | May 18, 2009 at 07:04 PM
"Try to find the good in things"?? What do you think a critic's job is???
Posted by: EmilyLouise | May 18, 2009 at 07:06 PM
The challenge we take as comedians is writing material that will relate to YOUR audience. Dane's audience is the 20-something, beer pong kids. My audience is the 30-something crowds. I would surely bomb in front of that crowd because that is not my demographic. We live in a Twitter age where our attention span is 140 characters long. His audience doesn't want to think about a smart, clever joke, they want the punchline handed to them. It's so much easier to write a dick joke than a smart, well thought out bit. Sure you get laughs, but there's a huge difference between an uncomfortable laugh and a true "I can relate to that" laugh.
One thing I've learned as a comedian is you can't go looking for your audience, your audience will find you. Finn wrote this article for 'his audience'; that is, readers of like tastes and maturity. It's safe to say that if you're a regular reader of his blog, you would not like the Cook show.
Comedian Brad Meehan
www.BradMeehan.com
Posted by: Brad Meehan | May 18, 2009 at 09:24 PM
his audience at sprint was not 20-somethings. that's a misconception. lots of women, yeah, who can't wait for him to say "erection," but lots of post-30 people, gals and guys. And i'm not the only one who listened to standup by bill cosby, robert klein, david steinberg, woody allen, richard pryor, george carlin ... long before i was 21. there are plenty of smart 20-somethings who can't stand DCook either. I don't dislike or like him; i just think his material is weak. Not funny. Stupid sometimes.
Someone who was there: explain that robo-leg/nerf-leg bit. What did it mean? it was nonsense.
Posted by: Tim Finn | May 18, 2009 at 10:18 PM
the ONLY thing people on this blog can agree on is that this moron aquadouche is waste of air.
We all hope this grumpy, unhappy, trollaquadouche does not get any older, hopefully as soon as possible.
Posted by: dieASAP | May 19, 2009 at 01:20 AM
Cook = douchebag
Posted by: Tom | May 20, 2009 at 04:58 PM
Dane Cook is solid proof that people have dropped their standards to the point where they are already met. He is not funny. There is no debate needed. What is truly funny is that someone would find such a shameful person as funny.
He deserves nothing, but has such a folllowing. Like Hitler or whatever. I actually wanted to be a comedian, but i saw that there is no market for intellegent humor anymore. Fart jokes have beaten observation and wit. And Dane Cook only continues to ruin it for intellegent comedians. His parents should have firmly discouraged him from pursuing his dream.
Posted by: Len Rodriguez | May 28, 2009 at 08:54 PM
To all those Dane Cook fans, you should check out his new Iphone application.
here's the link:
http://www.reverbnation.com/c./l14/1027187/15281/Label/344685/Fan/MissionsAgent_32094/link
To all the haters, just remember no matter what any critic says, people are still gonna laugh.
Posted by: Najee | June 05, 2009 at 02:27 AM
Yeah..I am fan of Dane Cook. I Have just gone through your given link. It is very good for him. thank You !
Posted by: Free Movies | December 19, 2009 at 12:12 AM
Dane Cook is a comedian, and he is funny. Who made anybody the funny police? All he does is make people laugh, ensuring a good time. Whats so wrong about that? If he isn't funny, then simply don't shoot him for it. Go somewhere else to find your comedy.
DANE COOK ^
Posted by: julie. | January 30, 2010 at 01:21 AM
Who made ME the funny Police? The Mayor of Funnytown....and Commissioner Gordan, naturally, and Dane Cook is just not funny, sweetie. Oh, if your HIGH or of limited intelligence, he's probably an effing Riot!
Posted by: Officer Chuckles | January 30, 2010 at 01:05 PM
I do not like the jokes I think it lacks personality
is not funny the pain of others
Posted by: my penis size | May 12, 2010 at 04:18 PM