by Abel Horwitz
Daily Lobo
There's a difference between a solid comedian and a gimmicky comedian.
A gimmicky comedian is one who relies on certain personality quirks or, dare I say, props, to make the audience laugh. A solid comedian is someone who can go onstage and, by just being him or herself, be incredibly funny. Solid comedians are rare, but when you find one, you know you've struck comic gold.
Last week Comedy Central released a DVD stand-up special titled "Patton Oswalt: No Reason To Complain (Uncensored)." Oswalt, who has a recurring role on CBS's "The King of Queens" as Spence Olchin, is quickly emerging as one of the funniest comedians on television.
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In stand-up his jokes are hilarious, ranging from ideas of how cool it would be to die in the apocalypse to the ridiculousness of reality TV.
"There used to be a time when you'd come home and reality would be so crappy that you'd watch TV so that you could escape from the crappy reality," Oswalt said. "Now, you go out and you deal with dickheads and morons all day and you come home and go, 'I just want to watch dickheads and morons on TV.'"
While the stand-up special is funny, it lasts only 40 minutes, and conforms with Comedy Central's other recent DVD releases of being sparse on bonus materials - except for 20 minutes of additional comedy footage. At $14, one can easily categorize this as a for-fans-only purchase. However, Oswalt should not go overlooked by those who have never seen his stand-up routine before.
Last year Oswalt and three of his comedian friends were the subject of the documentary "The Comedians of Comedy." The film followed the comedians on a small tour across the United States, providing more of a peek into the lives and personalities of these comedians than what is usually seen in interviews and television specials.
Oswalt emerged as the ringleader of the group. While the rest of the comedians are awkward and strange to enhance their comedy, Oswalt comes off as a nice guy who just happens to say funny things. Watching "The Comedians of Comedy" adds depth to Oswalt's performances, giving one an understanding of the man when he's offstage.
After watching "The Comedians of Comedy," the DVD becomes more enjoyable and you realize you're watching one of the best working comedians in stand-up today.
"Comedy died in the early '90s, and thank God. It died a horrible death," Oswalt said on the DVD. "Not only did it starve out all the bad comedians, but the bad audience also stopped going, and now what's left is comedians that really love it and audiences that really love it."
With the combination of "The Comedians of Comedy" and "No Reason To Complain" you see an incredible talent in Oswalt. He's truly funny, without using gimmicks to enhance his jokes.
Standing on its own, "No Reason To Complain" is still funny, and perhaps a film to rent if you're in the video store and looking to laugh. But to charge the price of a full-length DVD for nothing more than what should be promotional material, Comedy Central is selling Oswalt's talent short.
