Bigger and Blackerer

David Cross gets too much crap. All that grief he got for appearing in two Alvin and the Chipmunks movies? Hell, having The Squeakquel on the same IMDB page as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind means getting paid and having one of the weirdest résumés since Raul Julia. It also means that for all his reputation as an edgy, confrontational crank, he's still got enough versatility to switch to lighthearted family fare and back. And if you go back to his previous two CDs, Shut Up, You Fucking Baby! and It's Not Funny, you might be able to catch the absurd undercurrent that allows him to run that kid-friendly/shock comedy range. Those were polarizing sets, ones where detractors claimed he came across like a pompous, arrogant know-it-all. But that onstage persona worked because he made it clear that beneath all the seething irritation with other people's stupidity was an anxious sense that he had no idea what to do except freak the fuck out. There was fear and anger in his material, but it was the same kind of fear and anger felt by every thoughtful type who's ever felt outnumbered by hostile morons.

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The opening sequence of Michael Blieden’s 2005 documentary The Comedians of Comedy features Patton Oswalt backstage at Athens, Georgia’s 40 Watt Club, slurringly assessing his set and his career in general. When the interviewer raises the possibility of a “punk rock or indie rock” comedy tour, Oswalt answers by listing his and David Cross’s shortcomings. He says they’re too ugly to lead any rock-club comedy tour revolution and insists, “I’m setting up the next guy. That’s my purpose.”

Full Review | More Reviews from Publication | Top Rated of 2010