Review of Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity (2007) by Steve G — 23 Oct 2007
Jeff Dunham is a very talented ventriloquist -- probably the most skilled I've ever seen.
But his comedy material, and the puppets that deliver it, are rather uneven. One is a crotchety old man who makes a lot of homophobic jokes and complains, Borsch-belt style, about his wife. Hah hah. Likewise, the act is rather heavy on good ol' fashioned ethnic stereotyping.
Yes, one can get away with more when hiding behind a puppet. Offensive, childish, and unfunny jokes can be attributed to the puppet, not to Dunham, himself. Still, the illusion isn't so good that we forget the material is all coming from Dunham's head.
Come to think of it, in the opening segment of Dunham doing standup by himself (the first puppet isn't brought out for almost 18 minutes), he also resorts to using the same kind of material.
And when you think of characters that would make humorous ventriloquist dummies, does suicide bomber come to mind? This is funny?
On the other hand, some of the comedy is really quite funny, and it is all delivered with impressive timing and masterful ventriloquial skills.
This review of Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity (2007) was written by Steve G on 23 Oct 2007.
Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity has generally received very positive reviews.
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