Bert Kreischer recently released his special titled Razzle Dazzle. Where he talks about his wife, daughters, his anxiety and the things that erupt all at once during family outings. This special was recorded in Omaha, written by the comedian himself and directed by Jeff Tomsic. This is one of the many specials by the comedian where he takes off his shirt and addresses the crowd in boisterous excitement.
There are many comedy specials on Netflix with White men who think making jokes about assault and privilege is funny. Bert Kreischer is just one of them. It is wildly offensive that he can take off his shirt and continue to do his entire stand-up routine in this outfit (or lack thereof). Meanwhile, Ali Wong cannot wear a dress that shows off a part of her underwear. The bar for male comedians to be good is so low it touches the floor.
This writer must clear it up that while most of the humour in this special was crass and horrifyingly explicit in detail, the one thing that saves this special is Kreischer’s wife and daughters. More than him, his wife’s comments on his dialogues are hilarious. Funnily enough, while he may not think that his wife would become a comedian, this writer would like to confirm that they would rather watch her than Bert Kresicher trying his level best to save face in front of a semi-liberal audience.
However, this doesn’t do away from the fact that Bert Kreischer is a great storyteller, he has the ability to weave plotlines and characters together, and they all fit perfectly in this puzzle piece. Moreover, his energy and charisma are so magnetic that we forget he even has his shirt off while performing. Being ready to take criticism and call out ridiculous standards of the LA elite is perhaps one of the best aspects of this show.
The other thing that makes this special good is the story in the end, where he puts his daughters in positions of power to see Kreischer’s and his father’s misery. It starts off tame and quietly builds to one of the best climaxes anyone could have any chance of hearing. It is lewd, loud, offensive, hilarious and downright fascinating. Kreischer may have said some ridiculously problematic things in his special that were too unfunny, but some of these stories show why people gravitate to watch his specials.
It is still mortifying that people would cheer relentlessly for the man who rips his shirt open before he starts a performance. The structure of this special is fantastic, going from story to story in a clean and streamlined fashion. Bert Kreischer does a great job starting with something so heinous and crude that the audience is desensitized as the special progresses. Explicit detail and much too much information in the beginning have prepped the person watching with enough context to expect something like that later in the special as well.
