COMEDY REVIEW: Gary Gulman @ Helium Comedy Club, 12/9

Gulman's hourlong act was a hodgepodge of jokes ranging from the comedic absurdities of today's economic climate ("Everything on the bottom rack of the cart is free," says Gulman) to explaining why Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz is "a bitch."

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COMEDY REVIEW: Gary Gulman @ Helium Comedy Club, 12/9

POSTED: Monday, December 12, 2011, 2:00 PM

Filed Under: Comedy Stand-up

Following a sold-out show at Helium Comedy Club, Gary Gulman of Last Comic Standing fame finds himself somewhere between the in-your-face crudeness of Chris Rock and the “kids say the darndest things” innocence of Bill Cosby. And, to my own surprise, that isn’t necessarily such a bad thing.

Gulman’s hourlong act was a hodgepodge of jokes ranging from the comedic absurdities of today’s economic climate (“Everything on the bottom rack of the cart is free,” says Gulman) to explaining why Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz is “a bitch.”

Yet what made Gulman’s act so entertaining was not the handful of scurrilous quips thrown out, but the refreshing stray from the norm by not relying on cliché lines about sex or racial boundaries to pluck laughs from the audience. Glancing back at the crowd, most seemed more than content wiping away tears from laughing at jokes about Blockbuster being “filth” or, my personal favorite, an all-too-true rant about the wonders of shopping malls.

“Where can I find a Big Bird t-shirt, a disco ball and a 14-inch dildo? Spencer’s Gifts,” says a straight-faced Gulman.

Gulman sported an irresistibly charismatic persona as he interacted with the crowd, and a sky-is-the-limit mind with a flowing stream of consciousness that never came off as forced. In fact, his best quality as a standup act appears to be his innate ability to make the audience comfortable in their surroundings, dodging awkwardly lewd jokes that might be deemed “too much” or offensive and exuding an air of confidence that felt natural.

If any complaints are to be had, it would be that he covered a very small spectrum of subject matter in a set that felt longer than it needed to be. I could have used about ten minutes less of stories about his funny but beaten-to-death rants on Bill Gates’ fortune and an enumerated list of the joys to be had thanks to the death of Blockbuster Video.

Nonetheless, Gulman provided a charming gig that, while it could use a little fine-tuning, left most of the audience upbeat and a few others batting eyelashes as they stared in wonderment at the comedian’s excitable energy.

(brandon.baker@citypaper.net) (@brotherlylover)

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