In an effort to keep my laugh muscles toned, I've been watching this summer's Last Comic Standing. The host, Anthony Clark (whom I liked in Boston Common), claims this is the show's fourth season, but since I have no recollection of seasons two or three, this is the second season as far as I'm concerned.
Until today, I had been reluctant to write about the show in fear that mentioning my favorite comics would somehow jinx them. However, with the finale tonight and the voting over and out of my "control", I feel safe enough sharing some of my thoughts.
As this (second) season progressed, I became fans of three of the comics: Gabriel Iglesias, Chris Porter and Josh Blue.
Of the ten finalists, Gabriel Iglesias was the only one I had heard of before the show began. He caught my attention when he did a radio interview promoting his appearance at the Improv in San Jose two or three years ago.
On Last Comic Standing, he was one of the funniest and most likable comedians. I was sure he would make it to the end, but halfway through the show, he used a BlackBerry to contact his girlfriend, which was a direct violation of the rules. The purpose of the rule was to prevent comedians from cheating and obtaining jokes or material from outside sources. The unfortunate side effect of it was that contestants couldn't communicate with their family or friends. Breaking the rule cost Gabriel the competition and it was disheartening to see him leave that way.
Of my three favorites, I thought Chris Porter had the best chance of winning the whole thing. In the early rounds, he was often the audience favorite. It probably didn't hurt that he bore a striking resemblance to Willy Wonka (or Gene Wilder, if you want to be technical about it). Sometimes his jokes were a little out there, but I thought he was one of the most consistently funny comics. He made it into the final three, but received the least number of votes last week, which led to his elimination last night.
Tonight, it's a showdown between Ty Barnett and Josh Blue, my last favorite standing.
Barnett has been uneven throughout the competition. He has had moments of sheer genius, but has been otherwise flat. Last night, he was the first finalist of the season to recycle his jokes. I know it's a common practice in the comedy world, but in this competition, where comics only have a five-minute routine every week, reusing material seems sloppy. At the very least, he could have used older jokes from earlier in the competition instead of ones he told just last week.
Most of Josh's routine focuses on the fact that he suffers from cerebral palsy, a topic that may seem like a comedy graveyard, but is actually a goldmine for him. Just as other comedians use their ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or marital status to fuel their acts, Josh fuels his using his disability and he gets great mileage with it.
Tonight, I'm rooting for Josh to win. And I think he'll do it, not because of sympathy votes, to which his detractors will likely credit his victory, but because he's truly funnier than Ty.
