Summary
Nate Bargatze: The Greatest Average American is a strong stand-up and highlights the adaptability of the comedy industry in tough times.
Netflix original stand-up special Nate Bargatze: The Greatest Average American will be released on the streaming service on March 18, 2021.
It’s quite noticeable that original stand-up comedy has reduced dramatically due to the pandemic, which is ironic in a way because the one thing we’ve needed in the last year is anything to make us laugh; some joy, while we navigate to the light at the end of the tunnel. Nate Bargatze: The Greatest Average American indicates what the virus has done to the comedy industry; it’s an outside performance, tables spaced apart, and everyone has been tested. An expensive production, but it allows the comedian to get his material out.
And so it’s only fitting that Nate Bargatze opens talking about the dreaded covid-19; he slyly gives out the quirks in the last year. You can sense the audience feels slightly relieved — like a whole weight off their shoulders that the virus can be finally joked about. Nate feels relatable when he reveals that the last 12 months have been the “best time to get fat”.
But then the comedian gets into his stride; you can feel that he isn’t used to the new format of doing it outside, battling with planes flying overhead, but he uses his anxiety and skills to make it into a warm experience. From here, Nate Bargatze: The Greatest Average American talks about the pains of having no phone at the airport, comedy drive-ins, and hosting a stand-up on Zoom. The comedian enjoys basking in his own irony; he’s noticeably attentive to human habits and lands punchlines effortlessly.
The Netflix special is most certainly a stand-up that gets stronger as it reaches the middle act; when Nate gets more personable and talks about raising his daughter and how an unlikely event triggered a new life of claustrophobia, Nate firmly has the audience on tenterhooks. His best joke is about the differences between generations, bringing scenarios that sound out the unique difference between Gen Z, millennials, and himself (he sits in a halfway house generation).
Netflix’s Nate Bargatze: The Greatest Average American is a strong stand-up and highlights the adaptability of the comedy industry in tough times.
