Summary
Get ready to sit back and laugh. From trauma to documentaries to religion, Brennan’s set doesn’t miss a trick.
From The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles comes Neal Brennan’s stand-up special, Neal Brennan: Crazy Good. In his third original comedy special, Neal Brennan riffs on crypto, social media, sex compliments, trauma not being a vibe, millionaire mindsets, and his ever-evolving views on mental health and relationships.
Neal Brennan is an American comedian, writer, producer, director, and podcaster. In late 2022 Brennan launched his popular comedy podcast, Blocks, to support his previous special of the same name. You can also check out his half-hour featured on Comedians of the World. Brennan is well-known for co-creating and co-writing the Comedy Central series Chappelle’s Show with Dave Chappelle. But their comedy is very different, so if you’re not a fan of Chappelle, don’t knock this set off. It’s worth investing your time in.
Brennan starts his set straight on the stage. There’s no fancy introduction, but the backdrop is arty and fun; green and virus-like. Brennan starts by letting everyone know he’s feeling pretty good. He’s very endearing — someone you could easily be friends with.
He talks about using AI to create opening lines for comedy shows, and reads the hilarious example AI gave: “Good evening, p*****s.” He’s quick with his jokes, firing one after another, and not exhausting a story until we’re left thinking, “How much can he milk this?” I enjoyed his fiery energy and excellent comedic timing.
Neal Brennan: Crazy Good | Image via Netflix
We all think comics would have perfect comedic timing, but some don’t have that skill honed. But Brennen does! From the opening, to a beat, to a punchline, he’s nailed it, and his set has a beautiful flow for it. Some jokes need specific timing to have the right impact or they can be missed and flop. An example is, “I was dating a model… I was following a model”. I laughed out loud. I could see it coming but it still got me.
For a guy in his 50’s Brennan’s set caters to all audiences — I was shocked when I googled his age — as he’s got that Millennial, moaning, depressed-but-happy persona down.
There are so many entertaining sections in this hour, but I think my favorite is his section on trauma flexing; it is incredibly funny. Not only is it relatable, but his impressions of people who talk about trauma make it pop. Throughout his set, Brennan uses voices and some physicality to aid his jokes. A lot of this is him leaning on his knees into the audience, which makes you feel as if he’s truly talking to, accusing, and questioning you.
He makes some jokes about rape and provokes the cringy gasps from the audience when it comes to a pedophile joke. This is what Brits like me live for.
Similar to the recent stand-up by Demetri Martin, Demetri Deconstructed, there are sections for the audience at home through editing, but Brennan keeps his little stage face in the corner of the screen. This works because it’s not a lot, but it does break up the flow for me.
Through further jokes about anxiety, documentaries, food, relationships, and a bloody funny section on religion, I laughed a lot watching Neal Brennan: Crazy Good. And the hour flies by due to his energetic performance. I hadn’t watched Neal Brennan before this series, but I certainly will after.
