Review: Jim Gaffigan’s “King Baby”

  You know Jim Gaffigan.  He’s an omnipresent fixture in primetime and late-night television.  On top of his work as a stand-up comic, he’s also an incredibly busy character actor. Currently he can be seen on the TBS series, “My Boys,” but he’s also had memorable recurring roles on “That ’70′s Show” and Ellen DeGeneres’ very funny but underappreciated second sitcom.  (If you’ve ever seen Gaffigan’s chilling 2001 “Law & Order: SVU” guest appearance, you know he’s not always trying to be funny, either.)  But, stand-up is king and it’s mainly how Gaffigan has built his name and reputation.  “King Baby” is his latest offering.  (This is the audio version of his latest comedy special which aired this past Sunday night on Comedy Central.) The album further cements him as one of the great current stand-up comics out there.  Sure, his subjects on the surface seem somewhat basic (food, religion, social conventions, etc.) but he brings his own unique and pleasantly twisted bend to the fold.  It’s a true artist who can make you laugh out loud at the ordinary and otherwise mundane.  He also manages to do this all while remaining television-friendly.  In other words, he doesn’t really “work blue” throughout the album.  At the same time, you don’t really notice this.  He’s very Seinfeld-ian in his approach.  Seinfeld’s able to bring up just about anything but you never hear him curse.  At the same time, it doesn’t get in the way of the comedy.  (Both comedians would never ever be described as puritanical, for instance, because there’s enough television-ready raunchiness in their acts.)  Gaffigan’s like Seinfeld with a bit of David Letterman’s madcap insanity.  He’s also got a slight hint of George Carlin in him, in the way that he’s not afraid to come out with a bold, authoritative opinion.  Granted, Carlin went after bigger, global conceptual targets.  Gaffigan’s attack field is much, much, much, much smaller. On his last album, the excellent “Beyond The Pale,” Gaffigan delivered a blisteringly funny (dare I say “classic”) bit on “Hot Pockets.” (It’s safe to say, he will never be asked to be their spokesperson!)  On “King Baby” he takes every element that made “Beyond The Pale” such a great listen and pumps it up, thus crafting an uproarious, surprisingly potent comedic blend. He’s still got his claws out for mainstream staples.  Here, he expresses distaste for both KFC and Popeye’s Chicken and he decimates Waffle House. (“Imagine a gas station bathroom that sells waffles,” and “I’ve seen a gun five times in my life.  Three of them have been in Waffle House.”) His escalator routine makes a nice companion piece to the late Mitch Hedberg’s escalator routine. (“Ever been on an escalator and someone starts coming up behind you?  ‘Settle down, weirdo! This is one of the good parts of life!’ How about those people who take the stairs right beside the escalator?  ‘What, are you drunk?’” ) Hedberg viewed a broken escalator as just stairs. (“Sorry for the convenience!”)  Gaffigan takes the opposite opinion.  His whole bit is about laziness.  He sarcastically quips about lazy gluttony and the joys of modern convenience.  Gaffigan really  hates and doesn’t understand camping. (“My parents never took me camping because they loved me!”) Hammocks are enjoyable, but getting out of them and beanbag chairs is too difficult.  (“You ever get in a hammock with somebody else?  You better be dating ‘em!  Because it looks like you’re trying to start a family.  I got into a hammock with my cousin. He still won’t talk to me.”)    Beds are paradise.  The snooze bar is a wonderful invention. (“Nothing like starting the day off with a little procrastination!” ) Gaffigan loves food.  He has a seemingly endless supply of jokes about bacon alone!  He calls it “the most beautiful thing on Earth,” saying, “Do you want to know how good bacon is?  To improve other foods, they wrap them in bacon!”  He loves meat but notices that vegetarians are also obsessed with meat since so many of them eat food that isn’t meat but is shaped like meat. The rise of the tofu burger is noted.  (He says from the point of view of a vegetarian, “I don’t like meat, I just like to call meat late at night and hang up.  Let’s drive by meat’s house.  Does meat ever ask about me?”)  Yes, vegetarianism can be a difficult dietary change and Gaffigan obviously knows his share of former carnivores.  (His wife “refuses to eat meat,” so she is no doubt most likely his main inspiration for these jokes.)  He then wonders how the word “bologna” got such a strange pronunciation.  There’s nothing as satisfying as some well-thought-out linguistic jokes.  (I mean that!! Carlin built his whole career on linguistic jokes. Gaffigan isn’t at Carlin’s level in that regard, but he’s still worthy.) He wonders about recycling and how the garbage bags you buy in a supermarket bag end up eventually storing said supermarket bag.  He wonders about religion and how circumcision really got started. (“My wife told me that in the Bible, Abraham circumcised himself!  Wow! I can’t even get to the bank before it closes!”) He also wonders why Catholics and Protestants don’t get along better. (“See those people over there with almost identical beliefs as mine?  I want to kill them because my god is all about love!”)  He wonders if Jesus ever traded miracles for carpentry or if he had a best friend.  (“I think everyone knows the apostles and this is my buddy, Earl.  We were in marching band together.  He thinks this whole Messiah thing is c-rrrrazy!!!”) As a houseguest, you always feel out of step and like everything you do is wrong. Why do people put so many decorative pillows on their beds?  Is the Munchkin, Dunkin’ Donuts’ “gateway donut?”  Why is some ketchup “fancy” and what’s with those small packets in fast-food restaurants? Gaffigan probably isn’t the first comic to ask these questions. Just about every third comedic hack at an open-mic night thinks he/she can pull these jokes off with ease.  The truth is, it’s an art and Gaffigan’s flawless delivery makes you go with him and believe him.  He makes it look incredibly easy and it isn’t. His skill-level separates him from lesser comics.  In his hands, this is master-level observational comedy.  It’s no wonder this guy is so likeable and in such demand.  He’s silly yet well-thought out at the same time.  He’s obviously taken his time observing an assessing the world.  For that reason, he rises above the fray. Jim Gaffigan is hilarious and “King Baby” is an excellent way to spend an hour and six minutes.  Plus, it really holds up on repeated listens!