Joel McHale: Live from Pyongyang

I almost didn't watch this because of the low rating. Now I know why and that's okay by me. Joel is a strong liberal and a lot of people that rate here are not. He tells it like he sees it. He pokes fun at the South. He's opinionated. How refreshing!

I vaguely remembered that he seemed rather funny/snarky on the show, Talk Soup from like 20 years ago. The snark hasn't mellowed... but then I realized what I must've been 20 years ago for finding him half way funny.

If you have seen Joel McHale on Community, watched backstage interviews, seen his show The Joel McHale Show with Joel McHale, odds are you know his sense of humour and I absolutely love it. From the sarcastic comments, to somehow breaking the fourth wall during a comedy special, he really can do it all. I especially enjoy the way he never seems to shy away from making fun of himself along the way. In this special he drifts off, comes right back to the topic while adding snarky remarks that make the show 10x funnier. I would recommend watching this to anyone who is in need of a big laugh, and who knows that they're into Joel's kind of humor. All I can say is, honestly I hope he comes out with more of these.

I truly enjoyed Mr. McHale's stand up - I laughed hard, relating to much of the material covered. I don't expect everyone to find humor in the same things. That I do does not make another right or wrong. Since this is Mr. McHale's first stand up special, I figured I had to take a look, and am very glad I did. I began laughing when I read the title. He is a very funny man.

What did I watch? Joel is always funnier the less he says. This was a poor unfunny attempt to provoke audiences. He is good at reacting but when left to tell stories, it's flat. I don't think I laughed once.

The few reviews range from 1 to 10, which - being extreme - can't be reliable, so I tuned in. Glad I did. His style seems to be making fun of everything. He describes himself as a 'Dick', but at least he's equal opportunity. I'm not familiar with the shows he was on earlier in his career. His show was pretty clean - a few swear words and no gross bodily function jokes. Misdirection is a big feature - for example at one point he says something like 'We have to talk about the worst country in the world'...pause 'Canada!', to a big laugh. Then, he goes on rants about the subject. Again, not cruel or overly political, just joking, which I think makes a good special.