By Jason Greenough | Arts & Entertainment Editor
When I first sat down to review Patton Oswalt’s new Netflix stand-up special, Talking For Clapping, which premiered on Netflix on April 22nd, I honestly had no idea how to start to review it. Patton Oswalt, if you’re familiar with his brand of comedy, is the type of Comedian that you can’t review easily, unless you know his older “stuff”. In Talking For Clapping, which I did stay up until 3 a.m. to watch the premiere of (damn you, time zone differences!), continues the self-deprecating assault that you can see in Oswalt’s previous Netflix special, My Weakness Is Strong, with life stories about his time living in San Francisco, his early days of doing comedy, how customers are to blame for the poor reputation of Postal workers and DMV employees, being mistaken for a heroin addict and having the flu during a show that he couldn’t cancel. Not to mention, his signature dark humor that make some in the audience and at home cringe, and make most give out a resounding “Awwwww”, all the while keeping himself and his hand-picked inadequacies at the center of everything he says. He does it masterfully, I might add!
Now, Oswalt doesn’t normally get political, or intertwine social awareness into his comedy, but this new hour of material brought his thoughts on the unfair treatment of the LGBT community and the ignorance that people have towards them, and also his frustration with President Obama after having voted for him twice on the idea that he wasn’t going to harm people further. He puts into perspective what voters must have been thinking when they voted George W. Bush into office, and he seems to stay neutral, meaning that he holds both Bush and Obama to a higher standard, voicing his disappointment in Obama’s decision to call in drone strikes. Oswalt’s ability to make points that we all have thought of at least once in our lives is almost unmatched. He continues to be down to earth and relatable, and that is really refreshing in a comedy world seemingly ruled by Kevin Hart.
Talking For Clapping is vintage Patton Oswalt, and he keeps the crowd howling throughout the set. If you have the chance to sit down and breathe during this grueling stretch of classes and finals, I highly suggest turning this on if you’re looking for a laugh. I don’t think you’ll regret it. If you do, though, don’t blame me…I only suggested that you watch it. There was no force used in the making of this comedy review.
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