Wednesday, September 23, 2015

RR Kumail Nanjiani - Beta Male


"HAAH-PPY BIRTHDAY! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!! 

And you think it's a horrible duet, with two people?  But it's one voice, one crazy guy alone in a room, wishing himself a happy birthday into a mirror and then thanking himself..."

More Stand-up Comedy reviewed below:

Title: Beta Male
Comedian Kumail Nanjiani  
Release date 2013
Genre Stand-up Comedy Album CD/DVD set

Time to have a look at one of my favorite comedians!

By now you've probably heard of him, specially if you're a gamer or a big fan into nerdy podcasts.

Kumail Nanjiani is a stand-up comedian, actor and regularly a podcast guest who also hosts his own show. These days you might be familiar with him through his role on the fantastic HBO series Silicon Valley.

He's been popping up on podcasts all over the web, he is a regular on Dan Harmon's podcast Harmontown, where he plays Dungeons & Dragons with Dan Harmon and others. And he has two pretty popular podcasts of his own: The Indoor Kids and The X-Files Files.

He's been doing a lot of stand-up comedy on the side, being invited on several late night shows such as Conan.

His personal style and approachable persona made him quick a fan favorite, which is probably why Comedy Central gave him his own hour-long stand-up comedy special in 2013. The special was titled Beta Male. It was released as a 2-disc CD and DVD combo - which is always a great but too rare chance to get access to both the comedy album to listen to as well as the video if you wanna see him on stage at least once.

Compared to other comedians, Kumail is more of a storyteller. Appearing more to be chatting with his audience than making a one man show.


Beta Male is mostly about Kumail's experience growing up in Karachi, Pakistan.

He opens with "the elephant in the room" (so to speak), his childhood personal stories. He remembers crying for the first time as a child, watching "The Ugly Duckling". How he related to that film, feeling like an outsider himself. Then his mother reassured him by telling him "ducks can't talk"!

Born and raised in Pakistan, he would then move to America. But first Kumail talks about monkeys being brought to birthday parties in Pakistan. And the traumatic experience of a mongoose fighting a cobra. After that 12 year old Kumail gets a porn tape stuck in the VCR during a power outage. He goes on to talk about video games and playing the latest Call of Duty games, and how wrong they got Pakistan (but his childhood gave him some slight advantages in the multiplayer). A funny everyday story about cyan in printers. His love for amusement parks but how crazy some stuff on Coney Island really is (the Cyclone is entirely made of wood!).

Along the way we get a lot of great random bits thematically linked through this journey, such as funny jab at Freddy Vs. Jason.

Finally he kept the funniest bit for the end, his closer is the longest bit. His time living in this house with a bunch of other beta males. Where the title of the special comes from. They kept hearing these weird noises in the attic of this haunted house, calling for some advice from some alpha male friend...

While some comedians go for the easy identifiable everyday generic topics and situations, Kumail has no problem bringing you through his own personal stories. Importing you through his childhood growing up in a different country.

He is always comfortable on stage, playing off and interacting with his audience from time to time. He has a great voice and tone.

His debut comedy album is hilarious. It's really funny. No surprise this young talented comedian is already a rising star in the field.


Overall, Kumail Nanjiani is hilarious! A personal favorite, he never disappoints.

This comedy album comes Highly Recommended!

It's a really fun stand-up special to listen to. Particularly the last 20 or so minutes, that bit at the end is such a fun story, he certainly kept his best material for the end! But there's a lot of great memorable stories such as the Cyclone story or the Happy Birthday song.

Kumail Nanjiani's style is refreshing. He doesn't rely on crude humor. He has great material and presence.

I thought it would be great to mention this: Kumail is also an avid gamer! So be sure to keep an eye on his gaming podcast: "The Indoor Kids"!

I give it:

3 / 3 Urkels!


Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)