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Top 13: Stand-Up Specials

My apologies for not having seen anything by George Carlin, Lenny Bruce, Bill Hicks, Sam Kinison, and Eddie Izzard, to name a few. I'll definitely get to it. Oh, and Rodney Dangerfield is one of my favorite (stand-up) comedians of all time, but the only one-man show/special I have seen of his is one simply called 'Rodney's Act', which is not on Letterboxd.

13 Honorable Mentions:

Robin Williams - An Evening with Robin Williams
Robin Williams: Weapons of Self Destruction
Chris Rock - Never Scared
Chris Rock - Kill the Messenger
Denis Leary: Lock 'N Load
Denis Leary: No Cure for Cancer
Richard Pryor - Here and Now
Whoopi Goldberg: Direct from Broadway
Pablo Francisco - Ouch!
Ricky Gervais: Out of England
Kevin James - Sweat the Small Stuff
Frank Caliendo - All Over the Place
Andrew Dice Clay Live! The Diceman Cometh

P.S. Recommendations are more than welcome!

18 Comments

  • No George Carlin or Bill Hicks = bullshit.

  • If you have'nt seen anything from George Carlin, Lenny Bruce, or Louis CK, you need to work on that ASAP.

  • I'd also recommend stuff from Paul Mooney and Corey Holcomb, the most underrated stand up guys working today in my opinion.

  • You have got to watch Billy Connolly.

    Also, I find Bill Baily particularly hilarious.

    I can also recommend Dennis Leary when he was sill an angry bastard.

  • Definitely need to see some Bill Hicks when you get the chance, Richard.

  • Get some Stanhope down you, Richard. And definitely Carlin. And Stewart Lee. And most of those mentioned above.

  • Also check out Sam Kinison.

  • Dylan Moran can certainly turn a phrase or two.

  • Hicks wasn't a comedian, he was an angry public speaker

  • Where's Billy Connolly? this is a lame list

  • Steady on, Pantelis, maybe he's never seen any Billy Connolly?

  • Top 13: Stand-Up Specials is a big claim to back with only part of the story lol

  • Let's just say our tastes are a little different regarding Stand-Up! ;-)

    http://letterboxd.com/sublevel4/list/best-stand-up/

  • Thanks for all the recommendations, guys! George Carlin will be my first stop on my road to discover more of the world of stand-up comedy. :-)

    And Pantelis Roussakis; yes, the list is called Top 13: Stand-Up Specials, but it's obviously a list of my 13 PERSONAL FAVORITE stand-up specials. And I've only included ones I've actually seen. Again, obviously. Don't worry, I'll definitely check out some of Billy Connolly's stuff. I think the guy is hilarious in films and interviews I've seen of him, so I'm sure I'll like his stand-up. Hopefully I can make this list a bit less lame after watching Billy Connolly. OK?

  • These are the most aggressive comments I've seen on a Letterboxd list. Comedy really makes me people angry! It's also incredibly subjective, and an insane thing to argue about. Not everyone finds the same things funny.

    There are a billion specials I still need to see as well. But here are a few recent ones I loved. You might also like them. It's ok if you don't. Louis CK: Hilarious and Live at the Beacon Theater (or the other ones, but those two are my favorites), T.J. Miller: No Real Reason, Nick Kroll: Thank You Very Cool, Norm McDonald: Me Doing Stand-Up, Steven Wright: When the Leaves Blow Away. And these are some of my favorite comedians working today (who either don't have specials or I just haven't seen them yet, because there's still a billion I have to see): Tig Notaro, John Mulaney, Paul F. Tompkins, Kyle Dunnigan, Todd Barry, Anthony Jeselnik, Amy Schumer, Doug Benson, Jon Dore, Patton Oswalt, Maria Bamford, Kirk Fox, and a bunch of other people.

    Also, I'm not a huge fan of Bill Hicks, but the documentary on him, American: The Bill Hicks Story, is awesome, and gives you a good sense of his comedy.

  • Re-read the comments and realized it's only one person being mildly aggressive. Can we edit comments on here yet? I just woke up.

  • I read a couple douchebag comments, Austin, no worries.

    My suggestions: Patton Oswalt, Louis CK, Ricky Gervais, Jimmy Carr, Wanda Sykes. I'm glad I got you to at least see Tracy Morgan in person :)

  • It saddens me that nobody has mentioned Demetri Martin. He's kind of brilliant, and I don't throw that word around often.

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