Patrice O’Neal: Elephant in the Room (2011)

Starring: Patrice O’Neal
Grade: A

Admittedly, I watched this right after the TV documentary on him in Patrice O’Neal: Killing is Easy. With that being said, I’m not being biased when I say I loved Elephant in the Room. It was objectively hilarious. There’s no telling how big Patrice O’Neal would’ve became had he not passed shortly after this special.

Summary

The special is a little over an hour, but the amount of topics Patrice is able to cover in that time span is impressive. Also, his commentary on subjects as simple as how tough football used to be is downright hilarious. Other highlights include his advocation for a (“for lack of a better word”) Sexual Harassment Day, where he casually questions why he can’t walk by an office member and (using an audience member as an example) say something to a woman along the lines of that’s “beautiful titty meat you got there”. He later gets into hysterical bits about animal haters and lovers, relationships, spelling general words, domestic violence, cheating, threesomes and of course, “train etiquette”.

My Thoughts:

In his lone stand-up special, Patrice O’Neal is at his best.

He’s filled with funny bits and hysterical quotes that will have you repeating it in your head, or to your friends for days. From the “I don’t condone violence against women, but I do condone thinking about it” to “safe sex is a woman’s responsibility”, Patrice has us on the floor laughing with his aggressive style and daring approach. On paper, some of his jokes may sound bad, but believe me, his delivery of the material is fucking hilarious. His introspective thoughts, even on the most sensitive of topics, are laugh-out-loud funny.

Seeing Patrice’s confrontational style is a real treat here too. Throughout the special, we see him go back and forth with random audience members, as he seamlessly transitions responses from them back into his bits with ease. Any normal person would lose their train of thought, but Patrice is somehow able to make them respond how he wants them to, and it flows right back into his set. It’s really impressive, and even funnier how he’s able to jump on literally any response they give him, somehow making the simplest response from them funny. He was a real talent.

If you’re looking for a great stand-up special to watch, but you’re tired of watching the same comedians over and over again, definitely take a look at Patrice O’Neal: Elephant in the Room. I’m mad at myself for not appreciating Patrice O’Neal when he was alive. He may have been a bit of a dick, but he was special.