Chris Laker “Moments of Greatness” (review)

In an interview with Cringe Humor, Chris Laker was asked how he would describe his comedy to someone who’s never seen his act. “I talk about grown-up sh*t,” Laker affirmed.

Yes, he totally does.

“I’ve made some life choices that maybe not everybody has done.”

Yes, he totally has.

“I dunno…it’s just me and how I look at…stuff.”

Absolutely. You can almost envision a squinty-eyed man thoughtfully scratching his head – perhaps raking his fingers through the threads of his beard – before deciding, maybe ultimately, that he’s going to stop cutting both his hair and his beard. The album kicks off with Laker bringing us into the enigma of his appearance: he doesn’t know why he looks the way he does, but he does know that the “Castaway jokes are coming.”

You might hear other comics refer to themselves as “well-rested” compared to rich people, but rarely would you then hear that same comic refer his head as “his Rolex.” You might hear other comics say that “kiddie porn” is “too cute a name for that crime, but rarely would you then hear that same comic say that “porn made by and for children” would be a “real Little Rascals operation.” You might hear other comics distinguish the difference between having a girlfriend, and falling in love with someone who has “an apartment….[which has] credit checks, and stuff.” However, it is that rare comic that will boldly reveal their “big move” with women in general as “moving in” to their apartments (in a strangely enlightening bit about the mindset of men going into relationships).

Most of the content of this album is unabashedly about sex, so those who might contest this kind of material should listen carefully. It’s true: some people get depressed even thinking about performing ‘licentious’ activities – such as masturbating to pornography, and having sex with prostitutes – but Chris Laker, it seems, is slowly managing to succeed in drilling his way to the other side. With relative ease, he manages to navigate material about his personal sexual experiences in ways that allow other topics to emerge. For instance, a bit he does about anal sex branches nicely into two socio-political jokes about Libertarianism and how Hitler should have been allowed to pursue his artistic passions.

Much like actor Tom Hanks’ semi-iconic role as a plane-crash survivor on a deserted island, Chris Laker comes across so uniquely in his material that one might have thought he had been shipwrecked, then transformed. Armed with an acerbic wit and a cache of stories that would give Doug Stanhope a run for his money, Chris Laker provides us with one of the most interesting perspectives in the modern comedic landscape.

Chris Laker’s Moments of Greatness is in stores now, pick it up on iTunes or Amazon. You can also find out more about Chris Laker by visiting his website.