Demetri Martin shows off his cleverness on “The Overthinker”
August 20, 2018 Jason P. Leonard Demetri Martin, Features, Reviews, Specials
Photo: Erik Simkins/Netflix
Demetri Martin is smarter and cleverer than you and this is something you need to learn to live with. No, this is not his word. This is just facts.
Martin’s new special, The Overthinker, is his second for Netflix and the title sums up his comedic styling perfectly.
Often described as one-liner or short-form, Martin possesses a unique gift of being able to take the simple observations that comedians have not yet used. They are so ripe and easy for the picking, but for some reason have gone untouched. Once he takes it and constructs it into a joke, he then goes a step beyond that to a level often unthinkable to the average comedic brain. This is where Martin excels.
He examines when it is appropriate to carry a bag of feces (you need a dog), the thoughts of fish about scuba divers, the thoughts of birds about sky divers, and the creep who invented a birdbath to watch unsuspecting birds frolic with their feathery friends.
Whether it is the object, the idea, or the words written on the box, Martin figuratively and literally creates Venn diagrams for the audience to compare and contrast.
Martin also doesn’t disappoint his fans that expect his easel of drawings that allows them to see what is going on in his head. Clever, simple, but precisely planned, these drawings are comedic on their own without any explanation.
Keeping with the styling of his other specials, Martin brings in a musical portion of the show titled “Fascinating Facts” that provides a soundtrack to a string of one-liners that breaks up the show, disguising he is just doing more one-liners.
Martin manages to do all of this while speaking over his special, giving the viewer a little inside to what a comedian would think on stage. Think of it as the director’s cut with voice over, captions, sketches and diagrams.
He also includes some longer-form bits that center around stories of his life including the struggle of trying to get toast at a restaurant.
Then the special ends. There is no big build up letting the audience know the end is near. He simply by way of a voice over states, “I think I’m done. Am I though?”
In a time filled with tons of comedy specials, creative intros, and elaborate stages, Martin avoids all that and gives the viewer an hour that while simplistic, feels new and exciting. That is the beauty of Demetri Martin.
Demetri Martin The Overthinker is now streaming on Netflix.
