There's nothing our demographic clamors more for than Patton Oswalt short films about suicidal priests. And today, you're in luck, courtesy of our man in the OBX. I haven't watched it yet, but I already know it's going to entertain.
As the saying goes, comedy is just tragedy plus time. In what passes as some tangled form of irony, Patton Oswalt entitled his 2014 standup special Tragedy Plus Comedy Equals Time. The comic famously lost his wife, Michelle McNamara, in early 2016, and tested the old saw last winter, performing a limited tour that included a pained, rueful, wrenching, and ultimately still sharply funny remembrance of his wife and the events surrounding her death.
Netflix just released a special filmed in Chicago during that tour, and it's not just brilliant comedic work. Oswalt's ability to turn the worst moments of his life into relatable comic material elevates standup to art, the ridiculous to damn near sublime. Several of the G:TB editorial staff members saw the D.C. leg of this tour, and I recall being struck by the emotional swings. I didn't remember how well crafted the set was, probably because of the half-dozen beers I had before we got to the venue.
So even though I'd seen the material, viewing it again this weekend was nearly as simultaneously gutting and gut-busting as the live version. Oswalt's in the conversation about the best comics working today. And this effort is on a short list of the best standup can be. Give it a watch, but be sure to have a tissue or two handy.
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