Anyone familiar with JB Smoove knows, as promised in his act,that the comedian brings the ruckus onstage. His standup comedy -an explosive mixture of observational humor, slapstick gags andlong-form storytelling is as thrilling for its unpredictability asit is for the razor-sharp punch line payoffs.
Last month, cable network Comedy Central announced that Smoove’sfirst ever one-hour comedy special – shot at Brooklyn’s Music Hallof Williamsburg back in November as part of the New York ComedyFestival – will premiere on Saturday, January 21. And if the livetaping of the special was any indication, the ruckus was trulybrought.
Smoove’s hour-long show is a juggernaut – a virtuosic comedyperformance featuring the over-the-top persona he’s known for. Thisstellar performance could potentially catapult the comedian intomore mainstream success than he has seen so far in his career.
The comedian is best known for his role as Leon Black in thelast three seasons of the HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm. As theright hand man to Seinfeld creator Larry David, he is half of acomedic pair that rivals classic duos like Dean Martin and JerryLewis or Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi.
But unlike either of those legendary comedy teams, Smoove andDavid seem to come from completely different galaxies. Yet, theirdisparate personas somehow complement each other perfectly.
At the November taping, Smoove strutted across a stage thatresembled the backdrop for the Broadway musical Rent. At onepoint early in the show, he used the microphone cable to mimicriding in a horse-drawn carriage while really getting into a hiphop song.
This is not comedy for the faint of heart or the easilyoffended. But the spirit is not degrading or disrespectful toanyone. Although he touches on subjects that some would findoffensive for their mere mention, his act lacks themean-spiritedness or us-against-them mentality that finds its wayinto so much standup comedy.
In the finale of his special, it became clear what the reasonwas for the urban landscape that sprawled across the stage. Itbegan with Smoove bringing up how different the movie King Kongwould have been if the giant ape had been anatomically correct.
That monkey didn’t have pants, he said. Come on.
Dangling the microphone to drive the physicality of his pointhome, the comedian climbed to the top of a fake building onstage inhomage to the film’s iconic Empire State Building scene. The crowdhowled with delight, before giving Smoove a well-deserved standingovation.
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