Dane Cook: Vicious Circle (TV Special 2006)

Dane Cook: Vicious Circle: Directed by Marty Callner. With Dane Cook. Vicious Circle captures the hottest comic in America in his first HBO comedy event, a unique “in the round” performance before his hometown Boston fans.

“I think Dane Cook is a funny person, he has a natural comedic sense and can execute ideas well. He has good timing and plenty of energy and physical skills. And many of his ideas here are quite interesting and deep, even though the topics are pretty common (relationships, sex, family). The problem is that he goes for too many easy jokes. Weak, obvious ones. Maybe itu0026#39;s because of the huge, fanatical audience. Maybe that made him indulge more. Itu0026#39;s a shame because I think heu0026#39;s capable of hilarious, insightful comedy. There are glimpses of it but too often itu0026#39;s interrupted by unnecessary additions or side-tracking.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe Beatles stopped touring in 1965 because of their screaming fans – they couldnu0026#39;t hear themselves or their music. Pretty depressing really. This audience also seems to be allergic to quiet – they appear to have an urgent need to fill any and every moment of silence they can find with screaming, shouting, cheering and applause. Itu0026#39;s pretty annoying. Itu0026#39;s amazing that adults can get this excited about a regular human being. Theyu0026#39;re just dying to touch him or be near him. I can understand laughter and some applause, but here it keeps cutting off his flow and comes at inappropriate times – theyu0026#39;re clearly desperate for (his) attention.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI like true stories but I guess every comedian lies and exaggerates – itu0026#39;s basically part of the job. Still, itu0026#39;s annoying if most of it sounds completely made up which is the case with this special. Nevertheless, Dane is good at telling stories. Itu0026#39;s just that they drag a bit. If I were a teenager they might be funny. But you can generally tell where heu0026#39;s going with things and you want him to get to the point.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI think he just lacks a little artistic discipline. The crowd seems to love it which is important but you want to create something timeless as well. There has to be something personal about it. Dane comes across more as a craftsman. Skilled but not trying to do anymore than the minimum necessary. Itu0026#39;s a shame because he seems very talented and intelligent and funny. He doesnu0026#39;t seem to be working anywhere near his full potential – heu0026#39;s aiming for what makes people laugh (including cheap jokes) rather than whatu0026#39;s truly, meaningfully funny.”