Kevin James is a man who’s known under multiple associations: infamous mall cop in the “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” series, good friend of Adam Sandler and last but not least, a champion of style.
Naturally, one would assume that being tied to such prolific comedy would mean that his comedy shows would be hilarious, yet that would be incorrect.
On Jan. 24, James released his newest special, “Irregardless,” to the dismay of those who understand comedy. “Irregardless” is the third of James’ comedy specials, making this his first one in six years. Expectations were high, given that James’ films are generally humorous, yet this would prove to be untrue.
The special starts off with James “breakdancing” to some music added to create hype, but it goes on for too long and truthfully was hard to watch. Following that, he recalls the time his doctor told him he’s pre-diabetic, which led to James awkwardly complaining about this prospect. That story essentially sets up the rest of the special, which primarily is about fear and how sensitive people can be.
The inherent problem with this special is that it’s less of a comedy special and more so just 60 minutes of James whining about modern society and how everyone in the world is too soft. This itself wouldn’t be a problem, as this can be a relatively interesting topic, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired as there’s no real flow or rhythm to the jokes; it’s just rambling akin to an old man yelling at the clouds.
This was a rather unfortunate situation, as James can be pretty funny as seen in his numerous comedy films, yet it seems that he struggles to find his way without the assistance of his much funnier friends. This isn’t intended to be a slight on his part, it’s just clear that he’s struggled to evolve his humor beyond what he’s always put out since the early 2000s.
In his defense, there was a big positive consistently present throughout his routine: his storytelling. James has a wonderful ability to be incredibly animated when he tells his stories, and he adds in various tones to add an extra element of humor. Although the special could’ve used less complaining and more storytelling, the bits he delivered ended up acting as the the saving grace of an otherwise forgettable show.
It is an unfortunate blunder for James to start off the year like this, but even with its large amount of flaws, there are some redeemable moments strewn throughout. Hopefully James can improve and find better footing when it comes to telling jokes.
