The Jester’s Privilege ~ David Spade: Nothing Personal
When you have a Netflix subscription, you’re in for a few mild surprises, some welcome, some unwelcome. David Spade doing stand-up? I wasn’t sure how to categorize that surprise.
I grew up on SNL, particularly 90’s SNL, so I watched a fair amount of David Spade in my youth. Tommy Boy was one of my favorite movies, and I still hold that The Emperor’s New Groove is a criminally underrated Disney film. Spade has a fair amount of good work to his name. But he also has Grown Ups. And Grown Ups 2. So you know… Pros and cons.
Most importantly, his stand-up work is not well documented. His last special dates back to 2014, and this new one, “Nothing Personal,” is only his third recorded special in the last 25 years. I know him as an actor, but I didn’t have a lot of expectations as a comic because there isn’t a lot of material to go off of, and after watching “Nothing Personal,” it was interesting judging him through the lens of seeing him as a comic. Because, in seemingly David Spade fashion, there were plenty of pros and cons.
Starting with the cons, it was clear he was aware, and thus somewhat coasting off of his celebrity status. It wasn’t as obnoxious as some other older comedians, but there were times that he treated the special as a one-sided Q&A, where he just keeps talking about all types of random topics with a laugh track in the background. His self-importance got in the way of having a great feel for the audience, and that affected his poor timing and cadence with his jokes. On top of that, I think he thinks he’s way better at sound effects than he actually is. All in all, you could tell it’s been a minute since he’s been doing stand-up. Or outside, for that matter.
Conversely, and I hate to give any comic over 50 this type of credit, but despite his technical failings, he is very funny. His observations had relevance, his sarcasm was just like it was on SNL, and simply put, his comedy hit a nerve for me. He didn’t shy away from hot button issues like the pandemic and fentanyl, but his tone kept the room light and free from tension (with the exception of an Alec Baldwin joke, that I’ll admit may not fit the “comedy=tragedy+time” formula).
Overall, it seems as though Spade saw this special as an opportunity to have a good time on stage, while trying to make everyone else have a good time. The result? I think he succeeded. He was good enough to go off his talent alone and put together an hour of halfway-memorable jokes and stories to entertain plenty of audiences. It drags here and there, and he’s definitely not a comic first, but he makes it work. You know what they say, “life’s a garden, dig it. You gotta make it work for you.”
Okay, I watched Joe Dirt, too. Sue me.
6/10
