8. Pete Holmes – Nice Try, The Devil
Pete Holmes is a fearless comedian, but in a different way than, for instance, Louis C.K. His fearlessness comes not from the subject matter of his jokes but from his willingness to put all his effort into selling those jokes, no matter how ridiculous they might be. The result is that it’s pretty hard to disagree with him on that point, even when he engages in some pretty silly wordplay that in other comics’ hands would only elicit groans from the audience.
Whereas the “alternative” comedy scene that came out of the ‘90s was largely predicated on acting too cool to care if a joke landed or not, Holmes is the complete opposite of that. The harder a joke is to sell, the harder he’s going to sell it. No, they don’t all work, but it’s never not entertaining to watch him. That’s part of why he got a late night talk show on TBS produced by Conan O’Brien, the other part being that he’s just as hilarious and fearless a conversationalist as he is a stand-up comic. Just listen to his You Made It Weird podcast for proof of that.
While Holmes sometimes seems to be selling his “Look how much fun I’m having!” vibe a little too hard in Nice Try, The Devil, acting amused at himself in a way that comes off as overly rehearsed at times, it’s still a great showcase for his talents. Hopefully having a talk show will not keep him from touring again in the future, because there are few comics out there right now who are as unapologetically fun as Pete Holmes.
Where to find it: Comedy Central Direct