As part of his “Making America Great Again!” stand-up tour, David Cross performed at the Paramount in downtown Charlottesville this past weekend. His jokes, ranging from dark political humor to clever puns, may not have been exactly what audiences expected, but were entertaining nonetheless.
Cross is well known for his role in “Arrested Development” as the hilarious Tobias Fünke. His character’s humor was based on his odd mannerisms and inappropriate phrasing, of which he was continually unaware. He’s also worked with Bob Odenkirk on the 1990s sketch show “Mr. Show With Bob and David” and Netflix’s more recent show, “W/ Bob & David.” Both shows used funny premises and took them to hilarious extremes for the audience’s entertainment. His current stand-up tour is his first in six years.
For fans of Cross’s sketch comedy or his role in “Arrested Development,” the dark humor on display in his standup may be surprising. Apparently, he sees a few people leaving every show, presumably, he said, because they expected comedy more in the vein of “Arrested Development.”
His choice, however, to test the boundaries of surprising, even offensive humor is not a bad one. Some of the funniest moments from the show occurred during his rants on politics, religion and the American spirit — none of which were portrayed in a very positive light.
Cross opened with some standard bits to be expected in a stand-up show — jokes about the places he’s been on tour and some funny personal anecdotes. He really seemed to find his stride as he moved to more controversial subject matter. For example, Cross lamented the sad state of a country where Donald Trump is taken seriously, proposed an outlandish plan to finally enact gun control and pointed out hypocrisies he sees in religion.
He succeeded not only in his willingness to take on these often controversial issues, but also in his ability to find humor in them. He had no problem, for example, joking about an National Rifle Association spokesperson’s child being a victim of gun violence, or talking about what could await an ISIS terrorist in the afterlife. Some would consider these topics to be too sensitive to joke about, but Cross bet people would be willing to see the humor in them — and judging by the audience’s reaction, he seemed to have gotten it right. He made some valid points about problems with American society, and the normally taboo subject matter only made the night funnier.
One of the highlights of the show was his interpretation of the true American spirit. No one, Cross proclaimed in a heavy Southern accent, should be able to tell him what to do.
The comedy on display in “Making America Great Again!” can’t really be found in any of Cross’s on-screen performances, but it’s just as entertaining, if not more so.
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