In a world that increasingly holds its comedians to higher standards than its elected officials, one man has the courage to make fun of everything and everyone while somehow not stirring up controversy. That man is Bill Burr.
For audiences who may not be familiar with his work, Burr is essentially a modern-day George Carlin. His entire onstage character is that of a frustrated, short-tempered, middle-class white guy who will gladly rant and rave to anyone who will listen. It is precisely this stress-ball brand of comedy that makes him one of the most hilarious and beloved contemporary comedians still working today, despite the cancel culture epidemic that has regulated comedians harsher than Wall Street crooks.
In his new stand-up special “Paper Tiger,” Burr goes after everything. What does everything mean exactly? Well, anything a 50-year-old, straight, white male would have to complain about in 2019. So needless to say, it is a jam-packed special. With topics ranging from the #MeToo movement to robot sex dolls, all the way to killing his family in a car accident. Burr truly feels like he is just venting out a lifetime’s worth of fury with every high-pitched scream or bombastic F-bomb dropped. However, apart from being a topical roast of what is trending today, Burr uses the special as a way of explaining his own shortcomings as a man. This is shown through the special’s main running gag, where Burr hilariously does an impression of his wife asking him, “where does all this anger come from?” He then goes on to angrily tell the story of either a childhood event that scarred him or the emotional gut punch of having to sell his dog, all done through comedy. This throughline makes the special feel like a complete piece of art as audiences recognize Burr has a problem, but love him anyway because he turned this problem into art that everyone can relate to, showing he is not alone with his anger.
Burr’s entire style is to start off with the thing that will get him in the most trouble first, hold for the expected gasps from the audience and proceed to justify whatever he said. By taking this direct approach. Burr is instantly more intriguing, as he is not starting small and slowly building up enough confidence to say something that will cause heads to spin like 99% of comedians out there today do. Burr knows what he is saying sounds crazy to the average listener, so he uses that to his advantage and by the end of each bit, has the entire crowd belly-laughing and agreeing with him. He has used this shock-and-explain method ever since his early days on Comedy Central and in “Paper Tiger” he uses it to explain “what’s funny about sexual assault.” Now, the reason that shocking statement has not stirred up controversy like one would think it would in 2019, given the recent uproar following Dave Chappelle’s special “Sticks and Stones,” is because of the way Burr tells the joke. He does so in good fun, without malice and people of all walks of life can appreciate and latch onto that.
Granted, Burr is an acquired taste, as his style of comedy is more suited towards blue collar, libertarian, short-tempered men. Many of the comedians’ greatest bits revolve around the way he and other men view women on a day-to-day basis. However, he makes a point not to exclude women from the bit, but to explain to them just why men are so dumb, childish, selfish, evil and oddly enough, charming. Burr knows he cannot speak for women and does not try to, he simply speaks to them, for men.
Overall, “Paper Tiger” proved that despite a changing culture, Burr has yet to. As his crazed sense of humor is just as fresh now as it was in some of his all-time great specials such as “Let it Go” and “I’m Sorry You Feel That Way.” Burr delivers his comedy without an ounce of malice or mercy, and that is what makes him so entertaining to watch.
Image via Netflix via YouTube
