Strangely enough, the very next day after seeing Brett Goldstein’s standup act, Ted Lasso announced that another season is on the way. I have no clue how true that is or what in the hell it will look like, but it all kind of seems like a good omen to me.
I’ll admit, I had no clue Brett Goldstein did standup when I first saw him show up in Ted Lasso, and I still never saw any clips or anything related to his prior work, but when I saw that he was on tour and stopping in the town nearest me, I scooped up a ticket as quick as I could. I wasn’t totally sure what to expect, as even though I’ve seen his real personalities in various interviews, that still doesn’t translate to a standup routine. Would he be more like his character, Roy Kent, or would he be crass, or cliche.
Ultimately, he ended up being a bit of a mixed bag. I know that I’ve had stronger reactions at comedians. In fact, I think back to how much my throat hurt after seeing Jared Freid earlier this year, and Goldstein’s performance was not that. Sure, I laughed a bit, but I felt otherwise unmoved. To be fair, not all funny things have to make me laugh out loud. Sometimes a good time means there’s a big, dumb smile plastered on my face. And that was the case some of the evening. Otherwise, I walked away knowing that this was going to be a forgettable show.
The man does great on writing for shows, and that’s not to say his personal material isn’t good. It’s just kind of average, or a variation of things I’ve felt I’ve heard before. It almost seems as though there’s not enough ridiculousness in his life to draw from. I would have enjoyed hearing goofy cast stories more! At least it would have felt a bit more personal. Maybe it also has to do with the fact that he’s been living in LA for a bit, but not long enough to really draw anything strong from.
Perhaps his most fun section of the evening came from the Q&A’s. I did see a bin in the lobby before going to my seat, and I did fill out a question card. While he read a lot of horny questions and comments, mine didn’t make the cut. I was curious if he was going to be at the premiere of his new film at TIFF in a few weeks. Maybe he will, maybe he won’t. Otherwise, the rest of the evening made me think of Richard Gadd’s dramatized standup routines in Baby Reindeer. They weren’t that tragically awkward, but they did feel a bit over-rehearsed. Still, I’m glad I got the opportunity to go!