I’m a longtime fan of veteran standup comedian Dave Attell. He’s a brilliant joke writer with perfect timing, as you should expect from someone who has been working comedy clubs and theaters (and appearing on TV) since 1988.
His new special, “Hot Cross Buns,” had me laughing out loud several times. It is packed start to finish with jokes, asides, and plenty of self-deprecating remarks about his own appearance. Towards the end, he saunters through the audience to make comments on them (as he and Jeff Ross did in their “Bumping Mics” specials) and, after the credits, he tacks on a bonus finale with his recorder — yes, the instrument we all learned to play in elementary school — that marks another first for a standup special. And wait, was that a bit of Beethoven?
The whole thing only runs 37 minutes because — as Attell explained recently on Marc Maron’s “WTF” podcast — although he usually does an hour or more on stage, he cut this special down to that length because he finds that’s where things often start to lag when you’re in front of the TV, and he’d rather get off with you wanting more.
Count me in, Dave.
“Hot Cross Buns” is now streaming on Netflix.