Jim Gaffigan may be one of the least controversial comedians of our time. A family man and a lover of food, his comedy rarely stumbles into blue or even political territory. His best jokes rely on simply making as many people laugh as possible. The philosophy of “funny is funny” serves him well in The Pale Tourist, his latest two-part special for Amazon.
One special takes place in Canada, the other in Spain, and in both Gaffigan answers the question: “What if the five minutes of city-specific material at the top of every comedy show was actually the entire show?” It’s possible that no one was asking that question, but nonetheless it’s a pleasant experiment. Throughout his international tour, Gaffigan spent extra time taking in the sights, sounds, people, and, of course, food of each country he was in, using that intel to create a completely new hour of material specifically tailored to that country’s audience. It may sound a little gimmicky, but it’s an admirable challenge for a stand-up who’s been in the game for three decades and a welcome break from jokes about America’s current moment—though Gaffigan can’t help but throw in a few jabs at his own country and its obnoxious residents.
The trickiest thing about this approach is avoiding the “ugly American tourist” trap. On the surface, the optics of a white, American man coming into say, Spain, to tell jokes about Spanish culture aren’t great. But Gaffigan proves he’s done his homework and isn’t there to skewer anyone (well, maybe a few Americans along the way); he’s using this method to connect with people in the cities he visits. And for the times when he’s worried he may have crossed a line, he employs a tried-and-true Gaffigan bit: the high-pitched, whisper voice of the audience as an aside. “This guy’s a jerk,” he’ll say with a side-eye. “A jerk who’s done research.”
Part one takes place in Canada, arguably an easier leap to make from U.S. audiences, and all the funnier for it. He hits on some expected targets like Canadians’ politeness, hockey, and poutine, the last of which, though, is especially on brand for Jim Gaffigan: “What if we covered it in everything that causes heart disease? Let’s do it, we have free healthcare.” But as the set goes on and Gaffigan gets more comfortable knowing he has the audience on his side, he dives into hyper-specific references. Because of the research he’s done, the jokes not only hit hard in the room, but also serve as entertaining lessons about lesser-known aspects of Canadian culture for the at-home audience.
Part two in Spain is a little slower out the gate. The cultural divide is wider, and Gaffigan seems to be making that larger leap a little more trepidatiously with a quieter, more reserved presence on stage. Again, he starts off with some obvious targets—Spanish people’s touchy-feely nature, siestas—using a Spanish accent at times that adds to the discomfort of poking fun at aspects of a different culture. This is the only time things feel borderline inappropriate, and it’s as if Gaffigan knows he’s treading potentially dangerous waters, waters he certainly isn’t used to. But with encouragement and laughter from the crowd, he grows in confidence as he moves on to the more nuanced jokes and observations about specific cities, celebrations, and, yes, cuisines in the country.
The true marvel is that there is no overlap in either set. That might sound obvious based on the premise, but even the format feels completely new each time, not as if there was some sort of Mad Lib template into which Gaffigan simply punched new, nation-specific words. Even the material about his general experiences with traveling or jokes about his family feel fresh each time. It makes you wonder how many other countries he tried this approach in—even if the sets weren’t as successful as the two that made it into the special, it’s an impressive feat to even attempt to write that much new material about topics you’re not familiar with, an exercise that can only make Gaffigan a better comic.
The Pale Tourist is not the most raucous or laugh-out-loud comedy special from Gaffigan. But thanks to his ever-present charm, friendly approach, and endless relatability, the feel-good pair of specials reminds us that the funniest jokes are the universal jokes. Sure, the sets specifically relate to the countries he’s in, but more than geography, they speak to the human experience and all relate back to the core of any Jim Gaffigan act: jokes about family, food, and the absurdity of humanity.
28 Comments
The philosophy of “funny is funny” serves him wellI think our culture as a whole would benefit from moving away from the notion that there’s such a thing as “funny is funny,” or any other phrasing of the same notion: that some things just are or (aren’t) funny, as if all humor isn’t inextricably linked to culture, mindset, and language. Even ignoring the material context and talking about whether a joke is “well-crafted” is tied to the general cultural expectations of how a joke should be set up and delivered, not to mention the particular tastes of whoever’s making that judgment.
*dismissive jerk-off motion*
i agree completely. the reason comedy is good is because of the millions of nuances that exist and playing within those nuances. it’s not ‘well that joke has enough ‘funny points’ to release a ‘laugh module’.
(Nods knowingly, farts)
Now that’s comedy!
It’s a subtle measure of social control:“You’d better like what I fucking, dirtside. And god help you if like anything I don’t”.
He has a truly irresponsible amount of children.
Eh, I have more but am not nearly as funny.
Jim Gaffigan binds his firstborn son to an altar. As he prepares to plunge the sacrificial dagger into his child’s heart, he says in an Ugly American voice “It’s the responsible thing”. Then in a higher-pitched aside “I thought he seemed weird when he kept doing that voice thing, but now he seems genuinely disturbed”.
he’s an anomaly. usually a ton of kids would indicate either a man-slut with kids distributed in no particular order around the country OR it means you’re about to sell me a bible and make a game with your family out of trying to predict how god will punish me for doing drugs off a pack of playing cards .
This is the most offensive comment I’ve seen in ages. It should be, “He has a truly irresponsible number of children.”
Depends how they’re stored…
I’m impressed that he made it work. It takes someone with a lot of experience and talent to use untested jokes during a comedy special and still entertain the audience.
Not being Spanish or Canadian, I didn’t find the specials very funny and I am a huge fan of Jim Gaffigan. I hope he does better next time.
I’ve seen the Canadian half so far. I’m guessing both halves of this special were recorded late in the tours, when he has honed (i.e. cut out some) and crafted (improved on wording, timing) his jokes to the culture. Which, of course, is the smart thing to do.
“On the surface, the optics of a white, American man coming into say, Spain, to tell jokes about Spanish culture aren’t great.”Literally every foreign or immigrant comedian in the USA tells jokes about our culture and no one cares. And I’d argue that no one, including the writer here, has a problem with the “optics” of Gaffigan mocking Spanish culture (even “on the surface”).
I didn’t get the “white” the white part of the reviewers’s comment seeing as how Spaniards are white Europeans.
Why won’t people talk about the threat of white-on-white comedy?
Clearly you don’t know The French.
So you were prepared to be offended on behalf of the spanish..
You know Spanish people are white, right?
Both shows were a dud for me. Gaffigan has been on a downward trajectory since his first two specials. Nothing since then had matched them.I like to give his specials a watch just in case he rekindles that magic.
Btw… just because people from Spain speak Spanish doesn’t mean they have the same racial and ethnic taboos that we have in the US. The perceived political dynamics of a white American making jokes in Spain is completely different from if the situation was in Latin America, in that unless he’s making jokes about Franco, ETA or Catalonian independence, there probably isn’t much of a political undertone.
obligatory: “hot pockets!”
Looks like it was filmed in early February. Just five months ago.
It’s weird to see that many people in a crowd now. I got 10 minutes into the special and though “well, half those people have Covid-19 now…”
The reason Gaffigan is one of the best comics working today isn’t his jokes. Not that he doesn’t have mostly good ones and some great ones in each set, but it’s his mastery over timing and delivery that makes him so great. He has maybe the best audience response instincts for someone who doesn’t really do crowd work. If some actors could read the phone book, Gaffigan could tell it as jokes and kill.
I’m always intrigued by the way people cover Gaffigan’s specials. His notices are always good, but there’s always the exact same kind of bizarre refrain: “It’s very good, but….” and then there’s some strain of condescension regarding his status as a largely clean comic, or that his material isn’t political or something. I don’t know why it bothers me so much. I’d hate to bring up a Marvel movie of all things but it reminds me of when so many critics belly-ached about Edgar Wright not directing Ant Man. How can you review something that isn’t there? It’s not as if Gaffigan is omitting something. The intention of comedy is very clear, and I can’t stand these types of qualifiers.The idea that stand-up is some kind of pulpit of righteousness in which justice must be done is probably why I’ve checked out of comedy so much. Successful, compelling art is concepts + execution, and I feel as if so many artists of all mediums are getting super hung up (or self-satisfied) on that first rung and forgetting the latter one.
I thought the first one about Canada was genuinely amusing, probably because Americans are well aware of the Canadian foibles and the funny parts of their culture. Hell, Canadians know it too and have a sense of humor about it. However, the second part in Spain really fell flat. There just isn’t enough known here about Spanish culture. What do people know of Spain? Um, siestas and the conquistadors..bull fighting..and um? He really seemed to be straining and the audience seemed to be only giving polite applause for the effort. Yeah, it is impressive he took the time to learn something about their country to joke about it, but there just isn’t enough of a frame of reference for anyone not Spanish. I think he should have only aired the first one and chalked up the second as a noble, but failed, experiment.