Pete Johansson warns us that his show will be uncomfortable for anyone who is religious, or has a baby. While I belong to neither category, I still found his stand-up uncomfortable uncomfortably dull and generally a bit dismal. While Johannson strives to be provocative, I wasnt particularly shocked or offended by any of his consciously tasteless material, I was just bored and unimpressed. A truly confessional story-teller, he lays his soul bare in this show, no matter how unflattering the disclosure. He rants to us about babies crying in coffee shops, religious fundamentalists in America, and being mistaken for a wife-beater, but his conclusions are hardly ground-breaking, and his bitter worldview lacks any sort of redeeming charm; the set is heavy on antipathy and light on laughs. A particular low-point was an overly long, surprisingly boring, and mildly unpleasant anecdote about paying for sex in Korea. There are rare moments of positivity, such as when discussing his trip to entertain the troops in Afghanistan, or his love of travel, but they are not enough to salvage the generally grim nature of the show. This disappointing show dragged considerably, and totally failed to hold my attention or raise a smile.
