Brian Posehn

Brian Posehn: Fart and Wiener JokesFart and Wiener Jokes (2010)
Relapse Records

Reviewer Rating: 2

Contributed by: JeloneJelone
(others by this writer | submit your own)
Published on April 17th 2012Maybe I'm just getting too old, but I don't find Brian Posehn funny anymore. He's all dick jokes and no substance. Granted, he's upfront about it, greeting the audience on his latest album Fart and Wiener Jokes with "Take off your thinking caps," but his album is aggressively, disappointingly stupid.

Maybe I'm just getting too old, but I don't find Brian Posehn funny anymore. He's all dick jokes and no substance. Granted, he's upfront about it, greeting the audience on his latest album Fart and Wiener Jokes with "Take off your thinking caps," but his album is aggressively, disappointingly stupid. Lewis Black once joked that he used the word "fuck" to stall for time while he thought of other words. If that's true, then Posehn must not be thinking at all.

Not that he isn't trying, though. Posehn tells a great deal of jokes about his family life, but plenty of them are inconsequential. You know that friend that keeps telling half-stories about funny/cute things he/she did with his/her spouse? That's Posehn trying to be sincere, over and over. Often times it feels like he's rambling, like when he takes a joke about how he looks like he's made of farts and runs with it until nobody is laughing anymore.

Some of his jokes come off weird and misogynistic. There's a bit about Posehn's love of strip clubs, so right away fuck that. Another bit springs from discussing Kate Beckinsale and Posehn's desire to punch her in the face because she's too beautiful. That intro is pretty fucked and most of the audience doesn't follow, but Posehn follows it up by discussing cock socks (male actors use 'em to film sex scenes!). So, it goes from offensive to ho-hum pretty quickly.

Like his superior Live In: Nerd Rage, Wiener Jokes ends with joke metal songs, but even they fail to register. "More Metal Than You" riffs on bein' metal, but "Metal By Numbers" already did it first and better. A metalfied cover of Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler" is OK. I mean, it's "The Gambler," does anybody have particularly strong feelings about that song anymore?

While he shows flashes of maturity, Posehn can't quite close the gap between idea and punchline. Wiener Jokes marks a creative low point for the Mr. Show alumnus.

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Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not respon sible for them in any way. Seriously.

littleK (November 27, 2012)

PEOPLE! PLEASE!!! I saw Brian Posehn do a stand up gig in Irvine, California a few weeks back. I had never heard of him before. HE WAS THE FUNNIEST COMEDIAN I HAVE EVER. FUCKING. SEEN. But the weird thing is, I searched a lot of his recorded stuff and it didn't even compare to what I saw of him. I was disappointed because I wanted my whole family to hear what I heard that night but couldn't find anything that compared. I am telling you, Brian Posehn is a brilliant, comedic GENIUS and I WILL see him live again. If you can get a chance to go see him, I promise you will not be let down. Because of that night, he is my all time favorite comedian.

elephantdwarf (April 22, 2012)

I have to disagree with all of you. Brian Posehn is one of, if not, my favorite comedians. This album isn't as good as his first, however. I saw him a few weeks back doing all new material, and I literally couldn't stop laughing the entire time. Sarah Silverman made a surprise guest appearance with a quick set, which was cool.

Sliced-T (April 18, 2012)

He's not the greatest stand up in the world, but he's far from the worst. He's got some great bits on here and I think the album is an improvement on his first. It's dumb fun, but it's still fun.

douglas_is_rad (April 18, 2012)

I've never thought Posehn was a good stand-up or a good actor (although his chemistry with Steve Agee on the Sarah Silverman show led him to come off as extremely likable). He is, however, a fantastic writer. According to the Mr. Show DVD commentary, he wrote some of my all-time favorite sketches. Maybe he should try being a little more like Dino Stamatopoulos?

Russe11 (April 17, 2012)

This guy is easily the weakest link in the alternative comedy scene. David Cross, Zach Galfianakis, Patton Oswalt, Maria Bamford, etc. are all SO much better than him. that's not to say he's not funny, it's just the company he keeps and the scene he's a part of just make him look bad in comparison.

thepopeofchili-town (April 17, 2012)

3 South was the best thing ever.

eatdogs (April 17, 2012)

agreed. still, this guys voice is the funniest thing about him i reckon. he cracked me up on 3 South. who remembers that show???

SilentStorms (April 17, 2012)

Keep doing comedy album reviews. If people don't want to read them, then they don't have to. If the review isn't good enough for you, write it yourself.

skankin_in_the_pit (April 17, 2012)

The comedy reviews on punknews are the worst. As bad as if AST or Splitsider decided to run half-assed, ill-informed reviews of punk records. The paragraph about the bits you immediately dismissed because of the topics was as bad as some comedy site dropping in criticisms of some "loud fast guitars, I mean who wants that?" in a Ramones review.

The main problem with Posehn is how non-prolific he is. Guy has no problem touring with virtually the same act, playing to same rock crowd audiences for years. He's a good writer, and a likeable guy. But as a stand-up he's not much.

SilentStorms (April 17, 2012)

My friend who told me about lots of good comics recommended Brian as well, I never understood the reason for that, as this record is one of the worst I've heard. It's not terrible, but it's sure below-average.

givemeamuseumandillfillit (April 17, 2012)

Jesus christ.
No, you're not getting old - you've just started gradually removing your blinders. Everything about this is knowingly dumb - so you pulling the "i'm getting old"-card is just embarrassing.