 "Photo: Ashley Inguanta")
Two years ago, Dane Cook received an e-mail that said, “Both of your parents got cancer and died to get away from your [bad] comedy.”
That was the first day that Cook ever Googled his own name, and it was the first time he saw himself as a polarizing figure. He never knew so many people thought that he was “the worst comedian ever.”
Cook took his Global Thermo Comedy Tour to the Amway Arena last Friday and didn’t have to deal with any controversy. No dissidence, no hatred, no heckling — just a room full of supporters, hanging on his every word.
It is hard to find flaws in Cook’s standup routine. You know what you’re going to get out of him: the loud outbursts that made him famous, seamless transitions and the overall feel that you’re not at a comedy show, but actually having a conversation with a guy who has way too much on his mind.
He has always played off his crowds well, and that was evident most when he brought up a certain hidden folder on nearly every guy’s computer. The contents of the folder didn’t need to be explained to the men in the crowd, which was clear by their reaction.
It is these little observational bits of life that have made Dane Cook the comedian he is today.
No one is expecting to walk into an act with political discussion, gross-out comedy or even dry humor. He’s loud and over-the-top, and that’s what he does best.
To his credit, and maybe due to his recent discovery of how vehemently some people dislike him, he is able to make fun of himself.
He wondered aloud how weird it would be if his mom, who passed away in 2006, was actually in Cabo just playing a big prank on him.
He is able to admit when he has failed with women, when he has taken a flier on women he shouldn’t have, and when he’s pretty sure he’s being verbally and mentally abused in a relationship.
With all the self-deprecating humor, it’s easy to overlook that he picked on Britney Spears, which is almost too easy lately.
Not so easy to overlook was the fact that he and his opening act, Robert Kelly, had almost identical routines. When different comedians across the world have similar acts, it’s not difficult to chalk it up to random variation; but when two comedians on the same bill are telling the same joke, we have a problem.
The act he performed at the arena, most of which is on his latest CD, Isolated Incident, is definitely the most streamlined of all his acts. For the first time in years, he said, he’s finally enjoying himself on stage and getting the most out of every show.
Cook said the e-mail he received about his parents struck a nerve, and nearly two years to the day later, he received a follow-up: this time, an apology. The sender said that the original e-mail was written when he was out of work, drunk, and dealing with a father with a brain tumor.
Where others might passive aggressively curse the sender yet accept the apology and move on, Cook delivered in the only way we’ve come to expect.
“Dear Anonymous,” his response read. “Your father got a brain tumor because he was tired of thinking about his drunk, jobless, spineless son. I win.”
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