Jack Tucker – Comedy Standup Hour

When the old guard of stand-up start spewing their hatred towards the snowflake generation, it’s hard not to have a giggle at their expense. Insult comics like Kevin Bloody Wilson may be out on the offensive, but Jack Tucker is turning the tables.

The creation of US comedian Zach Zucker, Tucker is every bad stereotype of a club comic rolled into one. The punchlines are groan-worthy and the crowd work unwatchable, but it’s what Zucker does with these archetypes of antiquated stand-up that make Comedy Standup Hour work. His audience are allowed, even encouraged, to cheer on the dumpster fire that is burning before them, and somehow continues to be set alight in comedy venues the world over.

A character like Tucker is inherently divisive, and undoubtedly some will come away from the experience not ‘getting it’. However, those unfortunate enough to have seen a failing, outdated club comic in the flesh will see through the layers of madness to the ingenuity of Zucker’s cringe-y creation. From the perfect balance of unearned confidence paired with the constant need to talk himself up to the shock jock sound effects punctuating every joke, all of the exhausting tropes of bad comedy are on display to see. Here, instead of a clenching desire for it all to be over, they’re lampooned and skewered through Zucker’s expert clowning and delivery. It’s a chance to laugh at a PC-fearing boomer comic and not with them – often the only option when the real deal is on stage.

The premise does waver occasionally throughout the show, but what never falters is Zucker’s high-octane ridiculousness and his commitment to a brilliantly love-to-hate persona. Punters will either see him as a stupid buffoon or a genius of comedic commentary, but in fact, he’s both.