Ethnic
and/or race-based comedy is a notoriously slippery slope, but its
popularity shows no signs of waning, be it in the form astute
observation (see: Chris Rock) or any amount of material decidedly less
so (see: Carlos Mencia). Among the latest into the fray is Russell
Peters, an Indian-Canadian comic whose riotous live performances have
taken him across four continents and back again, thus making the cover
picture of him looming over a globe entirely appropriate.
This disc features a concert performance from San Francisco’s
historic Warfield Theater from January of this year. From the get-go,
Peters dives into differences of race, language and culture, and then
applies this lens to virtually everything, with far more of a bemused
than incendiary point-of-view. In one bit, he assays the nuanced
differences in various Asian tongues, remarking that certain dialects
are identifiable because speakers always sound like they’re falling off
a cliff.
Peters has a natural charisma and charm, but for me, some of the routine seems reductive. (“Black and
Latino?” he queries one audience member. “Your credit must suck!”)
Granted, he makes himself the butt of the joke as often as not (there’s
an amusing run about body hair), but in 2006 do we really need another bit about the differences between how white and black people dance?
Peters’ material is better when he’s examining the world through his
own unique perspective — whether it’s something as simple as his own
name (yes, he’s Indian, but that’s his real surname) or the manner in
which various Caucasian friends are so paralyzed by the idea of being
labeled racists that they’re scared in many instances to speak plainly.
Housed in a regular Amray case, Russell Peters: Outsourced is
presented in a 4×3 aspect ratio with a Dolby digital 5.1 audio track,
and clocks in at 72 minutes. It also features an interesting roster of
optional subtitles that includes English, Hindi, Cantonese and Mandarin
— the first comedy album to tout the latter three, the release boasts.
While some more interview material would certainly have been a welcome
inclusion, one can certainly view a purchase or rental of a title like
this as a lot cheaper than the combination of a date and doubled-down
two-drink minimum at almost any given local comedy club. If Outsourced
sounds like it’s up your alley, invest accordingly. Or if you have long
commutes, check out Peters’ same-named concert CD. For more information
visit his eponymous Web site. C+ (Movie) B- (Disc)