Mitch Fatel thinks sex is funny. I don't believe that he thinks only sex is funny, but you may not be similarly convinced after watching his new stand-up special Mitch Fatel is Magical. It's an hour-plus of Fatel riffing on sex -- his experiences, the experiences he wishes he'd had, his observations about women and so on and so on. And while he's got a lot of funny things to say (like how Thomas Edison invented the light bulb just so he could see what was going on in the bedroom), after a while it starts to feel like overkill.
What Fatel really has going for him -- and what makes his sex-obsessed persona not just tolerable but inspired -- is his delivery. He's created a kind of character for himself: he's an awkward, whining man-child -- the kind who not only thinks that "boobies" are neat but that just saying the word is funny. His delivery is mostly a staccato nasal whine, punctuated by an excited whisper, and the whole approach makes him seem like an innocent. That helps make the fact that he's only talking about sex a whole lot less creepy -- we're not always convinced that his "character" even fully understands what it is he's talking about.
I'm torn between wishing Fatel would branch out to cover more ground and admiring the conviction with which he sticks to a single subject. He's got no shortage of material -- much of it relatable for his audience -- and has developed a loyal fanbase of followers who adore him for being a "pervert" (as one of the DVD extras attests to). Perhaps, as they say, Fatel has no wish to fix what ain't broke. Still, I have to believe you can only be the horny sex guy for so long. Sooner or later, we'll want to hear something else. At the same time, Fatel has taken one of comedians' favorite subjects and pushed it to the extreme; sex jokes aren't just one trick in his bag, but his entire bag. There's something bold about that kind of focus. Sure, Mitch Fatel is Magical began to grow tiresome for me after a while, but I have to admire it as an achievement. I think Fatel is a really funny guy. I'm looking forward to the day when he has something else to say.
The DVD of Mitch Fatel is Magical, which is uncensored and runs about 20 minutes longer than the version which premiered on Comedy Central, features a handful of bonus features, though most of them are comprised of the audience for his show giving their opinions on the comic before and after his performance (they debate whether or not he's a pervert, do impressions of him and rave about how funny he is). There's also a very short deleted bit (Fatel asking for water), so footage of a photo shoot and a short routine from Miniskirts and Muffins that's been very crudely animated.
DVD Details
- Release Date: 9/22/09
- Running Time: 64 minutes
- 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
- Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround (English)
DVD Bonus Features
- Fan Interviews
- Special Mitch Animation
- Outtakes
- Photo Shoot Footage
