Stand Up Comedy Review: Chris D'Elia

This will be a unique review in which I review a rising stand-up comedy star in Los Angeles, by the name of Chris D'Elia. People will know him by his show, "Undateable", on NBC, which is directed by Fred Savage from "The Wonder Years".

I first became aware of Chris D'Elia at a "Comedy Juice" at The Improv on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, CA. I had free tickets that I got online. Other people who were there were paying $15 per ticket. I was lucky to get the free tickets and this was a way for The Improv to fill seats.

So, I went with my friend and what we stumbled into was some sort of open mic for the stars wherein Dane Cook, Chris D'Elia, Joe Rogan, Whitey Cummings and Neal Brennan were performing. I would say that of all these people, Chris D'Elia was the most intriguing. I had never seen him before.

When I first got to the Improv, I was waiting at the bar area, where I guess he was doing an earlier show and I could watch him on the monitor. He made some crack about "You know when you get to work and you're just like eh . . . , well that's how I feel right now . . . "

Turns out that's how he starts every show as if to tell his audience that he's just sort of winging it, I guess. Far be it from me to try to get into a comedian's head, especially if their name is Bill Cosby.

Anyway, back to D'Elia. He wears a t-shirt and jeans mostly and has long hair  and a beard. One who has spent too much time in West Hollywood can tell that D'Elia works out, as does Dane Cook, which sets a weird standards for these younger comics. Comics are usually supposed to destroy their bodies, are they not?!

Anyway, Chris, who I've seen about four times now at the Improv, and I can't remember signing any disclaimers not to talk about him, unlike for some of the other shows that I've been to. 

Anyway, so Chris D'Elia's rant goes along the lines of how soft he is and how many regrets he has about not being hard and then he launches into a bit about being around little kids and how much they open up your heart. I found it intriguing and funny, and D'Elia's caricatures of little kids and Tupac are really good and endearing!

Most notable though about D'Elia is his energy. A few weeks later I saw him follow Rob Scheider of SNL fame, and Schneider, albeit a comedy legend for his movie roles such as Deuce Bigalow, was a little wobbly doing stand up comedy. He had a notebook and was quiet and weird and still funny. Buuut, Chris followed him and brought the energy right back up without insulting Rob.

I happened to be sitting near the row on that show and when D'Elia was going to the stage, his brow was furrowed and he was deep in thought, not the cocky bearded dude you see on stage. This is how I would expect a real writer to look.

Anyway, if you read the LA  Weekly, you will notice that Chris is everywhere, including the Palladium and The Wiltern. Is it possible that he's the new white big thing in comedy. Is it ironic at all that he is doing stand up with Dane Cook?

In fact, when this blogger got up to go the bathroom another night, Cook and D'Elia were both sitting next to each other chatting about stand up comedy when I went into the bathroom. Perhaps they are partners in crime.

How do other comics feel about D'Elia? Will they hate him like they hate Dane Cook?! Not sure, I don't spend that much time around working comics, unfortunately.

Anyway, just know that D'Elia is a comer, not a blower, and that his energy is great and you should take every opportunity you can to watch him for a bargain, otherwise you may end up having to spend about $200 on him!