Reginald D Hunter - DVD review
Published: Tuesday 20th December 2011
Tall, black, hugely charismatic and with a deep Georgia accent, Reginald D. Hunter was always likely to stand out from the crowd on the UK comedy scene, or indeed as a panellist on shows like Have I Got News For You. But how good is his actual stand-up?
'Pretty good, but not yet great' seems to be the answer, judging by this. This eighty minute performance from the Hammersmith Apollo sees Hunter tackling a broad array of issues ranging from his love of taboo words, the pros and cons of the Obama Administration to the question of whether it is right or not to hold someone to a promise made during sex. The latter leads to some excellent audience interaction. Hunter also shows a rare gift for accents, replicating Irish and English accents (he has lived in the UK for 14 years) with uncanny ability.
Although Hunter admits "he doesn't like to talk about the race stuff" inevitably race does form a central tenet of the DVD. Hunter wins applause with some witty and acute observations about race - notably comparing it effectively to the British class system.
Anyone fearing that the show will turn into some sort of political rally, shouldn't worry, however. If anything the show trails off slightly when Hunter moves away from these issues. A summary of the plot of the already much maligned Sex And The City 2 somehow doesn't turn out to be quite as funny as you might expect, nor are his anecdotes about awkward conversations with his elderly father.
Things do improve during the encore, which for some reason is treated as a separate DVD extra. But this is certainly a solid if not yet exceptional comedy performance.
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