Sinbad, in his latest DVD Sinbad: Where U Been?, sets the standard for stand-up. Without resorting to R-rated language or angry rants, he provides a full 90 minutes of entertainment. Although this is the performance that was featured on Comedy Central in February, it is “packed with over 45 minutes of material not seen on Comedy Central (not even by his momma).”
It’s wonderful to be young, but Sinbad embraces age—both its positives and its negatives. He explains why older men shouldn’t go out with 20-year-old women (women over 50 recognize signs of a stroke) and describes the problems that come with progressive lenses. This is not a show targeted at the elderly; Sinbad covers all the ages of man.
He starts the show with some nice funk (Sinbad plays drums), and then riffs on Barack Obama, Bernie Madoff, being “high yellow,” and strip clubs. Then he shows off his real strength, relationship humor. Not only does Sinbad expound on marriage and family relations, he takes on suggested relationship problems from audience members and his advice is both hysterical and dead on. A lot of his material is about changes in relationships as they get older or become marriage. Sinbad: Where U Been? is recommended for mature audiences because “it contains adult language and situations.” It is free of vulgarity and profanity, but Sinbad speaks to adults about adults.
One of Sinbad’s funniest bits is when he instructs the audience that marriage is about growing old together, falling apart together, and two becoming one good person (one can see and one can hear). He suggests training for husbands in how to react properly, for example, making appropriate facial expressions or starting to speak without actually making sounds.
Sinbad gives an illuminating lesson on how women can get what they want from men, and bemoans the fact that men lie about little things, “stupid things.” He further explains that “men are simple,” and one must clearly and precisely communicate with them. One woman in the audience called out “snoring” as a problem to be addressed and Sinbad asked, “Did he snore when you met him?” She hollered back, “No,” to which he replied “Well you sucked the life out of him… he’s got no air.” His timing is impeccable; watching him perform is watching a master of the art.
Article comments