Weapons of Self Destruction

I will always have a fondness for Robin Williams because of Aladdin and Mrs. Doubtfire, two of my favorite movies as a kid, and The Birdcage and Dead Poets Society, two I enjoy now. However, it turns out that that affection does not extend to his stand-up.

Watching Williams’s comedy act, Weapons of Self Destruction, I was disappointed at how un-funny I found most of his material. Though you could argue that I was not his intended audience—as many of his bits centered on sex, masturbation, and profanity, something thought of as “boy humor” – I expected to enjoy the comedy special more than I did.

Williams did make me laugh, however, with his political jokes. Though those bits mainly consisted of one-sentence summaries of current events that would surprise people from the past, Williams had the timing down and edited these “headlines” in a way to maximize their humor.

I give Weapons of Self Destruction a 2/5. Watching it didn’t make me want to cry, but I wouldn’t recommend it either.

Watch Jon Stewart’s interview with Robin Williams

Buy the DVD (Or, if you have HBO on demand, it is currently watchable there).