Described by Entertainment Weekly as “the love child between Zach Braff and Ray Romano,” Demetri Martin is a law school dropout-turned-comedian with a Beatles-esque bowl haircut and a hipster sensibility with a target audience so narrow that it can practically be limited to Hedrick Hall.
Gaining recognition through his Comedy Central stand-up special and semi-regular “Trendspotting” appearances on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” Martin debuts his new show, “Important Things with Demetri Martin,” tonight on Comedy Central.
The show has been in the works for over a year, delayed by the writer’s strike and heavily promoted on television, print and the Internet. (Yes, Facebook, I know about this show already, thanks.) Even this review shows the extent of publicity and heavy marketing leading to the show’s premiere and how it is virtually designed for college students.
What makes Martin funny and appealing to young viewers (specifically ages 18-24) is his ability to make deadpan observations, creating witty and often simple one-liners out of the everyday.
Produced by Stewart’s production company, Busboy Productions , it’s a far cry from the mix of overplayed movies and standard fare on Comedy Central, meaning fans of Carlos Mencia will have to look elsewhere for jokes about Hurricane Katrina victims.
Promoted as a “stream of consciousness” variety show, episodes of “Important Things” are themed with ordinary-sounding topics such as power and timing.
The abstract concept of a comedy show about boring things is not as limiting as it sounds, providing Martin plenty of room to muse without coming off as gimmicky.
Another natural comparison is between “Important Things” and another Comedy Central production, “Chappelle’s Show,” since the two have nearly identical formats, a hybrid of stand-up comedy with sketches and musical elements.
But what made “Chapelle’s Show” so successful and entertaining was Dave Chapelle’s versatility ““ his range allowed him to be himself on stage, but it also let him take on and personify the parodies of the characters in his sketches.
Remember when everyone wouldn’t stop imitating his imitation of Rick James?
Chapelle’s talent allowed him to avoid being pigeonholed into a narrow space, but Martin is unlikely to inspire any zany catchphrases. Martin’s sketches are forgettable and in each one, he’s stuck playing the same person in different clothing. Stand-up comedy does not require particularly strong acting abilities, but sketch comedy is an entirely different field and many of his sketches fall flat or run for too long, despite cameos from David Cross and Amanda Peet.
It’s unfair to dismiss Martin as unoriginal and derivative, because his personality does come through in parts of the show and the sketches aren’t completely representative of his charm.
For the stand-up segments where he is in front of a live audience, Martin shines with a dynamic but unassuming stage presence that highlights his appeal and charm.
Martin showcases his skills far better when he delivers jokes on stage, employing sketches (the artistic kind) and musical instruments in a surprisingly charming and clever delivery.
In an aptly written song about comparisons called, “Me vs. You,” a harmonica and electric guitar accompany him through a musical set of similes, such as “Me: the SATs, you: high school football player” and “Me: angry rapper, you: the English language.”
Such a shtick has a great deal of potential to be grating, but it’s not as irritating is it sounds.
Despite his appeal, Martin’s looks are not his only trait that seems strangely familiar:
His deadpan delivery and irrelevant observational humor is difficult to differentiate from late comedian Mitch Hedberg.
Unfortunately, if there was a song comparing the two, Hedberg would be Blue Moon and Martin would be O’Doul’s.
E-mail Truong at etruong@media.ucla.edu