Stavros Halkias: Fat Rascal (2023)

Stavros Halkias: Fat Rascal (2023)

An effectively self-deprecating stand-up set that retreats to easy, crass humor

5.4

Movie

United States of America
English
Comedy
2023
BEN O'BRIEN
Stavros Halkias
55 min

TLDR

You certainly have to respect a man who knows what he is, even if he's a man who knows he doesn't earn a lot of respect.

What it's about

The podcaster and stand-up comedian talks about living in today's day and age, his sex life, and his self-admitted weaknesses as a man.

The take

Better known as a podcast host, Stavros Halkias proves that he does have the writing ability and (the lack of shame and/or pride) to come up with effective jokes from his own perspective. But his momentum just doesn't hold throughout this hour-long special; he starts strong and keeps a coherent train of thought throughout the whole routine, but the latter sections begin to rely on gross-out comedy and potshots at the audience more than anything. Halkias knows who his audience is and he's very fortunate to be able to perform in front of people who seem to be very familiar with his style. But for a wider range of people watching through streaming, his more relaxed style of storytelling may come off as him simply droning on without particularly great timing.

What stands out

The audience interaction section towards the end—in which Halkias really just roasts some of his audience members in good fun—may not be very novel or funny, but it's definitely a promising technique that Halkias should be able to develop further. The challenge for him, of course, would be to draw humor from participants who might be hearing of him for the first time, and who might not have as much goodwill ready to be extended towards him. But it's still always interesting to see a comic talking to an audience member almost as an equal.

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