CD Review
Kevin Nealon: Whelmed…But Not Overly
4 stars (out of 5)
Kevin Nealon is a comedic hall of famer in many rights and the unmistakable liberty he takes with logic and reality lead to punch lines that are charming and unpredictable. Whelmed… But Not Overly deploys the same gentle, far from serious, relaxed tone that pervades his career’s work. His voice has a genuine feeling that gives an intriguing validity to the premises of his jokes, and then a listener is elated to discover again that they’ve been lead to an invigoratingly useless conclusion, to an ending that disregards the initial premise in favor of a sly revelation.
He refers to raptures like weather patterns that must have missed us and remarks on the overly complex wrapping on emergency medical items. His jokes play to his strengths, mocking the silly and preposterous with non-confrontational banter. One joke allows him to quietly mutter road rage insults that would usually be yelled if not for the silent nature of hybrid cars. He peppers in common conversational ticks to expose robotic and narcissistic trends.
His bit about meditation and mantras will be extra amusing to those familiar with the repeat trend of his characters to have a fascination or obsession with eastern religion like in Grandma’s Boy and Happy Gilmore. The track “Good Sleeping Weather” contains a ridiculous turn around that exemplifies Nealon’s ability to shuck logic at a final moment in exchange for an absurd laugh. He often creates ideas for the listener to contemplate that are fundamentally absurd and hilarious when attempted to assimilate the thought with the straight premise of the joke.
The lasting ambiance of Nealon’s lightheartedness is a worldliness and love of life that refuses to engage in a mortal grapple with the idiotic and tiresome. It’s better to dance around the point and go about smiling.
