Just for Laughs 2014 – Jerrod Carmichael went to some dark places in his Off-JFL set

Jerrod Carmichael @ OFF-JFL, July 21, 2014. Photo by Gabriel Sigler.

Jerrod Carmichael
July 21 @ Theatre Sainte-Catherine

Jerrod Carmichael may be best known for his comedic role in this year’s Neighbors, alongside Seth Roger and Zac Efron, but his stand-up material goes to a much darker place. His star has risen recently with the success of Neighbors, an upcoming sitcom on Fox, and with the announcement that his upcoming standup special will be directed by none other than Spike Lee. 

Much of Carmichael’s set was centered on the perks that his new stature has afforded, and the various ways he hopes to exploit them, including his goal to be a “classy” cheater. Carmichael excels at playing the mischievous devil’s advocate, opening up the door to touchy subjects with an emphatic “But maybe…”

His ruminations on the potential benefits of slavery and spousal abuse, and how pedophilia might not be such a bad thing, were delivered with such straight-forward gusto that the crowd seemed to continually ask themselves just how serious he was.

Jerrod Carmichael @ OFF-JFL, July 21, 2014. Photo by Gabriel Sigler.

Even with his charismatic, ultra-laid back demeanor, this was some dark and brooding material for a 7:00pm slot, and the majority of the crowd seemed pretty taken aback. There were some Richard Pryor-esque moments of observational genius scattered throughout his set, but for a comedian known primarily for a bit about Chic-fil-A, the crowd just didn’t seem on board with the boundary-pushing material. A later set with a more lubricated crowd would likely have yielded a better response, but Carmichael is still worth catching, despite (or because of) the chorus of resounding groans from the audience.

Jerrod Carmichael performs at Theatre Sainte-Catherine (264 Rue Sainte-Catherine Est) July 21-26 @ 7:30. Tickets are $20. For tickets visit the official Just For Laughs site.