ms. sykes is getting to the queen of all media stage, what with output in film (supporting roles in which she comedically outshines the lead), tv (on my favorite show the new adventures of old christine, curb your enthusiasm, and voiceover work on crank yankers), books (she has one i swear), and now the concert dvd market with the apropos title because she is: wanda sykes - sick & tired. it's also due out in january as a cd.
since i've mainly experienced wanda in little bits here and there, it's good to see her front and center. many people (including an overly perky radio interviewer in the dvd extras) say that she has a very distinctive voice, and while true i suppose, i think that's a way of not giving her credit for her polished yet completely natural, relatable, punchy where it needs to be delivery.
the dvd, filmed in two days at seattle's moore theatre, is a solid b. i enjoyed the balance between two dimensional jokes and full on scenes she acted out, taking different points of view. i think she's at her best, as many comedians are, when they show instead of tell. her political material could have gone further, not in terms of liberal vs. conservative, but in terms of surprise and insight. seattle audiences, as proven by the q&a in the extras, are generally uptight, pc and overly polite (with the exception of the noam chomsky mosh pits we're famous for), so she really could have thrown them for a loop with just a little more vitriol or twists of logic.
perhaps i just wished she'd be more bad ass than she came off. but then she whipped out a whole deal on how she doesn't give a fuck and it was priceless. as was her uterus material. who knew abortion was such a faux pas? her take on gay marriage was original and her views on racial profiling were pure wanda. and being able to get someone's aesthetic to the point i can say that something is pure them shows a certain measure of success on their part. she put on a good show. i wanted great. i got good. good is good. and good is worth seeing.
stream a clip in win | get the dvd
Recent Comments