Kevin James: Never Don't Give Up (2018)

Simply A Masterpiece

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

My review may be biased because I'm not really a fan of Kevin James' TV or movie career, but I love stand up and figured I'd give this a shot. The jokes were pretty unoriginal, run-of-the-mill material I'd hear at any local dive comedy club. He jokes about being fat, men with food allergies needing to "man up" and (...honestly, I don't even remember much of the rest of his set) were all pretty boring and outdated. It was just generic. I did find the jokes about his kids to be pretty funny. I also enjoyed his crowd work (the bits about tattoos made me chuckle). However, I'm pretty sure his joke about his kid sneezing into his mouth was ripped off of Louis CK's bit about his daughter coughing into his mouth. If you're looking for some mildly amusing background noise, go ahead and put this on. Nothing special though.

This was the first time that I watched any of Kevin James stand-up comedy. Prior to watching "Never Don't Give Up", I have only been familiar with his work in TV series and movies.I must say that I was more than impressed. Sure, I knew that he did have a funny bone. But he was so at home on the stage, that it felt very natural.His jokes were good and well-delivered, and there were a good amount of laughs throughout the course of the show.If you like Kevin James in the comedy on TV and movies, then you should definitely also take the time to watch this show. I was genuinely entertained and had some very nice laughs as he spewed forth his jokes and punchlines.

The first half was not funny at all in my opinion. He seemed almost like hew as faking being mad for the sake of the routine. Also the joke all seemed worn out. Kinda like the jokes you make with your family but you know every other family has also already made them. I stoped about 25 mins in I think because I was not enjoying it. Went back today to finish it because I like completing shows, and it was much better. Second half was funny and he seemed to easy up on the pseudo mad attitude. If the whole show was like the second half, I would have ranked it and 8.

While certain sections felt a bit slow or dull, it was a good laugh for most of it. Got to give props to Kevin for managing a solid hour with no cursing or swearing and still keeping it for the most part laugh out loud funny. The bit with his kids was a lot of fun, as was the food intolerance jokes. I honestly laughed at those. The Tattoo bits were slightly dull. Though he does a good job at the "improv" with the different tattoos of audience members. It is a departure from his normal over the top comedy in his movies though. So don't expect the Kevin James from Paul Blart or Adam Sandler's endeavours. Think more of Kevin James in King of Queens, and Hitch. Still funny but less outrageous. A good solid hour for pretty much any audience unless you are sensitive about lactose intolerance.