Brett Goldstein: The Second Best Night of Your Life

Brett Goldstein's first stand-up special, The Second Best Night of Your Life, is a mixed bag that showcases his comedic potential but struggles with consistency.

Known for his early starring roles in SuperBob, Tom in Ricky Gervais - "Derek" and later for his Emmy-winning role as Roy Kent in Ted Lasso and co-creating Shrinking, Goldstein brings his signature gruff charm to the comedy stage.

The special, filmed in New Jersey, leans heavily on cultural observations - British vs. American quirks, Muppet encounters, and self-deprecating humour. When he's sharp, like joking about his "exotic" name in England versus its banality in America, the laughs land well.

His bold dives into personal topics, from botched relationships to masculinity, are refreshing and often endearing, avoiding the pitfalls of crude comedy. However, the pacing falters, and Goldstein's stage persona feels undefined.

Some bits, like rants about U. S. public toilets, meander into confusion, and his delivery can feel rehearsed or overly vulgar, lacking the organic flow of seasoned comics.

While fans of his TV work will enjoy his charisma, the special doesn't fully coalesce. It's a promising debut but uneven, leaving you wanting a tighter set.

Rating: 6/10.

The genius of this special is that it seems like he has not been at this a long time, so you let your guard down ... The, BOOM! A vicious rib-hit of comedy! History will hopefully remember this as a great special. I mean, dude had imaginary friend puppets as a callback to his best day of his life, reminding you of a tight act. Bravo! I loved it and I was entertained as could be! I realize that perhaps I'm just a simple guy, but I've seen great standup and loved it. I know bad standup. This is so refreshing - yes, refreshing! The puppets got me. I also want to look up his mom! Superb special by HBO! I'll pay for more.

This was like a person deciding to do his first open mic night at a comedy show because of the pressure of his friends to get up there and give it a try. It fails miserably. Not a single funny moment throughout the entire hour. It just dragged on, while I waited for a good moment to arrive. The jokes were unoriginal. There was nothing creative or unique about it. Just a British guy pointing out the strange aspects of America, throw in a few self deprecating reflections, add a little sex, loop back around to a recurring theme that gets you minimal laughs. There are so many good, original, hilarious comics out there. This is undeniably not one of them.

Loved him in shrinking, He can play pure emotion and sadness. Loved him in Ted Lasso as Toy Kent. He's funny angry but thoughtful. All that and comedy stand up. He's brilliant! I would love to see more acting from him. He's already shown a wide range. He'd be scary in a thriller. Can't you see him menacing someone or perhaps an entire city with those world class caterpillars he sports for eyebrow? He's the whole package. Give him a break all you haters on his first comedy special. It's not like he wrote it all. He has a bright brilliant future and I for one look forward to seeing more of anything from him.

Brett Goldstein is definitely better suited to playing the moody handsome guy in comedies like Ted Lasso. Whilst his stand up wasn't awful, I laughed out loud in a few places, most of the jokes were "I'm British and America is strange, please laugh with me". He also did a few self deprecating jokes and briefly talked about his time on Ted Lasso. Then there was a strange bit at the end with some puppets that made absolutely zero sense other than he had a brief story about his time on Sesame Street.

So, if you're into that you'll enjoy it, just don't expect to be crying with laughter the whole time.