Vantage point




Sunday, March 16, 2008

Demitri Martin

From unintended comedy to intended comedy. Demitri Martin is one talented SOB that everyone should watch out for. Those who watch The Daily Show with Jon Stewart will recognize him as the "Youth" correspondent with a Beatles-ish hairdo. But his own material is much better. You can search for his clips on youtube and judge for yourself what a bright future this guy has. This flipchart bit is my favourite -



What makes comedians special is some eccentricity in their personal lives. Larry David is as eccentric as they get, and behind most classic Seinfeld episodes lies a true incident from Larry's life. Demitri kinda follows in his footsteps. It turns out he had a full scholarship while he was attending the NYU Law School. But he dropped out one year before graduation because he realized he wanted to be a comedian. When asked why he didn't just stick it out one more year and get the degree, he replied he didn't want to waste any more time. Just the kind of response you would expect from someone who hobby is constructing palindromes.

His absolutely deadpan delivery reminds me of Steve Martin and the absolutely mundane and observational nature of his humour reminds me of Jerry Seinfeld's stand-up. Especially this bit... is it not totally Seinfeld -

"They say people who live in glass houses should not throw stones. OK. How about nobody should throw stones? It's crappy behavior. My policy is - No stone throwing regardless of housing situation. Don't do it. There is one exception though. If you are trapped in a glass house and you have a stone. Throw it. You an idiot? So really, it's only people IN glass houses who should throw stones! Provided they are trapped. In the house. With stones. It's a little longer, but yeah."

He has been signed up by Jon Stewart's production house to make a TV series, and has already sold a movie concept to Dreamworks called Will, which seems to have all the makings of a Napoleon Dynamite type cult classic. This insanely talented guy is bound to be the next big thing. Do watch his clips on youtube.