The curse of comedy is standups telling us what their shows are about. John Gordillo is better known as a director of comedians (Reg Hunter, Eddie Izzard) than as a comic himself. This year, he brings his own show to Edinburgh: a thoughtful and entertaining account of his relationship with his larger-than-life Spanish father. The show rattles along engagingly, gathering in comic power as it nears its climax. But then Gordillo blows it, dedicating the closing moments to a lecture on the interplay between politics and personal psychology, and letting the laughter ebb away.
I'm all for comics with something to say, and a passion to say it. But I wish they'd do so through comedy, rather than tack on the moral as humourless explication. In Gordillo's case, the conclusions he reaches (a person's politics may be connected to their own emotional and psychological needs) aren't insightful enough to justify jettisoning the jokes. It's frustrating, because the preceding 50 minutes reveal a grown-up comic who combines emotional intimacy with some high-quality gags.
The star of the show, though, is Gordillo senior – or should that be, señor. The son brings his dad vividly to life, as mouthy, militant communist, needy single parent, and bearer of a Seville-sized chip on his shoulder. This is a father who expresses love with the phrase, "I would take a bullet for you" – which isn't wholly comforting to his seven-year-old son. The show reveals how Gordillo, whose mother died when he was three, defines himself against his father, both politically (there's good material about ethical living) and personally, as three generations of Gordillos visit the circus – or "Wetherspoons in a ring," as a disgusted John describes it. What emerges is an honest, funny portrait of a remarkable family, which is far more eloquent than the sermon that gratuitously concludes it.
