As he mentions several times during his latest show, Facing the Beast, US standup Reginald D Hunter is struggling to keep abreast of the times. This admission could uncover a rich seam of new material about middle age for the 50-year-old comic, known for his rambling style. However, it seems to serve only as carte blanche to punch down further and further, during an erratic, often excruciating hour.
Hunter’s show revolves around the tired idea that “everything is offensive” nowadays, with the occasional joke centred on his family, his genitals or his troubles holding down a relationship to punctuate some fairly uncharitable observations. This is the Ricky Gervais model, only less funny, as proved when he wheels out a thoroughly played out “Well, I could have identified as a submarine” joke when talking about a seven-year-old’s gender identity.
At a time when both UK and US politics are in such intense flux – and his home state of Georgia faces widespread criticism for its restrictive new abortion law – Hunter delivers a routine that situates him as a victim of female hysteria. He gets his girlfriends at the “crazy bitch store” and tells the audience that “you don’t just want a woman who can fuck … she needs other skills, like being able to type”. He is blase towards the #MeToo movement, citing the example of three women who he said made false accusations of inappropriate conduct against him – one of whom he was previously in a relationship with – and focusing on the potential for such allegations to “end careers”. Elsewhere, meatier topics such as mental health, grief, and reconnecting with his teenage offspring are glossed over in favour of forced “edge”.
By the time he’s gleefully segueing from Michael Jackson to Brokeback Mountain – seemingly conflating, or at least linking, the feelings of the singer’s accusers with a film about a consensual same-sex relationship – it’s clear that Hunter isn’t genuinely feeling flummoxed by the current moment, but, ironically, revels in taking umbrage. “Comedy has got boring and safe,” he proclaims, briefly dipping a toe into the Danny Baker debacle. But, really, it’s clear that he’s the one lagging behind.
