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An Evening with Tim Heidecker

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An Evening with Tim Heidecker is the first stand-up comedy special from American comedian Tim Heidecker, released on October 23, 2020.[1]

Recording and release

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Throughout the special, you tease the audience that you’re going to do this totally dangerous comedy that’s going to blow their minds, but the actual danger is when these terrifying aspects of your personal life start coming out. That’s pretty consistent across your work. What appeals to you about playing these self-destructive people?
It’s a fundamentally funny thing for me. On the surface, [he’s] an entirely narcissistic bully, and then you can play off some really sad, pathetic qualities in that person. I’m glad you picked up on that. It’s woven throughout. If you read between the lines of this character, he’s in a really bad place, he’s an alcoholic, he’s got a bad relationship with his wife ... or ex-wife.

―Heidecker on the "Tim Heidecker" stand-up character[2]

The material was filmed in Los Angeles in 2017 and had been part of bits that Heidecker workshopped for a decade.[2] The onstage persona is based on Heidecker seeing comedians fail onstage.[3] The special was announced with a brief trailer previewing its contents on October 15.[1]

It premiered on YouTube on October 23, 2020. On July 26, 2024, it was made available on Hulu.

Reception

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The A.V. Club's Randall Colburn gave the special an A− for Heidecker's ability to lampoon stand-up specials and reproduce the kind of self-important, boisterous know-it-alls that he has portrayed throughout his career.[4] Sean L. McCarthy of Decider wrote that the public should skip the special, as "You have to already be fully in on the Tim & Eric experience to even begin to enjoy this, as Heidecker’s schtick here will not win over any new followers. It’s an inside non-joke."[5] Brian Logan of The Guardian gave the stand-up two out of five stars with praise for a few jokes but criticized a lack of variety.[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b Wright, Meg (October 15, 2020). "Tim Heidecker Announces His First-Ever Stand-up Special". Vulture. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Lizotte, Chloe (October 23, 2020). "Tim Heidecker: The Poet Laureate of Delusional Assholes". Vulture. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  3. ^ Rodrigues, Ashwin (October 23, 2020). "An Evening with Tim Heidecker Is a Parody of a Standup Special". Vice Media. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  4. ^ Colburn, Randall (October 23, 2020). "Tim Heidecker Deconstructs the Worst Comedy Sets You've Ever Seen in His First Stand-Up Special". The A.V. Club. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  5. ^ McCarty, Sean L. (October 26, 2020). "Stream It or Skip It: An Evening with Tim Heidecker On YouTube, Insincere Comedy at Its Refinest". Decider. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  6. ^ Logan, Brian (November 8, 2020). "An Evening with Tim Heidecker Review – Bad-Standup Spoof Hits Low Notes". The Guardian. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
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