REVIEW: What Happens Now? @ Ottawa Fringe 2012

Andrew Chapman’s show What Happens Now is an hour-long stand-up comedy act, largely built around an Ottawa theme.

Andrew Chapman tells you why you should see it:

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What Happens Now? is Andrew Chapman’s solid sixty minute stand-up comedy show and I wish I could say that his show was as solid as the full 60 minutes that he filled. Now, the fact that this is a stand-up show makes for an interesting Fringe premise; as I always say – you can get away with anything at Fringe. Unfortunately being different is not necessarily good. There’s no real plot to dissect here – just Chapman’s timing and content.

He talks a lot about being an Ottawan living in Toronto – and then goes back and forth to mock both kinds of citizens as well as himself. While self-deprecating humour has its place in stand-up comedy you need more than that to make an act… the one thing I left this show with was the understanding that my life was better than that of Andrew Chapman. While I’m impressed at how different this show was to all other Fringe shows, I must re-iterate that I got bored… very quickly, and the audience wasn’t buying all of Chapman’s stand-up as well. The show comes across more or less as shameless self-promotion… if you want to see real, and actual funny stand-up in Ottawa, check out Absolute Comedy’s lineup and give Andrew Chapman’s performance a skip. 2.

Allan’s followup:

The nice thing about writing a followup is that I don’t always have to say as much. What Happens Now? -is- a stand-up act. One that’s largely Ottawa-centric. As such, there’s some laughs there. There’s laughs elsewhere, too, talking about lost cats, and airplane adventures. And while there’s even more smiles than laughs, there isn’t sixty minutes worth and it all feels a bit unpolished in the end - like he’s still working it out and this was a test audience. I’m not gonna be as harsh, because I had a good time for the most part. Three.

- By Allan Mackey

 

Matthew Champ

About Matthew Champ

Matthew Champ is the lead movie reviewer for Production Ottawa's Should You See It team, making sure that you know whether or not these movies or plays are worth spending your time or money on.

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