Wanda Sykes - Saturday Funnyness

 

Taped at a concert in Washington, D.C., I´ma Be Me finds Sykes (who gets her own late-night talk show next month) at the absolute top of her form: smart, blunt, a little combative, but never abrasive. Oh, she can be annoyed and perplexed by the stupidity that surrounds us; that´s one of the main sources of her comic energy. But anger is not the driving force in Saturday´s special. Sykes seems happy with her life and her choices, and her joy is infectious — and frequently hilarious.

Certainly, for a comedy special, hilarity should count. Sykes gets the crowd laughing early and keeps them laughing to the end, with no significant down time and no cheap tricks. There are stand-ups who will say and do anything to get a laugh. With Sykes, you get the sense she´s thought through everything she´s saying, and wouldn´t be saying it if she didn´t believe it to be true.

Is it all in good, family-viewing taste? Of course not, which is why she´s on pay cable in a later slot. But if some of the jokes go too far, none of them are offensive just for offense sake.