Going from "you suck" to "we suck"
On turnarounds and the value of revealing your flaws. Patton Oswalt: "I try to have that moment in the bit where I go, "I used to think this but now I realize it's that.'"
Letterman booker Eddie Brill once said comics should avoid being too finger-pointy with a crowd. "It's never 'you suck.' It's 'we suck.'" Brill said he didn't book Bill Burr for years 'cuz he was still in the "you suck" phase of his career.
In a You Made It Weird ep, Joe Derosa explained similar advice he got from Patton Oswalt (48min in to podcast) after running a bit by him in the green room at Caroline's. The bit was about how much Joe hates people on reality shows. Joe paraphrased Patton's response:
I don't see what the purpose of the bit is...All your doing is just saying that to the audience. You know you think that. You know they think that. What's the point?...What I think you need to do in bits is – and what I try to do is – have a moment of discovery. I try to have that moment in the bit where I go, "I used to think this but now I realize it's that."
Which if you watch Patton, he does that a lot. "When I was 35, I used to think..." and he hits the funny from that side and then he goes, "Now I'm 42 and let me tell you people, I was wrong!"...From that moment on, I realized that I don't want to be the guy who gets up and just barks at the audience...I have a lot of bits where I try to turn it on myself and ask why do I feel that way? Oh, it's because here's my flaw that makes me see the situation like this.
Since we always think we’re right about stuff, this approach is something we need to actively cultivate. One great way to do that is via turnarounds.
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