Sal Vulcano, a comedian best known for starring in reality tv series, “Impractical Jokers” performed at the Old National Events Plaza Jan. 17. There, comedians Chris Johnston and Jay Larson opened for him.

There are many fine lines that comedians tread when writing their jokes and writing this review felt like a balancing act.

For starters, I didn’t want to spoil their routines for people who might attend future shows (it’s also my understanding that in a year or two Vulcano will release these jokes in another special like “Terrified”).

I  have the same principle when it comes to art shows.

I don’t want my review to leave readers feeling like there is no point in going to see one, because they’ve already seen it all online. Whether or not they find the show to their liking, based on the snippets we share, is another matter. But my goal is to uplift the local arts community not to undermine all the hard work that my peers do.

Thus, it’s difficult to review “Everything is Fine” because I don’t want to waste the jokes these comedians make their livings off of.

It also would not be as funny, regardless of how well the voice in your head reads this text aloud.

But there’s also the matter of taste.

There were a handful of jokes that did not sit well with me. I understand that comedy is meant to push the envelope. That comedians invent and exaggerate for the sake of entertainment, that just because they say something it doesn’t mean they believe it. 

But I don’t feel comfortable saying I had a wonderful time when there were aspects of it that I felt were morally wrong. These jokes have had me rewriting the same hundred words for weeks.

Chris Johnston told several jokes about gay men that I thought were quite funny because he wasn’t making fun of them for being gay, their sexuality was just relevant to his story. It’s also unfortunately pretty common for the media to treat homosexuality as something shameful, so it was especially refreshing when Johnston was unbothered by being mistaken for a gay man.

Larson’s joke about blind people, on the other hand, felt like he was laughing at them, not with them. Especially when he joked that blind people wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between potholes and a rollercoaster ride. 

Another joke that did not go over well with me was Johnston’s joke about fatherhood. In this bit, he presented weaponized incompetence as a life hack.

The specific example he gave was leaving his child covered in fecal matter to avoid having to change their diaper again.

While there were points in his routine and Vulcano’s where they both pointed out that some parts of their stories were untrue, it is incredibly harmful to encourage weaponized incompetence, especially at the expense of those who are unable to take care of themselves.

To be clear, Johnston wasn’t making fun of incompetent fathers and husbands. The punchline was how he went about neglecting his responsibilities.

I worry that this style of joke about weaponized incompetence, which is already too common in American culture, will further encourage it. 

Overall, I think that there are funnier ways to cover the topic of speed running your marriage. 

I also would have just found it funnier if he was making fun of incompetent husbands and fathers. This was an opportunity to do something that isn’t a perpetuation of those dated ball-and-chain jokes about marriage and family life.

Aside from that joke, I actually thought the jokes that they all made about their wives were funny. Especially Johnston’s and Vulcano’s, because they treated their wives as partners in crime, while some comedians use their wives as the butt of their jokes (see John Mulaney). 

You can disagree with your spouse. You can poke fun at their behavior. But at the end of the day, it’s a lot funnier when they’re encouraging the shenanigans (ex. Vulcano’s boomerang joke and Johnston’s Jet Blue joke) than when comedians are punching down at someone who isn’t even there to defend themselves.

Each time I hear an ‘I hate my wife’ joke I feel like I’m being held hostage and turned into a marriage counselor. It gets especially uncomfortable when the venom in their tone hits harder than the punchline.

So again, it really is refreshing to hear comedians talk about their wives as if they actually want to hang out with them.

Final Thoughts:

I liked that they all tried to connect with the audience at the start of their sets through crowd work because it makes it feel less rehearsed and more personal. I did, however, have to google Don Mattingly afterwards, so it’s safe to say that they’ve done a better job at learning about Evansville than I have.

With the exception of some of the jokes discussed above, overall, the night was a success for me. The mood was high and the crowd enjoyed themselves, at least that’s the impression that I got from the near constant laughter.

Even Vulcano’s pauses to jot things down in his notepad had us in stitches.

Seeing someone as famous as Vulcano in real life did eventually become less surreal, but as a long time fan of the “Impractical Jokers” it’s still a little difficult to believe that I saw a part of my childhood on stage.

Despite how much everything has changed, for example, he became a father a few years ago and the topic of fatherhood now permeates his jokes, Vulcano’s comedy is still able to bring a smile to my face.