How Sam Morril Makes Shock Comedy Cool
Masterful stand-up finds the funny in the worst of circumstances
When is a shock comic NOT a shock comic?
When his lines are so impeccably crafted it strips the gimmick away. It helps if he doesn’t embrace the label in the first place.
Tony Hinchcliffe falls in the shock comic camp. His jokes at the Tom Brady roast made him a national figure before his infamous Trump rally appearance went viral. The “Kill Tony” host is a professional offender. It’s elemental to his brand and he wears it well.
Sam Morril is different.
He’s a more traditional standup, delivering laughs about modern life, dating and sex. In between, he riffs on some of the most uncomfortable subjects possible.
Without flinching.
His May 10 appearance at Denver’s Paramount Theatre featured jokes about Anne Frank, the Holocaust, school shootings, convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein and more.
They all killed, as they say in stand-up speak. Every line proved so precise you’d be hard-pressed to be offended. Unless that’s your goal.
The comedian’s “Errors Tour” featured Morril at his best – quick, savagely funny and unwilling to bend to conventional norms. He barnstormed through the Anne Frank gags early in the set, never losing the crowd or his sense of timing.
Some comedians have a push-pull relationship with crowds, acknowledging when they go “too far.” Morril often leans into that dynamic, letting audience members squirm in their seats. It wasn’t needed during his Denver set.
The night didn’t lack for emotional depth.
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He poked fun at the term “battling depression,” hinting at his own struggles. He spent time dissecting his dating foibles, a mixture of conquests and humiliating asides that felt more sad than dudebro cool.
The Jewish stand-up admitted to a rendezvous with an antisemitic woman. The story ended with a punchline that proved self deprecating and wise about the human condition. Men aren’t always proud of their sexual urges. Morril framed it better than most.
Another bit, about a turbulent flight that left him wondering if he’d live to see the landing, hit home in a different fashion.
The only lull? Morril shared his disdain for annoying people deep in the set, but the cracks came wrapped in anger, not his usual wit. It was like the comic veil lifted oh, so briefly, and a misanthropic edge crowded the stage.
He eventually recovered, devoting the end of the set to irreverent crowd work. The Denver audience gave him more than enough material, to be fair. Who knew neighbors shared more than cups of sugar?
Morril capped the night with the spectacular story of Stu, a magician and unofficial mayor of Virginia Beach. His stories deserve to be shared across the media landscape, be it his tale of “The White Knight” or the ex who never went away.
Those yarns matter far more than his occasional shock bits. He treats both with a reverence that puts him at the highest tier of stand-up comedy.