Jeff Dunham and the Guys-in-the-Trunk Are as Sharp and Delightful as Ever in 'Relative Disaster'

I started following Jeff Dunham after I saw the viral Youtube video where he debuted Achmed the Dead Terrorist.  Since then, I’ve always held the opinion that he’s a comedy genius – something most especially displayed during the time he had to get around the government censors in Malaysia.

Thus, I was thrilled to learn that he’s recently had a new special.  I’ve been looking forward to one since Unhinged in Hollywood.  This time, it’s produced by Netflix.

Titled Relative Disaster, it was taped in Dublin, Ireland to tie up with a recent genealogical inquiry that led Jeff to discover that he’s largely of Irish descent.  Honestly, it’s not one of his best specials, but it’s nonetheless riotous and highly entertaining as always.

Most of the Guys-in-the-Trunk are in it.  As what’s the usual with Jeff’s sets, it starts out with Walter and wraps up with Peanut.  In addition, he also introduces a new character – which is always a fun thing – in Seamus, a foul-mouthed, alcoholic Irish baby.  Once again, the exchanges between Jeff and the little guys generate tons of laughs.

A variety of topics is covered, ranging from the usual social commentary and archetypal jokes stemming out from the dummies’ respective motifs to him being a 55-year-old man married to someone 18 years younger and is now raising twin baby boys while his daughters from a previous marriage are already in college.

Of course, there’s some edgy humor here and there.  But the magical thing about Jeff’s shtick is that he can get away with this kind of things much more easily.  Somehow, inappropriate jokes become acceptable to PC-sensitive ears just because they’re being delivered by dummies.  As what Walter perfectly articulates during the special, “If you say it, it’s a lawsuit.  If I say it, it’s comedy.”  Nonetheless, Jeff somewhat still expresses his frustration for a world that is becoming more and more politically correct by briefly mentioning the fact that he can’t use Sweet Daddy Dee, an African American pimp, in his act anymore.

Some political stuff are also touched upon.  There are some jabs on Trump, but the most savage ones are on the Clintons.  There’s this one with Bubba J referencing a Bill Clinton “speech” that made my stomach ache from laughing.

The entire set generally had me in stitches.  But there’s one gag – about Walter being Jeff’s possible biological father – that didn’t work for me though.  It’s funny, but I just thought it’s not really clever.  Nonetheless, that’s only one sort of “miss” against its large number of “hits.”

All in all, Jeff Dunham: Relative Disaster is utterly delightful.  There’s always something magical, humorous, and impressive about ventriloquism.  And with Jeff, he’s always able to maximize all these inherent qualities to produce an outstanding comedy standup act.  Which is very apparent in this Netflix special.