About.com Rating



On Au Contraire, the first stand-up special and second album from Christian Finnegan, the comedian seems to have lost a little of his edge. In many ways, the special is similar to his debut, 2006's Two for Flinching in that it's largely comprised of fast, articulate observational comedy. But on Flinching, Finnegan seemed to have a bone to pick with just about everyone and everything; he was a man on a mission.


That's not always so with Au Contraire, which loses some of that seething precision in lieu of more standard "what's the deal with?" stuff.

There are still plenty of things bothering Finnegan, some of them very funny. Routines on picture-taking, high-fiving and the oddness-slash-gayness of chihuahuas are all highlights, mostly because the comic has something new to say and it all has the ring of truth. Other bits on video games and marital dischord aren't quite as good because they feel a little familiar. The video game section in particular -- in which Finnegan poses the question "what if marriage was more like a video game?" -- falls a little flat (though I do like his observation that video games are dismissed as immature only because they haven't been around very long; it's not funny so much as true).

Where Finnegan really excels on Au Contraire is in his willingness to get personal. His comments about his own marriage may seem a little familiar, but there's a darkness to them that we don't often hear with comics.

Maybe it's the fact that he doesn't just make blanket statements about all marriage; he keeps it specific to his own relationship. He doesn't even reveal anything that embarrassing or shocking, but I still like his honesty -- or, at least, the illusion of honesty.

Nowhere is that more prevalent than in a long bit about his wife's father, who is currently in prison for attempted murder. It's some dark stuff, and I could see a lot of comics not wanting to touch that subject matter for a whole bunch of reasons (Finnegan touches on at least one of them when he says he'll have to stop doing the bit come 2018). I appreciate not just Finnegan's willingness not just to find humor in the situation -- after all, lots of us do that -- but to take that humor public. Most couples could only joke about something like that behind closed doors.

I liked Au Contraire, even though I feel like it didn't really build on the promise of Finnegan's first album. I wanted to see him grow and push his comedy in some new directions. At times, like the "Murder Tree" segment, he does just that. For the most part, though, he's treading water.

Note: Both the CD and DVD versions of Au Contraire contain additional material not featured on the Comedy Central broadcast.

• Original Premiere Date: May 8, 2009
• DVD/CD Release Date: May 12, 2009