Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Brian Regan: On The Rocks’ On Netflix, Doin’ The Time For The Crime

Brian Regan couldn’t wait any longer to put out his second stand-up special for Netflix, so he filmed it in the great outdoors of a packed Tuacahn Amphitheater in Utah this past October, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Was it worth it?

BRIAN REGAN: ON THE ROCKS: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Brian Regan is undoubtedly one of the most popular comedians of his generation, not just among fans but also his fellow comedians.
That he’s not a household name at this point could simply be a factor of his never succumbing to the temptations of sitcom stardom, or because most of his previous stand-up specials came and went on Comedy Central before he finally made the leap to Netflix in 2017 with Brian Regan: Nunchucks And Flamethrowers. Regan followed that up a year later with a hybrid stand-up and sketch series for the streaming giant, Stand Up And Away! With Brian Regan, executive-produced by Jerry Seinfeld. Seinfeld also has featured Regan on two separate episode of his Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. Chris Rock gave him a plum scene-stealing opportunity as a DJ in Rock’s movie, Top Five.
For Brian Regan: On The Rocks, the comedian still finds himself baffled by the strangers he interacts with, although at least he has his OCD under control, right?

What Comedy Specials Will It Remind You Of?: Regan’s family-friendly comedy — he’s still the only stand-up who has pulled off a live special on Comedy Central — has influenced many of his peers, as well as those who have followed in his wake. Perhaps the two that may come to your mind quickest are Jim Gaffigan and Pete Holmes.

Memorable Jokes: Now 62, Regan’s hair has gone white, and he’s quick to literally make light of that.

Hardcore Regan fans will remember his 2004 special, I Walked On The Moon, which he opened with a classic bit about rating his pain on a scale of 1-10, when he returns to the doctor’s office now, wondering why he has to still fill out a clipboard, and also running through various scenarios in his head about doctors and their specialities, the awkwardness of massages, and his own bouts of OCD. He know his OCD doesn’t compare to other types of suffering, and yet, he’s got a knack for making us laugh at his pain. “How come when you want things in order they call it a disorder?”
Regan loves to tap himself as a smart guy who often finds himself looking dumb, and he acts this out to great effect in the middle of the hour as the guy walking in on party discussions led by strangers he deeply disagrees with, but cannot figure out how to disagree with them without becoming ostracized himself. Can he even make friends in this day and age? It’s perhaps the closest Regan gets to politics. Actually, his only explicit joke on politics is a sarcastic bit about the power of social media to change anyone’s mind.

Regan’s equally sarcastic in an inadvertently topical bit, questioning why we need to send rovers to Mars to look for rocks, water and signs of life.
Regan, like both Seinfeld and Gaffigan, continues to show a mastery of taking observational comedy to the extreme, investigating topics with a fine-tooth comb, except when Regan does it, he’s also adding a deft physicality both with his legs and his facial expressions. So when he demonstrates the futility of a phrase such as “don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time,” or the awkwardness of orchestra pits and marching bands, you don’t have to picture it. Regan’s done all of the hard work for you, bringing his sketch ideas to life onstage.
Our Take: Would it surprise you to learn that Regan’s a big fan of mayonnaise?
Here’s a better question, though: We often ask whether you can separate the art from the artist, but can you also separate the artist from the pandemic? When the first thing you see is a packed amphitheater in 2020, it doesn’t matter that they’re all outside and masked when there’s close to 1,900 people sitting on top of each other, does it? You just start thinking: Wow, superspreader event. That we didn’t hear of an outbreak is beside the point, although comforting. Or that Regan himself kept his distance from the masses gathered for him. And yet. Regan filmed this special at the end of October, and revealed in early December he had contracted COVID-19. He’s OK now, presumably. But still. It’s a bit bonkers. The venue’s update of June 25, 2020, said Regan’s show was the first one back. And as of now, the venue is practicing social spacing, too?
Is my problem with it itty-bitty or teensy-weensy?
I’d answer with a callback to Regan’s set. Perhaps animals are smarter than humans, after all.
Our Call: STREAM IT. That said, ultimately I could separate the art from the artist and the situation, and Regan’s comedy still satisfies. Just try not to think about whether live comedy actually kills in this pandemic.

Sean L. McCarthy works the comedy beat for his own digital newspaper, The Comic’s Comic; before that, for actual newspapers. Based in NYC but will travel anywhere for the scoop: Ice cream or news. He also tweets @thecomicscomic and podcasts half-hour episodes with comedians revealing origin stories: The Comic’s Comic Presents Last Things First.

Watch Brian Regan: On The Rocks on Netflix