Killing Time

Nick DiPaolo scores within some limitations in stand-up special

By Michael Shashoua / Jester editor-in-chief

Veteran stand-up comedian Nick DiPaolo, a close colleague of Artie Lange, Jim Norton and Louis CK, has some sharp moments in his latest special, “Another Senseless Killing,” released by BSeen Media on February 17.

DiPaolo stays more within the confines of stand-up conventions in his performance at the respected Acme Comedy Club in Minneapolis that is captured in the special. He doesn’t venture into longer, looser storytelling the way Lange or Louis CK do, and the creativity of his material doesn’t match what Norton does, but DiPaolo does hit with some great lines during the hour.

Talking about the phenomenon of women bleaching their assholes, DiPaolo says he asked his wife to do it, and she threw some Clorox in his face. It’s a clever, surprising joke, and it also exemplifies the sarcastic, aggressive tone of DiPaolo’s delivery.

The combination of DiPaolo’s style and the more conventional stand-up framework he uses for his material keep this performance from truly “killing” with audiences other than middle-aged guys like him. In this special, DiPaolo is funny but not transcendent.