Disfunktional Family

Reviewed by:
Paul Ulane

Enduring the antics of oddball uncles is a rite of humanity. But oddball uncles who’ve starred in their own pornos…and show them off whenever a film crew arrives? That’s disfunktional. And Uncle Curtis is just one of many in a long line of Eddie Griffin’s lovably shameless family folk that provide the foundation for his stand-up act in Disfunktional Family. Lucky for us—and Griffin’s livelihood—his relatives are loony enough to make us feel like family and make us laugh. Witness the kind of behavior you’d kill to see pepper a typical Christmas dinner when Family jumps between Griffin’s stage show anecdotes and segments with his nutty corresponding kin. As for the live material, Griffin possesses the type of presence requisite of all good stand-ups: His delivery is comfortably conversational, he sweats a lot because he talks so fast, and he wears a leather suit. Whoever said family values are in decline never saw Eddie Griffin mimic his uncle’s heroine addiction. Stale stand-up riffs slow things down here and there, but it’s nothing his crazy-ass relatives can’t remedy.

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