GUY MONTGOMERY (NZ) - Melbourne International Comedy Festival / by Stephanie Puls

guy mont.jpg

Guy Montgomery’s show ‘I was part of the problem before we were talking about it’ (catchy!) hints at the tricky content he tackles in the show; sexual harassment, opression, exclusion and more. Does he pull it off? Allllmost but not quite for me.

It’s incredibly difficult to make comedy out of such serious and complex subject matter and in many parts of the show Guy does it really well - I certainly laughed a lot in this. But to cover subject matter like this in a sufficiently nuanced way requires a hell of a lot of explaining and at times Guy seemed to be talking for an awfully long time without there being a gag. He even acknowledges it himself, at one point saying, “I’ve done it again. You’re thinking, where are the jokes, Montgomery?” … he was right.

When Guy Montgomery is good, he’s superb and I’d say about two thirds of this show fall into that category. The rest of the show isn’t without merit - for example he’ll challenge you to consider whether just not being a bad guy is enough anymore - but for people who just want lolz, those parts will feel like a drag.

I’m a big fan of Guy’s laconic style and frankly a New Zealand accent makes anything 20% funnier so chuck this guy on your list if you’re keen for plenty of laughs and some though-provoking moments.

Get the details of Guy’s show here.