Jim Gaffigan is the foremost practitioner of clean comedy working today, finding humor in unusual places like his wife’s brain tumor (she’s fine now) or Jell-O (he’s discovered it’s not an old wives’ tale that it’s made from pulverized bone and hooves) rather than a setting that allows him to deliver f-bombs.
It’s paid off. Gaffigan’s latest recording, this summer’s Noble Ape, became the top-selling comedy album in July. He draws from an apparently inexhaustible well of observational humor. Sometimes it seems as if he’s just talking off the top of his head, like he’s your chatty taxi driver and you’re his fare, except he’s so entertaining you don’t mind if he long hauls you.
Ask your grandparents and they might say he reminds them of Jack Benny, who occupied the same sort of space in the comedy scene of his day that Gaffigan occupies today. Gaffigan’s ever-growing family, food, his waistline and his new beard are ceaseless sources of material, with Gaffigan performing in his inimitable style that harkens back to Benny’s droll delivery. His career has already proved to be as enduring as Benny’s, and he still has a long way to go.
Caesars Palace, 8 p.m. Nov. 30, starting at $55 plus tax and fee. 866.320.9763
