"Crashing" (HBO)

I was not especially excited for Crashing, even though I generally like Pete Holmes and have a deep love for comedy. But there have been so many shows about comedians in the past few years, all of which follow a very similar "kind of funny, kind of sad look at a comedians' personal life" formula, that it was hard for me to let out anything other than a resounding "meh" when I first watched the trailer and saw the ads. I mean, c'mon. We're living in Trump's America now. The problems of rich and very privileged comedians should be at the very bottom of the barrel of issues that television expects us to care about, right? That's not a totally fair statement - entertainment is escapism and we all need a little escapism these days - but it's hard not to watch shows like that and think, "come on, just admit you have it pretty fucking good, guys."So anyway, it was surprising to me when I watched Crashing and actually really enjoyed it. It's true, it's yet another show that doesn't hide its Louie influences, but there is something about Crashing that sets it apart from the rest of the pack, a little bit. Part of it is Holmes himself, who is funny and winning and charming and seems to have found a proper vehicle for his talents, but there is also something that very few shows about "the biz" acknowledge: failure.

Crashing, at least right now, is a show about an aspiring comedian who is not very good at being a comedian. He's a youth pastor who just got out of a marriage to the only woman he has ever dated and was living a cozy suburban life, using his wife's money to haul ass into the city and perform at open mics, saying it was like "his version of medical school", ignoring the fact that medical school guarantees you a six-figure salary and open mics don't guarantee you jack shit. More importantly, Pete's character is really not even funny, at least not "comedian" funny. He's sort of funny in the way you'd expect a small-town pastor to be, cute for a chuckle on a Sunday morning mass but certainly nothing you're going to be expecting to see headlining his own Netflix special anytime soon. Holmes has said he sees Crashing as the story of where he was ten years ago, so maybe we're going to watch his character eventually become the successfully and well-liked comedian he is today, but I kind of hope that doesn't happen, because Crashing is very upfront about failure in a way most industry shows are not. In the first episode, Artie Lange tells Holmes point black after watching him bomb on stage: this isn't medical school. Most people get nowhere and make no money. It's not for everyone, and not everyone is cut out for it. Most shows would then transition into an inspiring scene where our hero wins over the crowd and it's clear that, no, he's going to beat the odds and make it. But not Crashing. Holmes gets mugged, loses everything, spends the night crashing on Lange's couch, then drives him to a gig in Albany where he opens for Lange and completely bombs once again. And not only is he bombing, but he no longer has an income, is technically homeless, and can barely afford to eat. There's something about those kinds of problems that digs a little deeper than the "I'm rich and famous but sometimes I get sad" narratives of most comedians' autobiographical TV shows. I like most of the shows! But in an age where so many people struggle just to get through each day, shows like Crashing are the types of shows more comedians should be trying.