Staff Do, or Staff Don't? Why Not Stay at Home with a Comedy DVD...

Christmas comes but once a year, and with it comes the chance for workers to gather for their annual nights out – you know, those boisterous office shindigs that take over whatever building they happen to inhabit. For the world of comedy, this means a steady stream of busy nights, with people buying drinks by the bucketload: great for the money men, not so much for those put-upon comics who have to face the lion’s den that is the office party. Like an unholy hybrid of stag and hen night, the office party envelopes all who surround it in a boozy fugue of Boots ad rip-offs and Blue WKD.

Be it Kenny from accounts, who’s been given the yearly ‘pass out’ for the night, drinking enough to think he could ‘do better than that d*ck on stage,’ or Sharon from HR forgetting what an ‘inside voice’ is and constantly interrupting the acts with anecdotes of her daily commute, the crowd becomes the topic of discussion for whoever’s onstage to the detriment of the pre-approved set they've spent all year perfecting. Comedy clubs at Christmas aren’t there for fans of comedy, and they're not really there for the betterment of a stand-up's act, either.

Comedians don’t get a staff do, they barely get a Christmas (though they do get good material from the annual ritual), so spare a thought for those poor souls left entertaining the drunken masses from Bullshit Incorporated. To gain a better insight into what it is to tell a room full of strangers jokes for a living, here are three films that lift the lid on a funny old business; as well as a couple of other gift ideas. So if you fancy some comedy this Christmas, maybe swerve the local laugh shack and enjoy some home entertainment instead.

Comedian (2002)
Following the end of his eponymous sitcom, Jerry Seinfeld performed one last run of his best bits and then retired the material that had made him the biggest comedian in America for the last ten years or so. He then returned to the small clubs that he made his name in back in the 80s to relearn his trade. Juxtaposed with this is the tale of Orny Adams, an annoying, whiny OCD comic on the cusp of ‘making it’. In that you’ve probably never heard of him, you can tell how it turned out for old Orny. 

Seinfeld is unabashed in his honesty about his career and speaks candidly with his hilarious friends about the manner in which he crafts his seamless routines, and what it is to be a stand-up. A conversation with Chris Rock in which Rock admits his awe at a recent Bill Cosby show is a nice reminder that even those at the top of their game are still looking for heroes.

The Aristocrats (2005)
Literally a one-joke film, The Aristocrats is a documentary that dissects the ability to tell jokes and the competitive nature that dwells within all comedians, always trying to out-do each other. This documentary interviews around 100 comedians on the subject of one gag – and not a very good one at that – that has existed in the back rooms and local haunts of comics since the days of vaudeville, and provides a glimpse into the secret society of funny people.

Louie (2010 – present)
Louie follows one of America’s biggest stand-ups as he creates the material for his shows from the world he interacts with, and is interspersed with excerpts from his comedy show against an exposed brick wall. So far, so Seinfeld. But Louis CK’s warts-and-all look at the life of the stand-up is a little more bare-bones than the 90s classic, showing what comedians really get up to when not gigging in a somewhat depressing manner. It is only when Louie is onstage that he seems comfortable with himself – even if the bulk of his act is about how unhappy he is with his family/work/the world.

Michael J Dolan – Nothing Will Ever Be Alright Again Ever (CD, 2013)
Releasing a CD of your latest show may seem old fashioned, but that’s precisely the reason Mancunian misanthrope Michael J Dolan has done it: to harken back to those days when you could only get your comedy aurally. It is also the best way to enjoy Dolan’s work, for you might be tricked into thinking this 35-year-old is much older than he appears visually.

Curmudgeon by nature, Dolan sticks pretty rigidly to his belief that Nothing Will Ever Be Alright Again Ever, and you would be inclined to believe him come the end of this CD. He's a stand-up who does everything to make you dislike him, but never quite succeeds (such is his charm). All clipped sentences and self-loathing, the only person he hates more than you is himself. This is a gift for those that don’t like Christmas, but love comedy.

Russell Brand: Messiah Complex (2013)
While you wait for the manifesto of Russell Brand’s social and metaphysical revolution you can sate your appetite for the internet’s favourite demagogue with his latest stand-up offering. With his impassioned speeches about the proletariat rising up to take back the power, you may be forgiven for forgetting that Brand is also a stand-up. A very accomplished stand-up. And though his live shows do carry a little more detail of his nocturnal misdeeds, his Messiah Complex is a return to form after the self-indulgent Scandalous with Brand taking a look at iconography and the humanity of heroes. Admittedly it is still self-indulgent, but with a little more substance. And sex tips.