Ventriloquist comedian Jeff Dunham has under his (and his puppets’) belt: six Comedy Central specials, guest appearances on TV shows, world tours, and now, a new Netflix show. This year, he brought the laughs to the Bay Area with his 2-hour stand-up set off his Perfectly Unbalanced tour. Dunham performed at the Oracle Arena, where people can “get drunk and watch a puppet show at the same time.” Dunham brings out his old friends: grumpy-old-man Walter, beer-loving Bubba J, hyperactive purple Peanut, Achmed the Dead Terrorist, and a new member of the puppet family – an oversized Irish baby.
Dunham opens his show with a thirty-minute monologue about what’s new in his life: a recent divorce, a second marriage, and being a father of twin boys Jack and James (the whitest of names, according to Dunham). Although Dunham brings back some of his tried-and-true jokes, he uses the changes in his personal life to freshen the set. Throughout the show, his puppet characters grill Dunham for being eighteen years older than his second wife and for being too old to be having children (Walter thinks he’s flirting with registered sex offender status). Peanut points out that by the time his boys go to college, Dunham will look way more like their grandfather than anything else. Dunham and Walter do some audience improvisation, and Achmed also answers audience questions. Dunham concludes his show by shooting out Peanut dolls.
Overall, Dunham proves himself to be a master ventriloquist. Perfectly Unbalanced shows he has a lot more jokes up his…or rather, his puppets’…sleeves.
Check out upcoming tour dates for Perfectly Unbalanced!
