Brennan Reece: Everlong

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Brennan Reece has some interesting stories to tell, and proves in Everlong that he has amusing and touching ways of telling them. It's a show that, amidst the simple premise and style, tackles in surprising depth the complications of growing older.

There's not much room for jokes in an hour that packs a surprising emotional punch, gradually emerging as an ode to Reece's affectionately monikered "nana". As a rule of thumb comedians tend to think their relatives are funnier than they actually are, but in this case the result is to the contrary: he may have underrestimated just how poignant a tribute he's created, to the point of overshadowing his gainful attempts to inject humour.

It does begin as a comedy show (albeit a slightly limp one) but when it becomes clear the real worthwhile investment is in the warmth of his anecdotes, the gags feel almost contrived. His coarse tongue belies his goofy children's TV presenter persona, and he has a believably earnest stage persona which helps tether the stories to the harsh reality of life. 

Therein lies the frustrating caveat to what's mostly a heartfelt and bleakly entertaining experience; he's almost too eager to sentimentalize events that on their own seem raw enough without the added schmaltz. His autobiographical tales are empathetic inherently, so he doesn't need to zhuzh it up retrospectively. Still, he's an engaging raconteur, and even the coldest of hearts would be hard pressed not to find something to smile about here.