Curt Fletcher

I am AOL instant messenger years old.

The New York Times took the time to watch my new special Loose in the Crotch and write a thoughtful review. Means a lot. __ Confession: Even though Kevin Nealon has been a successful comic for four decades, I did not realize how funny he was until I heard him on Conan O'Brien's podcast. Every one of their episodes is a master class in comic riffing. But this superb special shows an even more off-kilter side to the blandly affable former host of Weekend Update on SNL. There's a hint of Mitch Hedberg in one-liners like "This is the irony of life: My wife got pregnant on a pullout couch." Or when he quizzes audience members, asking them to name the most stressful job. "Air traffic controller," he answers authoritatively, before pausing. "But not if you don't take it seriously." Nealon is a terrific joke writer, alert to paradox, statements of the obvious and the silliness of language. His casual and patient delivery finds laughs in the sneakiest places. In a bit that comes off as something from early alt-comedy, he says less than a few seconds into his set that he's "got to wrap it up." Like the word-drunk comedians David Letterman or Norm Macdonald, Nealon delights in throat-clearing transitional phrases ("Get this," "Got a minute?") and finds more comedy in mocking cliches than in finding clever takes on unusual subjects. He digs into well-worn territory like self-checkout or pets, but invariably detours into pure nonsense. "When my grandmother died, it totally shocked us," he says quietly. "She'd never done that before."