Maturing Patton Oswalt hones his invective with 'Finest Hour'
On his newly-released album, the comedian tempers his angry-nerd rage into ingenious caricatures.
- Comedy Central Records
When he was 35 years old, Patton Oswalt blazed with anger over the praise society lavishes on new parents and the newly sober. Oswalt’s fourth comedy album Finest Hour revisits the comedian as a 42 year-old father willing to temper his indignation just a smidgen. In one of the album’s first routines, he even apologizes if he ever mocked people for wearing sweatpants. As a sleep-deprived dad, Oswalt now finds sweatpants to be mankind’s greatest achievement.
As a comedy album, Finest Hour generates more than enough laughter to justify the price. Oswalt's reading of the line "I want all the ham" alone can send drivers off the road if they're listening on their commute. Finest Hour also marks a point in Oswalt's evolution as one of the best comedians of his generation, adding a greater maturity to his stinging social commentary. (Note: I’ll contrive to avoid spoiling actual punchlines on the new album.)
Oswalt has been and continues to be the kind of master of invective who uses words like ninjas fling bladed weapons. He may be one of the founders of The Comedians of Comedy, but generationally, his peers include such blistering authors as H.L. Mencken, Harlan Ellison and Hunter Thompson. You can imagine Oswalt lingering over his language as he works, beta-testing adjectives and evocative phrasing until he comes up with a pungent gem like "swamp ass and nut fog."