Review – Josh Thomas: Douchebag

In his latest show, Douchebag, Josh Thomas explores the idea of whether or not he is becoming, well, a douchebag. That is, in the colloquial sense of the term and not literally a douchebag, as he assures his audience in the opening minutes. It is this idea that loosely ties his jokes and anecdotes together.

Thomas’s persona is awkward and somewhat frazzled, but in such a way that his audience responds instantly. He comes across as genuine, and is effortlessly charming. His anecdotes are light-hearted, casual and always amusing.

While the individual gags and stories are often side-splitting, Thomas’s musings of whether he is becoming a bad person are the weak link of the show, and the inevitable final story that ties into the theme is hilarious, but doesn’t quite have that wonderful call-back quality about it.

Worse though, is Thomas’s encore attempt of proving that he is a good person by auctioning of a cake for charity. Though Thomas makes each cake himself, and it did sound delicious, it was an awkward way to end a great show – Thomas effectively trying to guilt the audience into bidding higher. While I appreciate the charitable attempt, a silent auction or simple request for donations might have left the audience feeling more generous, and not have quite so effectively killed the good mood of the show.

Thomas is a wonderfully likeable comedian and refreshingly, avoids shocking or disgusting the audience for laughs. Douchebag is a charming, witty and generally delightful show.