Ryan's More Popular Doppleganger

Goat Porn Amy and I went to a Hal Sparks comedy set on Friday, and I have just one thing to say: Hal looks a hell of a lot like the Midget. This photo illustrates some of the similarities, but really the likeness is spookily close. In fact, it distracted me through much of his set.

That said, his set was decent. Hal is not a comedian by training, and I presume he's venturing into comedy as another outlet for his twin talents of acting and thinking up funny stuff. While many people would view this as the complete comedian toolset, Hal's performance demonstrates why great comedy is as good as it actually is. Hal was good. He was funny. GPA and I laughed a lot, and not just because of the 2-drink minimum. But there were some chinks in the armor (and if you really want a detailed discussion, we can do it in the comments section). That said, he's certainly in the top 33% of comedians I've seen live. And, not to toot my own horn, but that list includes Lewis Black (3 times), Mitch Hedberg (twice, a number not likely to increase), Patton Oswalt, and a ton of lesser-knowns.

Also, they were recording Hal's set that night for a DVD/CD combo, so you can rush out, buy the DVD, and listen to me laughing. I'll tell you which jokes feature me as the guy laughing noticably harder than other people.

Sabrina Matthews opened for Hal, and was fantastic. Depending on your frame of reference, Sabrina looks like either (1) a slightly taller, slightly plumper, slightly butcher Patton Oswalt, or (2) a typical Nebraska farmer's wife. If she comes to your local comedy club, go see her.