What <em>Crashing</em> Got Right About Stand-Up
For a show about the slow, slow rise of a stand-up comedian, Sunday’s season finale of Crashing was an odd one. It took place largely at an adult baptism, featured zero scenes of stand-up comedy, and pointedly had very little to do with the emotional development of its lead character Pete (as played by real-life comedian Pete Holmes). It ended with Pete having barely progressed since hitting rock bottom in the first episode—still broke, essentially homeless, without any meaningful career prospects, and entirely on the outs with his ex-wife Jessica (Lauren Lapkus).
It was a confounding approach to take considering a TV season usually depicts a grand arc of someis certainly in the mold of many a television show or film before it—in which an established stand-up comedian plays a thinly fictionalized version of himself. But in its first year, has taken an unusual approach to depicting the life of an up-and-coming comic—giving him a stutter-step series of big breaks and public calamities, a whirlwind of celebrity guest stars that often end up being as troublesome as they are helpful. The final episode eschewed comedy but kept hold of its main theme: that Pete, and so many comedians like him, is just a confused soul looking for a grander purpose.
