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Pablo Francisco: Bits and Pieces DVD

Pablo is a US comic who appears to have created his own cult following having featured in several popular animations including ‘Family Guy’ and ‘The Simpsons’. Last month he also crossed over the Atlantic to do a stand-up gig in East London.

Pablo Francisco’s present comedy show ‘Bits and Pieces’ is a recording made at a small comedy club. Pablo dances his way on to the stage in a robotic sequence which both bears a resemblance to a certain David Brent (Ricky Gervais) and also leads nicely in to his first routine.

Francisco is a star and this is made clear from a very appreciative audience. From a distance, Pablo could be mistaken for Ben Stiller, but that is definitely where the comparisons end.

The strongest elements of the show are when Pablo provides both physical and visual humour that everyone can relate to whether or not they are American. Unfortunately a lot of the material is based on and uses words that are not familiar with those outside of the US.

The comedian appears to be as charming as Michael McIntyre yet is more than happy to throw in plenty of strong language limiting his appeal to a more mature and specialist audience.

Pablo’s imitations are a highlight of the show. These impressions are very important as they form a central focus to the act. Some of the best parts are when he makes imitations of Spanish music and also DJs remarking that they all sound as though they are Dracula. Some of his gags could easily fall flat if they were not handled and present so cleverly, although at points, there seems to be some hostility between the performer and his audience.

Francisco reveals that he has had a new hair-cut which leads on to a strong and developed narrative all about hair-dressers and barbers. Sections of the material work better than others and admittedly small parts could be strung together a little more effectively. However, as the name of the show suggests, this presents a random selection of his best bits and pieces.

The majority of the funniness is quite sexual, subjects such as Viagra, having sex and talking dirty, are all covered in a relatively short and tight show that is less than an hour in length. The most popular sketch is Pablo’s imitation of movie trailer voiceovers. This is then used to great effect to promote a fictional blockbuster ‘Little Tortilla Boy’ which is very amusing and has already become a hit on the online video community YouTube

Pablo is unlikely to take the UK by storm although it is likely that he may find yet another small stream audience particularly if he can work some of his magic on our own society and culture. The show is unlikely to have you laughing throughout but you are sure to find some amusement in the situations that Pablo Francisco has come across.