‘Last Comic Standing’ review: Joe Machi, Monroe Martin, and the battle of the ages

Tonight’s episode of “Last Comic Standing” has to be one of the greatest in the entire history of the show. It was so good, so entertaining that we really don’t think that anyone should have gone home tonight.

The first thing that we have to disagree with is strictly the fact that Monroe Martin and Joe Machi had to go into the showdown in the first place. They were both very funny in the improv challenge at Universal Studios (which Lachlan Patterson won), and they were also our favorite comics throughout the entire season of the group that is left, save for maybe Rod Man. We would’ve sent in Karlous Miller and Rocky LaPorte, given that we don’t feel like either one of them has delivered enough to really make us howl with laughter. It’s not that they are terrible, but we’ve got a good crop.

However, rules are rules, and the battle went the way that the battle went. We’re just so thrilled that we had so many reasons to laugh in the second half of the show. We really don’t think that the judges were even exaggerating by not being able to come up with a decision after the first two sets by both Joe and Monroe. Each one of them killed! Monroe’s “Black Batman” was hilarious, and Joe’s delivery will literally make almost anything funny. Just when you think the joke is over, there is another joke. It’s unlike anything we’ve heard in a long time.

It wasn’t until the two comics came out and told one joke each that the tide finally started to turn. Joe’s line about “gun control” and the founding fathers may be one of the best of the entire season. This was like a finishing move in “Mortal Kombat”: So funny, and Monroe never really had much of a chance after this. He should leave with his head held very high, though. We’d gladly pay to go see his act anywhere … okay, maybe not anywhere. We don’t have that kind of money. But we’d pay for it in our general vicinity. Such a fun episode, and with next week being a roast of Gilbert Gottfried, the show is looking strong going into the home stretch. Grade: A-.

What did you think about this episode, and are you happy about the result as a whole? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, and click here to snag other great TV updates on everything we cover via our newsletter.

Photo: NBC