Yours Sincere
ly is Kanan Gill’s second stand-up special. In the special, he focuses on the goals 15-year-old him had for future Kanan. The aim of going through the letter is to invoke nostalgia and get his audience to introspect; reminiscent of the common theme of adults having a mid-life crisis based on their younger selves’ idea of success. It takes Kanan almost a quarter of his special to get down to the crux and when he does it fails to fulfil its purpose. The writing seems repetitive and stretches jokes too long, to the point where you wonder when the joke will end. He explores themes common in stand up with jokes on friendships, relationships, depression, the “Indian way” etc. However, this exploration just doesn’t compare to other jokes on the same themes, or even his past takes on the same themes. His simplistic approach in this stand up is arguably too simple and gives off a “been there, done that” vibe. The show is slow-paced and the jokes just fail to land.
This is not to say there weren’t some good laughs to be had. His multiple references to the Fight Club, Julius Caesar, the famous last words, PJs (poor jokes), and the part of his letter discussing health (especially where he portrays how he had to place his testicles on his doctor's palm) are all humorous.
However, we just don’t see enough of his personality on stage. He fails to incorporate his trademark mix of humour and physical actions to more of his set, he doesn’t seem as energetic, and he just seems rather rigid. He simply falls short of the personality his audience has seen time and time again on Youtube and his first special. All of this doesn’t make his special bad, it just makes it, in his own words, “time pass”.
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