Review: Phat Tuesdays

[Steve Timko]

I heard about “Phat Tuesday” after creator Guy Torry appeared on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast. This documentary has three episodes and is on Amazon Prime.

It traces the creation of a weekly showcase for black comedians that ended up on Tuesday nights at The Comedy Store. This effort launched the careers of many well-known black comedians who couldn’t get stage time in the clubs that catered mostly to white audiences.

The show has lots of information and moves along well. But it has this odd affectation. They have the narrator describe what’s happening on the screen like it’s someone reading directions from a script. That was annoying through the first episode. And when they hit you in the face with it in the second episode, I stopped watching. Maybe I’ll return some day.