Alternate Universe 09: Weak Spot

Reviewing 小鹿 and her stand-up comedy

Hi there. Welcome to Active Faults.

I almost didn’t want to review Chinese stand-up comedies, let alone some of the best, most poignantly written, astutely designed and tactfully executed sets I’ve ever seen. I didn’t want to draw perhaps unwanted attention to an industry barely escaping annihilation and a reality show that’s barely hanging on by a thread, but 小鹿’s performances on this season of The King of Stand-Up Comedy (喜剧之王单口季) has been…simply too good.

Let’s laugh until we cry.

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Some context on 小鹿 first. 

She made her name on 奇葩说 (I can I BB), a debate reality produced by the man behind The Big Band, Ma Dong, that received stupefying critical acclaim a few years back. Intellectuals and personalities from all walks of life were gathered together to engage in heated, comedic tete-a-tete that weighed on real-world but unserious dilemmas. A lot of viral clips and punchlines from this show remain in the cultural vernacular, despite the indefinite “pause” placed on its production. You don’t need me to elaborate on this pause, right?

Almost always wearing suits, 小鹿 had the feisty charm, accessible humour and quick wit that reminds me of Taylor Tomlinson. A rising comedian with a top politics and law university alma mater, 小鹿 leaned into the former identity far more than the latter. This is how fanquan discovered her two years ago, in the episode debating the topic as follows: should I stop my mum as she crazily supports a male celebrity that results in her absence in the home? (妈妈疯狂应援男明星，完全不着家，我该不该阻拦她？）

She got assigned the position of opposition, saying that no, you shouldn’t stop her, and went to town with it. The vehement defence was made into a hilarious bit as she opens with this seemingly innocuous line: “Let’s not get terrorised by the word ‘crazily’. All fan support (应援) is crazy [by nature]. When have you ever seen a calm fan?”