Film
Eddie Izzard: Dress to Kill
- Comedy
- Light-hearted
Eddie Izzard in full flight: a 1999 stand-up special filmed in San Francisco where she careens from Stonehenge to the Church of England to European imperialism, treating history as a series of absurd tangents only she could make. It's comedy as controlled chaos, personal and sweeping at once. For anyone who loves intelligence, theatricality, and a comedian willing to spend five minutes on a single non-sequitur.
If you liked this
Dave Chappelle: The Age of Spin2017
Chappelle at his most dazzling: digressive, historically minded, racing from comedy to something closer to urgent speech. Like Izzard, he's using the stage to think out loud about power and culture.
But His 2017 specials are controversial. If that's your concern, this one leans into difficult material without apology.
Hannah Gadsby: Douglas2020
Brilliant structural comedy about identity and perception, with Gadsby's intelligence on full display. Both comedians use comedy as a vehicle for genuine ideas, not just punchlines.
But Gadsby's comedy can feel cerebral and self-conscious, which isn't for everyone's mood on a given night.
Maria Bamford: The Special Special Special!2012
Theatrical, visually inventive stand-up that breaks the fourth wall constantly. Bamford uses the format to build something closer to performance art, much like Izzard treats stand-up as total theatre.
But Stylistically experimental in ways that can feel scattered if you're looking for traditional joke structure.
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The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie2016
Both share a specifically British sensibility about chaos, excess, and the liberating potential of not taking yourself seriously. Izzard's theatre-kid energy is all over this film.
British comedy that's theatrical, anarchic, and utterly confident in its own weirdness. Like Izzard's work, it's comedy that doesn't apologize for being excessive and camp.
But If you didn't love the original series, the movie will feel like an inside joke stretched too far. The energy is exhausting.
More like this (5)
Nate Bargatze: The Greatest Average American2021
Observational comedy done with charm and patience, letting ideas breathe. A kinder energy than Izzard's, but with the same willingness to wander into unexpected territory.
But Bargatze's gentle approach might feel slight if you want comedy with more bite.
Kathleen Madigan: Madigan Again2013
Smart, personal stand-up with real affection for the audience and the craft. Madigan's warmth and Izzard's theatricality are different, but both are thinking comedians.
But The comedy is more conventional in structure; it doesn't have Izzard's anarchic impulse to upend the stage itself.
Tom Segura: Completely Normal2014
Segura's observational comedy has real narrative drive and intelligence. Like Izzard, he builds extended bits that feel like you're getting a genuine tour of his brain.
But His comedy is often about bodily functions and absurdity in ways that might feel juvenile compared to Izzard's sweeping ideas.
John Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous at Radio City2018
Mulaney's comedy is meticulous, theatrical, and alive with genuine delight at the craft. He's one of the few comedians who can match Izzard's sense of comic architecture.
But His comedy is tightly constructed rather than loose and wandering; it's a different temperament altogether.
The Comeback2005
Both treat performance itself as the subject. Izzard plays with persona and theatricality onstage; Kudrow investigates how people perform identity. It's comedy about comedy.
Lisa Kudrow's mockumentary about a delusional actress and her yes-men, uncomfortable and hilarious. It shares Izzard's willingness to make comedy from sustained awkwardness and performance artifice.
But It's cringe-comedy before the term existed, and watching someone humiliate themselves for 22 minutes can feel genuinely painful rather than funny.
People
Cast
Suzy Eddie IzzardHerself
Directing
- Lawrence JordanDirector
Writing
- Suzy Eddie IzzardWriter