Movie Review: Ralphie May: Too Big to Ignore

I'm not always a fan of reviewing stand-up comedy. I love the medium so much, and it's hard for me to judge a comedian who is as successful as Ralphie May. Most people got to know him from Last Comic Standing, and his career has been growing ever since. While he's not on my list of stand-up favorites, I do always enjoy hearing him on podcasts or radio shows. Because of that, I've seen every one of his specials. Too Big to Ignore is definitely a little different from the others.

Buy Ralphie May: Too Big to Ignore at Amazon.com

Ralphie May has always been a little loud and a very fearless. He stays that way in this special. He starts with a good story about his son and a half dressed reality show contestant. He gets off into other family stories, which is the natural progression comedians seem to take with time. In spite of the title, May never takes the easy route into self-deprecating fat jokes. I can appreciate that. What he does instead is dig into social issues, and he tends to get preachy, seemingly forgetting at times that he's doing a comedy show.

While I believe that comedians are the last truth-tellers that we have, and I like the messages Ralphie May brings, I wish that he'd written more jokes within the messages. He has clearly and consistently grown as a comedian, and I won't be surprised to see more growth in his next special. That's really a rare thing, and I'm glad to see it.