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Is Terry Fator Funny Or Offensive? You Decide

Where: 3400 Las Vegas Blvd S [map], 89109
March 17, 2010 at 12:50 PM | by juliab | 5 Comments

As we told you yesterday, Terry Fator's people kindly invited us down to see the show on its first anniversary, and witness the unveiling of his latest character, Wrex the crash test dummy.

And although we already reviewed the show when it first launched, we felt the need to update it and post a different view.

First up, as we said yesterday, Fator is technically very competent. He’s a great ventriloquist. He can sing pretty well too. But the novelty of singing puppets wears off after a couple of minutes, so in order for you not to be bored for the next hour and a half, you need to engage with him.

And we didn’t engage with him at all.

We didn’t find it remotely funny – the humor was pretty pedestrian stuff, and didn't gel with our sense of humor. More importantly, we also found it pretty offensive – during the course of the show we found what we perceived to be some racial and sexual stereotyping. Also, are speech impediments the new thing to laugh at? That one passed us by.

But the character we were most shocked by was Julius, the black soul singer (hey people, let’s laugh at the way he pronounces stuff and then reinforce every racial stereotype in the book!)

Here's a short clip from the Julius sketch, just after Fator has labored the point that the puppet mispronounces the word "current." Funny? You decide:

We asked the person sitting next to us, who did enjoy the show, whether they found the black doll to be offensive. They shrugged their shoulders and said “I guess it is a bit, but things like that are ok here.”

So you tell us--is Terry Fator offensive or just funny? Drop your thoughts in comments below. We genuinely want to know what you think about this one. (You can also email us or Twitter at us too.)

Disclosure: we saw the show as guests of Terry Fator's team.

5 Comments

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  1. juliana

    VegasChatter Editor

    cringing

    that video makes me cringe. for one thing, i'm not into ventriloquists. AT ALL. despite the fact that it's what my uncle does for a living. (seriously. and no, he's not terry fator.)

    secondly, "pants on the ground?" PLEASE.

    this definitely makes me very uncomfortable but i think it's more a mixture of the fact that i do not like ventriloquists, i do not think terry fator is very likable than any blatantly offensive content.

    after all, he's not pulling a Michael Richards or anything. still, i bet if fator stuck to more original "truths" about people rather than sexual and racial stereotypes, this show might be more likable.

    that said, i'll save my money for LOVE. again.

    March 17, 2010 at 1:02 PM
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  1. Chitter Chatter

    VegasChatter Member

    Very Racial

    I watched the video clip, and it sounds to me like he is being very racial. He is a great ventriloquist but his material is very bad. It's not a show i would pay to go and see.
    March 17, 2010 at 2:17 PM
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  1. Mr Pappagiorgio

    VegasChatter Contributing Editor

    Agreed but still love the guy

    Overall, I'm a big fan of Terry Fator and have seen him twice. Unkown guy takes his singing talent, combines it with a rather tired profession of ventriloquism to create something unique, works hard at it for years and makes a name of himself. And clearly appreciates his success without taking it for granted. The comedy won't knock your socks off, but then again I didn't go expecting a comedy show so I enjoyed it.

    I did have a similar reaction to the Julius sketch, however.  Taken in the context of before where the video picks up, the Pants on the Ground bit was actually funny - and it definitely got the reaction from the crowd he wanted. The rest of the skit though I found kinda offensive and was surprised no one else seemed to have the same reaction. Ironically, if the same skit had been in other shows I might not have thought twice about it.

    But I rolled with it, think this is one of the better shows on the Strip and would see it show again.

    March 17, 2010 at 5:42 PM
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  1. malkinbister

    VegasChatter Member

    Hmm

    That wasn't as bad as I was expecting, but then I've read so many vile things today that my tolerance levels have been anaesthetised. It just didn't pull me in much either.
    March 17, 2010 at 8:01 PM
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  1. juliab

    VegasChatter Editor

    taken as part of the whole...

    agreed, that particular vid isn't so bad - i only got out the video for part of that scene because i couldn't quite believe what i was hearing.

    my problem with fator is when you take his show as a whole. by the time we got to julius, we'd been expected to laugh at a character with a stutter, at clay aiken's sexuality, and then along comes this black puppet who's well endowed, speaks funny and sings pants on the ground and gnarls barkley.

    no, it's not the most offensive thing i've seen by any means. but my issue wiht the show is this - fator's entire act is to perpetuate stereotype after stereotype up on stage.

    whatever those stereotypes are - whether it's these characters or the cougar or the stoner - i just don't find that funny, and i find it lazy. and when you're talking about sexual or racial stereotypes, or making fun of a disability, yes, i find that offensive.

    what i was most surprised at was that i seemed to be the only one not roaring with laughter at this stuff. hoping the rest of the audience was drunk.

    March 17, 2010 at 9:47 PM
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