Kevin Nealon's heyday on Saturday Night Live was from the mid-'80s to mid-'90s, so this 2013 release comes from the comedic actor's late return to where he started: standup comedy. By this time he had settled into a life of less demanding roles, like his recurring character Doug Wilson on the television series Weeds and his appearances in various projects from
Adam Sandler's Happy Madison production company (Little Nicky, Grandma's Boy, You Don't Mess with the Zohan, and many more), so consider it a way for new fans, and material-starved old fans, to get a taste of his act, even if the comic comes off as a bit rusty. It's the transitions that are the problem, with
Nealon switching topics in a clichéd style ("Did you ever notice..." and "But here's the problem..." are repeated to the point that they're noticeable), and while his odd, dry sense of humor is still the big draw, he's underestimating his audience with material that's surprisingly safe and spelled out. Still, when he hits the bit about "Celebrity Crop-Dusting" it is a natural and hilarious stretch that offers one belly laugh after another, and the racist misunderstandings that occur during the great "Skiing the Blacks" are piled on top of one another like some great, un-PC Jenga tower that's just bound to crumble. The hypochondriac-at-any-cost highlight "Don't Wanna Get Sick!" and the bowel-bursting closer "Shrink-Wrapped Enemas" are other examples of
Kevin at full force, plus "Good Sleeping Weather" is as homey as it sounds, anchoring all the man's eccentricities with a huggable
Nealon bit about blankets. Seeing as this is his lone album,
Whelmed...But Not Overly serves a purpose for fans, but the merely curious will likely find it aptly titled. ~ David Jeffries