Pound for pound, I consider Rodney Carrington to be my favorite comic. His "country" persona and accent are funny, and the jokes are quite a bit smarter than, say, most of the "Blue Collar" comedy or similar fare. He also has an incredible singing voice, which makes his "everyman" schtick even funnier.
The "trouble" I sometimes have with Rodney, however, is that his 2007 "Live at the Majestic" routine may forever be his peak (I consider that the single greatest stand-up performance I have ever seen). Nothing that has come after that has (or may ever) duplicate that kind of hilarity and success.
In "Laughter's Good", Rodney gives a solid performance, if not one that seems to tail off a bit towards the end. He perhaps is not at the top of his game, but still provides a great deal of enjoyment. As opposed to his other shows, there seems to be a general lack of energy (not as much bodily movement or facial contortions) in terms of physical comedy. It truly is more of a "stand in place" routine.
That being said, I still found myself laughing out loud on a number of occasions, and was entertained enough that the proceedings never got stale or boring. One thing I do have to give Rodney props for is that much of the material here is original (or at least I hadn't heard it before). Some bits are recycled, obviously, but this seemed like a "fresh" performance rather than something he's done over and over again.
Bottom line: This may not be Rodney's best-ever routine, but if you are a fan of this type of humor it will keep you entertained and laughing.
