Jeff Dunham: Arguing with Myself

Jeff Dunham: Arguing with Myself (2006) is the stand-up special you can watch online on iFILM. One ventriloquist, a suitcase of puppets, and an hour spent literally bickering with himself on stage.

Filmed live in Arizona, the set runs about sixty minutes. Dunham brings out his regulars: Walter, the arms-folded retiree who hates everything; Peanut, a hyperactive purple troublemaker; José Jalapeño on a Stick, the deadpan pepper; and Bubba J, a beer-loving NASCAR redneck. The puppets trade insults, push jokes right up to the line, and take swings at the American Dream while Dunham barely keeps up. The trick underneath it all: his lips never move, yet five voices fill the room.

This is the hour that pulled Dunham out of club obscurity and onto Comedy Central, on his way to becoming one of the highest-grossing comics working. He took an old parlor art and rewired it for crowd-pleasing, dirty-but-harmless laughs. Best for fans of character bits over topical punchlines. Stream Jeff Dunham: Arguing with Myself (2006) online on iFILM.