Patton Oswalt is a comic genius, no question. His comedy is a careful balancing act: self-deprecating and insightful; cynical, but hopeful; cerebral, yet simple. He can explode into a masterful tirade of frustration, and he can skillfully take down blowhards with his razor-sharp wit. He is arguably the only stand-up comedian that can switch seamlessly from riffing on the mundane life of D-list comic book villains to finding the humor in tragedy. Yet his best stand-up routine took place on the sitcom The King of Queens, in an episode where he literally does stand-up… by standing still, in a ridiculous prank carried out on a dare.
Patton Oswalt Is Up for the Challenge in ‘The King of Queens’ “Emotional Rollercoaster”
Oswalt played Spencer “Spence” Olchin in The King of Queens, a character not unlike his on-stage persona: extremely nerdy, intelligent, good-natured, and awkward as heck. He’s the outsider of Doug’s (Kevin James) friend group and often the butt of the joke, which is why the prank in “Emotional Rollercoaster” works as well as it does. It’s a prank that Oswalt talked about on an episode of The Howard Stern Show, one of a number of weird pranks played on the show by the writers (in one episode, “Strike Out,” Deacon’s (Victor Williams) baby wears four different shirts, just to mess with the continuity).
As Oswalt tells it, the writers dared him to stand still in a scene, saying, “Do not move the entire scene. See if we can get away with it, see if anyone catches it.” They clearly knew who would play along, given Oswalt has a willingness to go-for-broke for the joke, and, sure enough, he did it. It’s the opening scene of the April 10, 2006, episode, as Doug sits on the couch, opening birthday presents during his 40th birthday party. Right there, standing behind Doug, is Oswalt’s Spence, completely motionless and staring ahead, completely disengaged. Even when the scene moves into the kitchen, Oswalt can still be seen in the background, standing like a mannequin. The scene stayed in, and the rest, as they say, is history. It’s an utterly absurd moment that is perfectly in character. The fact that no one notices, or even says a word, fits with Spence’s outsider role to a tee.
Patton Oswalt Thrives in Sitcoms Like ‘The King of Queens’
Dare or not, the brilliant mannequin moment in “Emotional Rollercoaster” speaks to the subtleties that Oswalt brings to Spence that elevates the character from simply being the “weird friend.” He works beyond the script, wearing the character’s insecurities on his face and in his manners. He’s not loud, but quiet and insecure, unless he’s championing his geek cred, passionately talking about comic book conventions. As a result, Spence is more than just a secondary character, but is instead an essential part of the show’s ensemble.
His role in The King of Queens showed off Oswalt’s comedic and unique skills in the sitcom genre, and time and time again he has proved since then that he shines in those opportunities. His two appearances on Brooklyn Nine-Nine as Fire Marshal Boone are brilliant, with Oswalt having crafted Boone’s long-standing rivalry with Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg), and his voiceover role as the titular villain of Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K. plays to his strengths.
Arguabley, however, his greatest moment came in Parks and Recreation as Pawnee’s Garth Blundin in Season 5’s “Article Two.” Blundin, a history buff, is opposed to changing local laws that have been in place for hundreds of years, no matter how nonsensical. In particular, an edict dictates that once a year, on Ted Party Day, a guy named Ted must be thrown into the river, all because the word “tea” looks like “Ted” in calligraphic script. So at a city hearing overseen by Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), he delivers a “citizen filibuster.” Not just any filibuster, but an improvised, eight-minute speech on Star Wars: Episode VII, which can be seen in its entirety here. It’s absolutely epic, and even led Jon Favreau to edit the opening of The Book of Boba Fett years later to mirror Oswalt’s complex story. It’s a testament to Oswalt’s brilliance with words, or, as we learned from The King of Queens, without any words whatsoever.