Review: Jeff Dunham: I’m With Cupid

In under four years, Jeff Dunham completes his third special for Comedy Central which may sound like an easy task for comedians but, for my money, only truly the best of the best can do that may specials in just a couple of years. The Dave Chappelle’s, the Jim Gaffigans maybe, and yes, the Jeff Dunhams are part of the creme de la creme of performers that can come up with fully-formed specials in rather quick turn-around times.

Jeff Dunham: I’m With Cupid continues a recent trend for famed ventriloquist Jeff Dunham in that he likes to take a holiday or political season and form specials encompassing bits that have to do with that season. Christmas, Halloween, and even political seasons have seen Jeff dress up his “little guys” into various outfits that give the puppets a disarming adorability that works just long enough until they open their mouths and it works every time. This is no different from “I’m With Cupid”, with some of the guys sporting different outfits to reflect a season of love and affection only to be delivering lines of satire and pent up frustration.

This special sees the return of Jeff’s recurring characters including Walter, Peanut, Jose Jalapeno, Bubba J, and Achmed with no real cameos from Jeff’s treasure trove of one-off characters but because of some of the puppet figures receiving alterations in some ways it’s almost just like getting new characters, especially in the case of Achmed. While venues and networks continue to scrutinize comedy, Jeff knows his constantly sold-out fanbase, this one set in Tampa Bay, Florida, and Jeff makes sure to dazzle in some more conservative humor with Joe Biden getting a good brunt of gags thrown his way.

Most of the acts for the different puppets should be familiar with fans who have followed Jeff’s career this long and features a lot of the same attributes that make those characters iconic and accessible for everyone. However, this special’s Achmed bit seemed to spill out of control when Achmed starts to fall apart and ends with a fantastic sing-a-long at the end that to this minute I’m not sure was planned or not, but if you’re a Dunham fan I think this is the first “must-watch” Achmed bit I’ve seen in a number of years and highly recommend you tune in if not just for that part because it is fantastic.

I was really ready to review Jeff’s first 2024 special with a 7.5 score, but that last Dunham bit was something special to behold.