Readers might recognise Guy Montgomery from his more recent television appearances; Guy Montgomery’s Guy Mont-Spelling Bee or Taskmaster NZ, but I first ran into him in his podcast in 2014, with fellow comedian Tim Batt – The Worst Idea of All Time – where the pair, amongst other things, watch the same movie every week for the entirety of a year. 

If you get those three pieces of media into your mind, you’ll have an accurate representation of My Brain is Blowing Me Crazy, a frenetic and delightful stand-up show. It’s a packed house at Te Auaha’s Tapere Nui for opening night, and the excitement is palpable.

A deeply charismatic comedian, in a very affable way, Montgomery jumps between comedic bits expertly, showing he’s Very Good At This, especially in parrying the crowd, who are beyond overjoyed to see him. From a series of drug-laced tales, to giants, fish businessmen and Clifford the Big Red Dog, we’re drawn along this frenzied pathway to the latter half of the show, which is mostly about Montgomery’s life as a stepdad to seven-year-old Olive.

This part is where the show truly finds its feet. While Montgomery’s smaller comedic moments are delightful, the deeply genuine heart amongst the jokes as he weaves a story about Olive, his partner Chelsea and a quest to buy some pyjamas is especially endearing.

As someone who knows maybe too much about the Bechdel Test and female representation in film, a bit I wholly enjoyed was Montgomery’s hilarious wanderings in that direction, claiming that he lives every day of his life trying to succeed at the Bechdel Test – something that you cannot and probably shouldn’t try to do.

With very specific clever delivery and fantastic rapport with our audience, Montgomery’s show is one not to miss this Comedy Festival. I’ve had a blast.

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