Lawrence is a storyteller, not a jokester, with a mimic’s gift for playing both sides of a relationship. Though he sees both men and women as walking sex organs, his humor lacks the misogynistic and gay-bashing edge of his idol, Eddie Murphy. There’s a sweetness behind the strut that tempers the relentless lowness of the material. Compared with his other role model, Richard Pryor, he’s earthbound: Lawrence’s mind never startles you with the uniqueness of its perceptions. At heart, he’s a traditional moralist, exhorting couples to communicate, kids to keep off crack and use condoms. Though he touches on some topical items such as Rodney King, Jeffrey Dahmer and “Driving Miss Daisy,” he’s at his best exploring the down-and-dirty revelations of sexual relationships. It’s when he’s closest to disgusting his audience, funnily enough, that he touches the deepest chords. It’s crude and sometimes exhausting, but when “You So Crazy” is cooking, it takes you to the other, liberating side of embarrassment.
