Our Expectations of Comedian Dov Davidoff are Plenty High

In our semi-professional opinion, Dov Davidoff’s new stand-up special “Lower Your Expectations” couldn’t have come at a better time. In a world with people watching our every word, Dov questions life via an onslaught of observational and scattered views in a voice and tone we’ve come to envy. And after watching it, it made us wonder why anyone would lower their expectations to conform. Ahhhh, the good ol’ double meaning. Before his big premiere hits Fuse on February 13th, we had beyond high expectations in talking to Dov about his take on the special and casually, everything else altogether. 

OC Weekly (Ali Lerman): I saw you in New York a few months back but I noticed you’ve been back and forth to L.A. a lot. Are you working on some acting stuff as well? 
Dov Davidoff: Yeah, I was out in L.A. taping a show and depending on what goes on, that will determine if I spend more time out there. If we end up in a pilot stage, you know. I’m working with Bruce Helford who created Rosanne and The Drew Carey Show so, yeah, that’s what’s been going on for the last few months. 

I know you’re into acting and all but you never think you’ll quit stand-up right? As a fan, I feel I deserve to know. 
You know, stand-up is writing and you have a bit more control of it but as thesis, it doesn’t have a lot of control. Acting is getting work but is not contingent on whether or not the actor is booked or not. Or whether or not that pilot goes to a series. You don’t have a lot the control over your life and I don’t like that.  I’ll stay with it all but with that, I like to stay in business in other areas.

Totally get that. I know you’re pretty anti-people who live their lives out on social media because I’ve heard you mention it and not to be a girl with a dick but, I kind of noticed that you suck on social media. Is that why? 
[Laughs.] Yeah! I suck on social media! I don’t know, it’s like, I’m involved in other areas of life like, I’m a landlord in New York so for me getting on social media on an ongoing basis sort of is like, I have to think of something worth sharing and something worth mentioning. As it relates to social media, I’ve never found it fulfilling. That’s not to say there’s no value in it, it’s just to say that that it’s just so overdone and the market is flooded. In order to stand out, unless you’re doing something that you really love that is unique, the cost of spending time in that area is not great.

What’s your least favorite check-in that you see? Mine is the gym because it’s like, shut up about your leg day while I’m eating brownies.  [Laughs.] Oh yeah, if I see something like that it is like finding out at someone is a Muslim fundamentalist. There’s no common ground there.  That When someone does check-ins on social media it’s like, I couldn’t even imagine caring. Who is at the gym and what time did they check-in? No one should be caring. Just live your life. 

I love social media but I totally agree with you. There’s been a bunch of comic Twitter fights lately so you probably have it all right anyway.
Right? It doesn’t feel like a lot of positive karma. It seems like there is a lot of comparison, which is a form of self-abuse. If you have a message and something to say, I’m for it. I don’t know, it just doesn’t seem like the end result is really positive. It would probably be a good idea if I took some time out of every day to post something that is ideally positive. There can be value in that. You know, I went out and pitched a book and now I have a book deal so I’ll get more active when I have a something to add to the conversation. 

God damn you’re doing everything! You have a new special, a book deal, a pilot in the works, you’re a landlord…yo, you do a lot Dov! So I found this web page with a bunch of quotes from you and I thought maybe you could break down an explanation as to why you wrote it.  
Yeah sure! If I remember what it was this will work!  

OK you said, “MTV has turned more young women into whores than poverty.” 
That’s a good quote! [Laughs.] Yeah, it’s just the gamification of stuff, the way people react to things. The cult of celebrity. Brando said you need to separate a person from their talent to find out if they are a regular person or not. With these people it’s like, are you real a real person or not? Are you just going to blow someone in the hallway? What else do you do? Think about it!  

Well if you’re a teen mom you are. Those chicks will do anything. You also said, “Health food would seem healthier if the people that sold it looked less unhealthy.”
[Laughs.] Yeah I think I was in Bushwick at the time going into co-op food store and the guy behind the counter looked like a heroin addict. His looks I wouldn’t attribute at all to wheatgrass. Life is for a living, there is some balance so I try to eat good stuff but, the feat is to control it I guess. 

I laughed at it because at my Trader Joe’s the guys are dumpy but their beards look healthy as fuck. OK last one. You said, “I wish I could be attracted to unattractive women. They’re just more interesting.” 
Yeah well, if we’re being honest, go look for a Russian novelist that could also be cast in Baywatch. You’re not going to find it. That’s really what it means. 

Haha totally spot on. So I saw your new special and loved it immensely. How are you feeling about it?
My first hour I did on Comedy Central so this is sort of a comedic evolution. I feel better about the material in this special and it’s really like this evolution of whatever I was thinking about, running my mouth about, and hopefully I got better at the craft. I think the material is better on average. 

Don’t miss “Dov Davidoff: Lower Your Expectations” this Saturday (2/13) night at 11pm ET/PT on Fuse. For more info on Dov, check out his website www.DovLive.com, become a fan on Facebook, and follow him on Instagram and on Twitter @DovDavidoff.