Brad Stine: Put A Helmet On DVD

Brad Stine Put a Helmet On!

Brad Stine brings his unique, high-energy blend of conservative Christian values and sarcasm to the stage in his signature Christian comedy album, Put A Helmet On! Throughout this entertaining performance, Brad Stine puts the oddities of American culture up for good-humored mockery, mixed with a healthy dose of sarcasm, wit, conservatism, and the everyday events we can all find humor in.

A Style All His Own

With stylistic elements that borrow Denis Leary's dry sarcasm, George Carlin's abrasive but funny comments on the mundane, and Robin William's manic energy, Stine has a unique stand-up delivery. Stine shuns profanity, lands solidly on the right politically, and has no sacred cows as he equally makes fun of anyone who takes themselves too seriously. From teasing rural America, Stine later springboards to conservative and patriotic values that put him in stark contrast with many comedians who seem inclined to ridicule a country and society they despise instead of teasing a people they love in order to make a point.

And the over-arching theme behind Brand Stine's comedy is this theme that he is proud to be a Christian, an American, and a conservative and makes no apologies for being any of them, all of which became popular with Put A Helmet On!

Background

A product of a working-class Indiana family, Brad Stine got his introduction to show business from his father. A troubled home life that led to his parents' divorce, and a move to California eventually saw Stine wanting to perform on stage, starting with magic tricks as an early teen.

Stine recounts how his first magic set, a gift from his mother, set him on a course for his life that led to magic, stand-up, and even to performing stunts. His comedy, he reflects, began as background for his magic act but eventually became his focus.

Eventually, Stine began performing comedy-themed magic in Southern California restaurants and bars, later working his way up to a college tour with fellow performers Craig Anton and Emery Emery. In these early years, Stine appeared on the "Comedy Club Network" on Showtime, but as his career progressed, Stine left magic and stunts for comedy and acting.

Controversy

Brad Stine has been criticized for his outspoken conservative, faith-based materials by many in the media at large, some of whom claim that Stine's performances like Put A Helmet On! wouldn't be good enough for the mainstream market without using his faith to position him with supposedly less discerning Christian audiences. Stine remains unfazed and unrepentant in the face of this criticism.

When questioned about whether he's a comedian or a preacher, Stine responded that all performers are "preaching" something from politics to sex to lifestyle to body types but that what makes him different is that in performances like Put A Helmet On! he "preaches" Christ while they push their own, worldly agenda.

Stine has used his microphone to stand up for what he believes, challenging any who oppose him to a battle of wit and comedic jabs he's likely to win. Many Christians and conservatives seem to quietly agree that it's time an openly right-wing, evangelical, intellectually savvy performer used his platform to push values they agree with.

Stine likens himself to a conservative Christian Michael Moore but he fights for Christian values, which it seems to him are increasingly unpopular among politically-correct back peddlers who don't want to risk giving offense. Stine has become increasingly political as his career has developed, staying true to his conservative values.

Taking On Political Correctness

Brad Stine is no friend of political correctness, and he unashamedly attacks it in his Christian comedy stand-up performances like Put A Helmet On!, written material, and interviews. As outspoken about his conservative political views as he is of his faith, Stine uses his razor-sharp wit to slice into politically correct terminology and rhetoric that makes trying not to offend people more important than truth.

Hammering a hard line that Americans have become lazy and hyper-sensitive, Stine unabashedly defends a solidly right-wing political viewpoint that seems increasingly unpopular in the entertainment community.

Stand Up Albums

Brad Stine has a variety of comedy albums and Christian DVDs. While Put A Helmet On! is widely noted as his signature, breakout performance, it was preceded with The Creation Adventure Team, which he did together with Buddy Davis in 2001. Stine followed Put A Helmet On! with Brad Stine - Conservative Unleashed in 2004, Tolerate This in 2005, Wussification in 2007, The Best of Brad Stine in 2008, and God's Comic in 2012. Stine also appeared in The Apostles of Comedy in 2008, together with Ron Pearson, Jeff Allen, and Anthony Griffith. Stine continues to create new comedic material, but he has not limited himself to stand up.

Author

Brad Stine isn't just a comedian and has also branched out from Put A Helmet On! into writing books, as well, starting with Being a Christian Without Being an Idiot, which was published in 2004. Full of thought-provoking ideas and common-sense, relevant content, Stine focuses on "assumed truths" that dumb down Christians. He has also authored Live from Middle America: Rants from a Red-State Comedian and How to Think Right.

Not Just Comedy

Not wanting his reach to be limited to the stand up comedy career he launched with Put A Helmet On!, Brad Stine has also taken to acting and has appeared in a number of productions for TV and the movies. One film, Christmas With a Capital C, is a MOVIEGUIDE award winner. Trying to boost Christian movies, Stine has helped create systems for casting Christian movies.

Stine has also used his savage comedic wit as an author, but he's reached further still, starting GodMen as a conservative-focused option to the Promise Keeper movement of the day. GodMen ran its course but attracted hundreds of men with like views and values. Stine was later reunited with Promise Keepers, where he has performed numerous times.

Stine openly admits that his Christian comedy is a vehicle for conveying his principles, and as such is no different than the way many other performers pursue their own agendas and views from the stage. He confirms that he likes the idea that viewers don't even seem to realize they are actually being taught new ideas and to reaffirm established conservative beliefs from the stage. Stine affirms the role that reason and intelligence must have in the Christian faith, citing these as necessary elements in reaffirming the conservative values that have made our country great.