Re-watching Arguing with Myself nearly two decades later is a strange experience. The production quality is standard-definition. The crowd wear baggy Fubu jerseys. Cell phones are tiny bricks.
Before 2006, Dunham had spent decades perfecting his craft, having started ventriloquism at the age of eight. While he was already successful on the touring circuit, Arguing with Myself served as his first self-produced television special. Jeff Dunham- Arguing with Myself
The title Arguing with Myself is genius in its simplicity. Unlike traditional ventriloquists who pretend the dummy is a separate, magical being, Dunham leans into the absurdity. The "argument" is the friction between Dunham (the straight man) and his cast of characters (the hecklers). The special captures the feeling of a man losing a debate to a pile of silicone and cloth. Re-watching Arguing with Myself nearly two decades later