On DVD: Comedy Central Presents Uncensored

 

 

Directed By: Comedy Central

Starring: Lewis Black, Dane Cook, Jeff Dunham, Jim Gaffigan, Mitch Hedburg, Demetri Martin, Carlos Mencia, Brian Regan

 

Eight of the best performances from Comedy Central Presents. From the constipated rage of Lewis Black to the surreal ramblings of Mitch Hedburg to rude puppets here's almost three hours of uncensored stand-up.

 

The Movie

 

The programming starts out with Lewis Black. Lewis is a funny guy but when he's comparing Christmas and Hanukkah or ranting about Starbucks it just seems like you've heard it before. There is some funny stuff in there about candy corn though. Next up is Dane Cook, he explodes onto the stage in a black wife beater and I had a sneaky suspicion that he would end up bare chested before his bit was over. Unfortunately I was right. That aside Dane is one of the high points of the DVD. He's full of energy and all over the stage and pretty funny for the most part as he explains how he wishes he could spit acid like the alien from Aliens. Jeff Dunham and his menagerie follows Dane. The whole gang is here Melvin the Super Hero Guy, Peanut, Walter and The Jalapeño on a Stick. This may be the best material on the DVD but you've probably already seen it. Rounding out the first half of the program is Jeff Gaffigan. I like Jeff's self deprecating brand of humor. Of course he manages to put down the rest of the mid-west as he's deprecating himself, but as someone born and raised in the south I don't have a problem laughing at the mid-west.

 

The late great Mitch Hedburg started out the second half. Mitch may have had one of the oddest deliveries in stand-up, half the time he's not even looking at the audience. His eyes are closed, he's staring at the bottom of the stage or his hair is blocking his face. His jokes and one liners just kind of tumble out of his mouth. When one really connects he'll look up and flash a smile. Most of his stuff is simple observations and one liners but sometimes he'll string a few together but it's mostly self contained stuff. It's nearly worth buying the DVD

just for Mitch's segment. Following Mitch is a hard act and in this case it's left to Demetri Martin. I confess I had never heard of Demetri before this DVD. It always amazes me how much material gets recycled in comedy. Horror stories about flying and dealing with the DMV, stories about being raised Jewish or Catholic. None of that for Demetri though. His material has to be the most original I've ever heard. You get points for taking a chance but what it all boils down to is “are you funny?” Demetri's funny. Carlos Mencia comes up next. Carlos is funny even if he spends half his act explaining we shouldn't be offended by his jokes, but I never noticed before how much his delivery resembles an exaggerated Lewis Black. From the pacing around the stage to the hand movements, still it's pretty good stuff. Winding everything up is Brian Regan. I like Brian Regan. You have to give kudos to a guy who can make fig newtons funny. From yoga to eye exams Brian is consistently funny, of course I may just like the fact that half his stuff is about food. He's a fitting book end to the DVD.

 

7/10

 

The Video

 

The video is presented in full screen, the colors are bright and vibrant and everything is crystal clear. I never noticed any blooming or aliasing. Nothing spectacular but more importantly nothing thats going to distract you either.

 

7/10

 

The Audio

 

The sound is presented in Dolby Stereo, no alternative languages or subtitles, there is English Closed Captions, but the levels are good and the audio clear.

 

6/10

 

The Packaging and Bonus Features

 

The DVD comes in the standard plastic case with the locking tabs. The artwork in understated and attractive. The extras are kind of sparse, there's four Comedy Central Quickies which are really nothing more than commercials for Comedy Central shows, but they are funny. There's also the requisite DVD previews which at least with the Comedy Central offerings are at least entertaining. But it's hard to complain about a dearth of extras when there's almost three hours of stand up on the DVD.

 

6/10

 

There's a lot of funny material here especially in the second half. What really hurts though is that if you watch any Comedy Central at all you've probably seen a lot of this stuff. If you don't watch much Comedy Central though this becomes a pretty cool deal.  

  

Overall (Not an Average) 5/10

The Review

The Movie 7/10

The Video 7/10

The Audio 6/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features 6/10

Overall (Not an Average) 6/10

 

-Mike Young