On DVD: Comedy Central Presents The Roast of Flavor Flav

 

 

Directed By: Joel Gallen

Roasters: Katt Williams, Snoop Dog, Lisa Lampanelli, Ice T, Patton Oswalt, Jimmy Kimmel, Carrot Top and many more.

 

What do you get when you get a room full of insult comedians and an easy target?  A Roast. Paramount presents the DVD release of Comedy Central’s Roast of Flavor Flav. The Roastmaster Katt Williams and fellow roasters take on the clock wearing, hip hop artist Flavor Flav in this extended show of 115 minutes of hurled nasty remarks where no one is exempt from a little roasting.

 

The Show

 

The word roast usually makes me think of something tasty, mouth watering, and juicy. Roast in the comedic sense suggest someone is being burned alive with humor. Insults usually make good comedy, as long as they are tempered with some good flavorful ingredients and as long as they don’t make up the entire comedic routine. If you go any further than a few minutes, insults become tired and old. And, this show becomes old really fast.

 

Conceptually, the show sounds great. You get some comedians together ready to hurl comments. You get quirky guests who can take jokes. And you put all of this in front of an audience. Executed, the show does nothing. It’s like taking the loads these comedians dropped into their toilets and trying to smear it on a canvass and pass it as art. (There have been art pieces made of dung that worked much better).  Rather telling is that the comedians have to read a lot of their material, which is understandable given that the routine is probably produced rather quickly. Yet, that leaves the comedy unshaped and untested by the fire of audience trial.

 

Despite being comedy from the ass end, the show keeps audience attention, much in part to the number of comedians who change up the scene. Too, the roasters take aim at fellow roasters and some audience members. And, everyone takes it in stride. I kept waiting expectantly through each comedian waiting for something that went beyond mildly amusing to bust-a-gut funny. Although talented people sat upon the stage, there was nothing laugh out loud funny in this Roast. Sure, there were some witty insults, but usually those aren’t so funny to me unless I’m the one who is involved in them.

 

Don’t get me wrong, I like insult comedy. I use it with my friends. But, for performance comedy to be good to me it needs to be rounded with various flavors of comedy: slap stick, whit, bawd, insult, irony, etc. Instead of this Roast, you’d be better off going to McDonalds and getting a Big Mac and fries.

 

3/10

 

The Video

 

Presented in full screen format, the video quality is of normal TV caliber. It is simply ok.

 

6/10

 

The Audio

 

In Dolby Digital, the sound quality is steady and good for a TV production.

 

6/10

 

The Packaging and Bonus Features

 

This DVD comes in a standard amaray case with a silly pic of Flavor Flav smiling on the front cover.

 

There are several bonus features of happenings that take place before and after the show. The lineup includes Red Carpet Interviews, a Backstage Pass Preshow, a Backstage pass post show, Flavor Flav gives a tour, and the Flav Cam.

 

5/10

 

When I realized that this film was directed by the same man responsible for the Ultimate Avengers II animated film the whole thing started making sense because that movie was pretty terrible too.

  

Overall (Not an Average) 3/10

The Review

The Movie 3/10

The Video 6/10

The Audio 6/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features 5/10

Overall (Not an Average) 3/10

 

-Chuck Knight