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Lifestyle Comedy DVDs
Chuckle vision Need help deciding what to watch on Boxing Day? Brian Donaldson reviews the best of this Christmas’ crop of live comedy DVDs
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Comic: Simon Amstell DVD: Do Nothing The show: The former Popworld and Never Mind the Buzzcocks host proves that behind the barbed sarcasm, he’s a vulnerable soul. Over the course of 80 minutes, he chats about his inability to find a good man and his oddball family. A tortured Jewish lad, Amstell is surely paying homage to Woody Allen with the trad jazz tune which bookends the DVD. Top extra: An interview with Tim Key in which the award-winning poet and ex- Coward does his utmost to undermine his subject. Rating: ●●●●● Comic: Stewart Francis DVD: Tour de Francis The show: Canada’s hottest one-line gag merchant entertains a London crowd with punchlines about his Scottish wife (he’s unmarried), how he murdered his parents (he didn’t) after pleasuring himself over their wedding photo (please don’t make that true). There are some confused-looking people in the audience, perhaps bamboozled by the overwhelming punnery and occasional off-colour bon mots. Top extra: Stew poking fun at Ricky Gervais during the post-gig Q&A. Rating: ●●●●●
Comic: Richard Herring DVD: Hitler Moustache The show: Herring attempts to reclaim the toothbrush moustache for comedy: after all, Chaplin got there first before Hitler (and Grange Hill’s Mr Bronson). But how would the general public react to a little man wandering about with facial hair that recalls the holocaust? With surprising apathy, as it turns out. Hilarious and oddly moving. Top extra: the plugging of shows on the Go Faster Stripe label, with clips of more Herring, plus Stewart Lee, Simon Munnery and Wil Hodgson. Rating: ●●●●●
Comic: Greg Giraldo DVD: Midlife Vices The show: a rather poignant experience this, given that Giraldo died just two months ago from an overdose of prescription drugs. You might have seen him on those Comedy Central Roasts ripping the dignity from the likes of Joan Rivers, David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson, and here he is in full flight discussing everything from the last presidential election to koala sex. Top extra: not an extra in sight, though there are bonus laughs when Giraldo catches an audience member asleep. Rating: ●●●●●
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Comic: Tommy Tiernan DVD: Cracked The show: when the 1998 Perrier Award winner plays to an Irish audience, it’s an altogether different affair from anything you’ll see in the UK with regional accents and differing attitudes across the Emerald Isle making up a large bulk of this 2003 set. The end result is a slightly muted affair, but even when Tiernan wields 80% of his powers, he’s a far better comedic proposition than most contemporary stand-ups. Top extra: an excellent interview showing us what drives Tiernan on. Rating: ●●●●●
Comic: Jim Jefferies DVD: Alcoholocaust The show: Looks like hanging out in LA may have taken the edge off the bawdy Aussie. Not that Jefferies has lost his ability to shock (if you’re a woman, duck for cover) but the scatological guile and wit have all but disintegrated, replaced by gratuitous bile and grime. And the gradual decreasing of his sobriety during the gig gets pretty tedious and blunts his climactic tale of helping a severely disabled acquaintance lose his virginity. Top extra: The promotional copy mercifully contained no bonus features. Rating: ●●●●● Comic: John Bishop DVD: John Bishop Live The show: A remarkably unimaginative title, especially given that the show is effectively a revamp of his Edinburgh Comedy Award-nominated Elvis Has Left the Building. The home crowd lap up the Scouse fella’s wholly inoffensive (some might say bland) story about following your dreams and go wild at the footage of ‘Bish’ playing for his beloved LFC in a charity match at Anfield. Top extra: Bishop hooks up with some genuine oddballs at the Porthcawl Elvis Festival. Rating: ●●●●●
Comic: Kevin Bridges DVD: The Story So Far The show: An SECC gig from the Clydebank comic whose star has gone ballistic after appearing on that McIntyre thing. Fortunately, he has the gallus balls to back up the hype with effortlessly amusing tales of watching telly with his dad and stumbling upon a speedy yet unlikely fame. And no one can argue with the intro montage paying homage to The Sopranos opening credits. Top extra: The inevitable McIntyre thing clip, where Bridges slows it right down to secure a southern fanbase. Rating: ●●●●●
16 Dec 2010 – 6 Jan 2011 THE LIST 43