Review: Christmas Comedy DVDs

Having seen Andy Parsons (off of Mock the Week) live a couple of months ago as part of his Britain’s Got Idiots tour, the release of the DVD before Christmas seemed inevitable. For an in-depth review check this out. I re-watched the performance in its edited DVD form, and the process of cutting it down for the small screen has fine-tuned and tightened some of the material. This makes it a slightly sharper experience, but at nearly an hour and a half long it still feels bloated in some places. If you are looking for extensive DVD extras you’ve come to the wrong place. You get his Live at the Apollo performance as well as Parsons commentating over the top of the main show. The final extra is quite funny, but I won’t spoil it for you if you’re planning on buying the DVD. Britain’s Got Idiots is out on 23^rd November.

I also had a look at Lee Evan’s new DVD, titled Access All Arenas. Rather than containing brand new material, this is a compilation of the ‘best bits’ from all three of his arena tours. Evans is a massive star of the mainstream, and in the introduction to the main event he remains humbled by the sheer number of people who want to come to his shows and buy his DVDs. As a comic, he relies on his salt-of-the-earth sensibilities and his hyperactive style to get the laughs through generalised observations. He also flexes his musical skills on occasion, but most people are probably already familiar with Lee Evans so there’s not much more to be said. If you like him, that’s great, his new DVD will suit you, though you’ve probably already seen all of the material on offer. If you don’t steer clear, as it’s more of the same.

The extras are a little more extensive. You get highlights from a 1998 performance and a musical number. The final extra is an interview with Evans, conducted by Phil Jupitus. It’s revealing in a way that Evans did not intend. He constantly refers to his early days as part of the alternative comedy scene, throwing in the names of comics who have since made it big, but who still manage to retain a little credibility and edginess. It’s hard to shake the feeling that though he has surpassed all others in terms of popularity, he longs for the respect of his peers. Evans is not a ‘comedian’s comedian’ as they say in the industry. Access All Arenas is out on 16^th November.

If you are a fan of either of the above comics then you’ll find a lot to enjoy in their new releases. However, if like me you prefer slightly different brands of humour, then you might like some of the titles in the list of alternative Comedy DVDs I’ve compiled below. They aren’t all stand up, but I think they’re all worth a look.

Zach Galifianakis: Live at The Purple Onion

This show is a few years old now, and its star has gone on to bigger things (see The Hangover), but it is as a stand up comedian that Galifianakis shines. One-liners, meandering stories, improvisation and pre-recorded interludes make for a varied show that gets the pacing just right, and it’s not over-long.

Stewart Lee: Stand up Comedian

Often described as a ‘student of comedy’, Lee has certainly perfected his own style which has shifted from youthful anger to a more simmering, restrained form of protest humour. This show is from 2005, but hopefully the BBC will put together a DVD of Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle which aired earlier this year.

Brendon Burns: So I Suppose This is Offensive Now

I would say that the best comedy makes you think as well as laugh, but that’s not really true. Brendon Burns tackles the problems of over-thinking in comedy, toying with the audience’s prejudices and presumptions in a daring piece of well-scripted chaos.

Jim Jeffries: I Swear to God

Like many Australian comics, Jeffries cut his teeth on the British circuit, and this HBO special he recorded features some of his best material. Irritatingly it is only available on import, but you can catch it on Comedy Central in the UK.

The Thick of It

The new series is currently running on the BBC, but with the first series and the two hour-long specials available on DVD, a catch-up is recommended for those who missed it the first time around. In the Loop, the feature film from the makers of the program, is also excellent and sickeningly funny. The mix of political satire with mind-bendingly imaginative swearing allows The Thick of It to cater to high and low brow sensibilities.

The Armando Iannucci Shows

Surreal and relentlessly hilarious, these shows are over 8 years old now, but like The Day Today the relevance and intelligence are not dampened by time.

Louis CK: Shameless

Though he has a more recent show available on DVD (Chewed Up) this is the better of the two. Crassness and honesty are not hard to find in a comic, but genuine humour and perfect timing are much rarer; Louis CK possess all four.

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Again, the new series is currently airing on More 4 in the UK, but with a massive back catalogue of semi-improvised comedy with insanely complex plotting on DVD there’s no excuse to avoid Larry David and chums. If you’ve not watched it before it may take a little time to get into, and the first series feels a little slow compared to what came later, but it is one of the most consistently funny shows on television.

Phew. Let me know if there are any other decent comedy DVDs coming out. Also tell me how sucky my sense of humour is.