Lewis Black: Black on Broadway

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that our world has gone to hell. We have an inferior health care system, high unemployment, a war in the Middle East that no one wants and natural disasters that kill hundreds of thousands of people. Basically, we're screwed. So what can we do about it? Lewis Black has a solution: get ticked off.

Black's shtick is to start most jokes in a conversational tone of voice and punctuate the punch-line by yelling it angrily. After all, he's the angry guy who's angry at the world. Think of Sam Kinison in terms of style of delivery and Bill Hicks in terms of social and political commentary. Black works the crowd with all the skill and experience of a veteran stand-up comic. He does a good job of going off on tangents and then laying on a zinger that references an earlier joke. He has a good sense of timing. He knows just the right amount of beats between the set-up and punch-line of a joke.

If you can tap into Black's misanthropy (and in this day and age who can't?) he is quite funny with some genuinely laugh-out bits. On soy milk: "They couldn't sell soy juice so they called it soy milk because any time you say soy juice you actually start to gag." It's not just his jokes that are funny but how he delivers them-in an angry, exasperated way of someone in danger of having an aneurysm. What makes Black's comedy work is that its core there is a ring of honesty that he exaggerates for comic effect. He understands and acknowledges that the world is supremely messed up and that there may be nothing we can do but at least we can have some fun complaining about it.

Lewis Black is angry. And when he gets angry, he yells. And when Lewis Black yells, people laugh. At least I do. A lot.

What exactly, you might ask, is Black angry about? For starters, how about the weather, the government, corporate greed, and the lack of clean water? Fortunately, Black is far more than just another middle-aged curmudgeon, as there's always a payoff to be found when he starts one of his diatribes. So if you're in the mood for some uproarious, laugh-inducing, bile-filled yelling, you should run, not walk, to the store and pick up a copy of last year's HBO special Black on Broadway. Right from the opening salvo fired directly at the audience, Black on Broadway is pure gold: misanthropic, brutally honest, frightfully thought-provoking comedy that effectively catalogues the staggering stupidity of human existence.

Black's signature style-profanity-laced rants punctuated by shouted punch lines that see him come one step short of becoming completely unhinged-finds plenty of fodder here, as this special shows him to be a satirist and social critic on par with such modern-day greats as Bill Hicks and Chris Rock. Early on, he gives us a pitch-perfect characterization of the two political parties ("The Democrats are the party of NO ideas, and the Republicans are the party of BAD ideas!"), coupled with a tirade on the economy ("It goes up, it goes down, it goes UP, it goes DOWN!") that's surprisingly spot-on no matter what your political leanings. Black really gets going later on with his discussion of Americans' obnoxious reflexive patriotism, the current misguided health mania, and comparisons between the current terrorism fears and the nuclear paranoia of his childhood ("That era was pretty f---ing scary!").

While I didn't really know what to expect when I got this DVD (I don't watch the Daily Show, so my exposure to Black was minimal), I really can't say enough good things about it. In a profoundly irrational world, Lewis Black provides a rare voice of reason, even if that voice is filled with rage and spite. While Black doesn't suggest much in the way of making the world better, he does at least let us have some laughs at the absurdity of our lives.

A man with many hats, outrageous, ranting comedian/author/playwright/pundit, Lewis Black is simply amazing. His dry, pointed rants are one of the funniest stand up performances since comedian George Carlin did his `seven little words'. Recently on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, here he gets to cut loose in his first HBO solo special - first but hopefully not his last. Filmed before a live - and very entertained - audience in Brooks Atkinson Theatre in New York City, it's one hour of absolute perfection! No frills mind you, but then would Lewis really have frills? I am sure he could do a routine about he told the HBO executives what to do with their voice-overs and behind the scenes segments!

From where is Global Warming where you need it?; US Government Deficit - and no one explaining where over 5 Trillion dollars went!; Lewis chows down on Republicans and Democrats alike; Homeland security; tax-cuts; coupons; travel to New Zealand; Corporate Greed; how to stretch you money; milk that isn't milk; bottled water and it's nutritional values; where cold air comes from; why his government stopped lying to him; George Bush; diet; how to live longer; and Martha Stewart's body parts!

His razor-edge humor is dead bang on target and requires repeated viewing because you are laughing so hard at one joke, you might miss part of another!!

Hey, my cat even loves Lewis! Seriously, she watches him like he is the god of Catdom! Maybe he is because he sure is the cat's whiskers!! lol.