Jimmy Carr: Being Funny

There is little Jimmy Carr says that does not have me falling about laughing, although I do judge each new offering on its own merit.

This particular DVD is as one would expect: crude, juvenile and downright offensive… so it should not surprise you in the least that I loved every moment!

If you like your comedy safe and held within clearly defined boundaries, maybe this is not the DVD for you, although I am sure we can find something suitable for you in the annals of comedy history.

If you have never seen any of Jimmy Carr’s stage shows, you should be aware that his TV persona is very much “Jimmy-lite” so if you have ever felt offended by anything he has said on television, you should possibly also avoid this… or any of his other DVD’s for that matter, but then you possibly would not be bothering to read this review anyway, so not to worry!


Were I a ‘stars and rankings’ type of reviewer, I would very much put this near the top of my chart with full stars – absolutely brilliant!

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‘Tis a simple process!

John Bishop: Sunshine Tour

There is no getting away from the fact that John Bishop is every ounce comic genius. That said, I do wonder how much longevity there is in the character of “Working class scouser makes good” he portrays. Yes, this DVD was very funny and although it was one I borrowed for the purpose of this review I will be buying it myself at some point, but I do feel as though he needs to come up with something new for the coming year in order to hold on to his current position as one of the best comedians on the circuit.

But I am digressing…

Plenty of new material, mixed with a little of the stuff we have been seeing on his many television appearances throughout the year, but not so much that you have that “Seen it before” feeling.

A great offering from a brilliant entertainer; most definitely worth buying and watching many times!

Greg Davies: Firing Cheeseballs at a Dog

Pretty much as one would expect, this DVD is brilliant!

Greg Davies' delivery is brilliant; methodical, deliberate and engaging; drawing the audience completely into his world and making feel complete empathy towards him.

There are a few emotional moments within this performance which I would like to think are real, although the cynical side of me would suggest that they might simply be part of the act – I have to say I would feel incredibly cheated of my own emotional investment in his tales were I to discover this were the case, though!

I have so much more to say (as I am sure you will expect!) but I am keeping these short so as to get them all done in a timely fashion!

I know people are wanting to know what to buy and Christmas is almost upon us, so I will simply close by saying that if you appreciate a good, hearty laugh this should definitely be on your Christmas list.

Sarah Millican: Chatterbox Live

I have to admit to being slightly disappointed in this offering. I wondered at first if maybe my mood wasn’t right when I’d watched it, but have tried several times and it’s still not grabbing me, I have to say.

Don’t get me wrong, I find Sarah Millican very funny. I love that she punches the conventional image of a female comedian square in the face and pushes boundaries as she does. I find that on every panel show, every radio show and every television appearance she makes me laugh endlessly, but I honestly found my interest waning part way through this performance. The main problem for me was that there seemed little new material at all. In fact, some of the set we see on the DVD is the same material she was doing when we first saw her emerge on the circuit. And yes, ok, that stuff was funny – but we heard it already. Now it’s getting a little old, I’m afraid.

I don’t want it to seem like I didn’t laugh at all, because I did. There were chuckles, but mostly accompanied with the thought of “when’s she getting to some new stuff?” I couldn’t help but think that with the benefit of a section of completely new material the use of the old stuff would have been more bearable but that was not really forthcoming. There seemed far too much time dedicated to a section of audience participation, too. Performances almost solely dependant on the audience do not really fit well on a DVD simply because the audience at home do not have the investment in it. Maybe that is the problem, perhaps it just doesn’t translate to DVD well? Although you would think someone would have advised her thus before allowing her to put the effort into making this first offering.

Or maybe I missed something myself. It is possible that having watched it four times the whole point still eludes me.

Either way, this one disappointment will not colour my opinion of her; I do feel she has much to offer the comedy world, just maybe not on this occasion.

Milton Jones – Lion Whisperer

In the interests of disclosure, I should say from the outset that Milton Jones makes me fall about with laughter at every television and radio appearance. It will not surprise you, then, to hear that I loved this dvd!

His quick-fire delivery is not for all, I admit; and I do prefer to watch/listen to Jones alone… not for the reasons you might think! – but because invariably someone will make a noise, I will miss an entire joke and that is it!

I do appreciate that such a paced performance can be hard for some to keep up with; a fact of which I am hugely aware after the hub-creature sat stoically throughout, unable to process the puns and missing out on the laughs, so maybe this isn’t for anyone with any kind of diminished brain function, but for everyone else – freakin’ hilarious!

I absolutely love the way Jones is so effortless in his performance, flowing seamlessly from one subject to another with seldom a pause. There is something quite ethereal about the way he does this without creating an air of chaos and discord.

As you would expect, this performance gives nothing especially challenging, nothing contraversial and nothing unsuitable for younger kids; the laughs just roll in one after another, giving the viewer the opportunity to relax and just allow the laughter to happen.

Absolutely brilliant!!

You know the drill:

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