George Carlin - Complaints And Grievances details
| Format: | 18 DVD |
|---|---|
| Starring: | George Carlin |
| Genre: | Comedy - Stand-up |
| Name | Discs | |
|---|---|---|
George Carlin - Complaints And Grievances |
18 Feature |
DVD Information
| Run time: | 55 minutes |
|---|---|
| Rental release: | 14 Jul 2003 |
| Main languages: | English |
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Most helpful review
What Happened to Carlin!?
By Paul Meade from Rickmansworth, UK , 15 Apr 2005[Highly rated reviewer]
I have long been a big fan of George Carlin. As a previous reviewer has rightly pointed out, Carlin is one of a handful of American comics who, in the 60's and 70's, pushed the boundaries of stand-up comedy right to edge, thereby laying the ground work for the likes of Sam Kinison, Bill Hicks and Doug Stanhope to come.
And best of all, he used to be goddamn funny!
With his penchant for dazzling wordplay, his scathing wit as well as his leftfield hippy humour, this man could make you goddamn bellyache with the best of them.
In the 80's he changed his tone somewhat, as he adopted a more aggresive and ranting style of delivery. And guess what? That was funny too!
Carlin was, in fact, one of the most consistent and hilarious social commentators on 1980's and early 1990's America.
One need only listen to his kickass and laugh out loud 'Jamming in New York' from the time of the first Gulf War for proof of this.
So what the hell went wrong? How did he metamorphosis from a comedy guru into little more than an uninspired old man shuffling about on stage?
His current stage persona seems little more than; old grump comes out on stage and runs through a list of people he hates and then he curses them out.
He does not explore why he hates these people. He does not build any sort of joke or storytelling structure - instead, he simply declares that he hates random people and then curses them out.
The cursing is unimaginative and repetitive. (This is really too bad as Carlin is a master curser, having been more than once arrested in the 1970's for his '7 Words You Can't Say on Television' bit.)
This is seriously lazy comedy - a characteristic of his comedy since, at least, his 'You Are All Diseased' album in the late 90's. It is as though he had the outlines of a full show but he could not be bothered to further explore the ideas contained within.
Propelled on by the adoring whooping crowd, it seems that all Carlin has to do is turn up and complain to get paid these days. (BTW, Carlin was recently admitted to a drug rehab facility in California!)
I would only recommend this dvd to diehard Carlin fans, who are ready and willing to view evidence of the demise of a satirical master. All others, I urge you to do justice to the waning genius of the man and stay away!
Search out his albums of the 70's, such as 'Occupation Fool' or the aforementioned early 90's 'Jamming in New York'.
As much as it pains me to say this, this just ain't comedy folks, its just a once-brilliant old man who doesn't know when to shut up...- Was this review helpful to you?
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All reviews
(14)weak material
By jhd37 (3 reviews) from London , 02 Feb 2011George Carlin was a great comic, yet there's no doubt in my mind that the material in this set is much weaker than his usual standard - don't judge him solely by it, seek out other DVD's....- Was this review helpful to you?
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Hillarious as ever
By EvilSteve (5 reviews) from Glasgow , 24 Jan 2011George Carlin's brand of comedy, which breaks the rules of what should come out of a person's mouth, definitely hasn't diminished over the years. This isn't for people who are easy to offend (i.e. some of the other reviewers who didn't seem to get it). And some of the jokes are completely lost on us brits, who aren't familiar with some of the figures he refers to. I'd recommend this to people who like Jimmy Carr, Frankie Boyle and other comedians who like to step over the line a bit.- Was this review helpful to you?
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George Carlin at his worst!
By Julian123456 (1 review) from Borehamwood , 27 Jun 2009The first half of the show was embarrassingly poor and the canned laughter on top of the theatre audience got in the way.
The last ten minutes were Carlin at the top of his game but too little and too late for me.
A Mediocre performance.- Was this review helpful to you?
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RIP GEORGE
By a customer from Chepstow , 22 Oct 2008Whilst many of the negative views posted are justified I would like to point out that Carlin has been severely under-represented by Lovefilm.com. This is only one of his fourteen concert specials and, undeniably, his weakest. Placed alongside Pryor & Bruce in the Holy Trinity of Comedy during an incredible, mercurial, 40 year career I feel he has earned the right to self-indulgent ranting comedy. This style is the ultimate antithesis to his clean-cut image of the late 60's,
This special is still very funny, the clue is in the title 'Complaints & Grievances' but it isn't just opionated, bass material. Routines like the defragging of the ten commandments and the list of people who deserve to be killed are classic Carlin, anti-corporate and anti-religion. He was a perceptive social commentator to the end, he was seventy and in ailing health when this was recorded. I give this five stars because it is the valediction of a comedy legend. I recommend 'What Am I Doing In New Jersey' to anyone who was disappointed by this concert special but still wants to discover his best work.
*Whoever compared him to Roy Chubby Brown is just an absolute idiot*- Was this review helpful to you?
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OTT
By a customer from London , 24 Mar 2007I came across this guy on Channel 4's '100 best stand ups'. I was really looking forward to seeing this as he'd been voted high in the rankings. I was surprised to discover this performance to be one long act of hate for cheap laughs. Though mostly funny I was soon offended by one long and laboured joke where he seemed to wholly justify 'Hit and Run' road accidents. He lost not only me but interestingly, his live audience in New York.- Was this review helpful to you?
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