Starring Brian Regan
Stand up comedy is very hit or miss. It seems most recent comics rely on either excessive profanity or sight gags. Thankfully, Brian Regan brings back the time honored tradition of circumstantial humor and even adds a bit of linguistic fun that this English scholar can enjoy.
The Movie
With this movie, the main focus is stand up comedy, so there is not much to distract from Brian and his performance. This is good because a good comic doesn’t need anything getting in the way of the jokes. The set is minimalist and lets Brian be the star. This may sound like nothing, but I hate distractions in stand up.
Brian Regan is really funny. This is the long and short of it. His jokes range from the absurd to situational and back to strange. The common theme is misconceptions with spelling and words. While this sounds dry and boring, Regan has a way of making words and phrases that make sense to the rest of the world sound totally insane and nonsensical.
If I had one fault with Brian Regan is that he needs to vary his pitch. Some of his jokes sound monotone. Again, this is a small fault and the whole “Manslaughter” bit more than makes up for this small complaint. Check out this DVD if you are a fan of Eddie Izzard and are not a comedy snob like some of his fans can be. Brian Regan tells really well thought out stand up and there wasn’t a curse word to boot. Well, we all can’t be perfect.
8/10
The Video
The video is rather solid, yet there isn’t anything visually stimulating of note. The camera focuses on Brian the whole show with only a few pans over the crowd. With a good HDTV, the crowd is always in focus and the back lighting on the set is clear and crisp. The presentation is really nice and does a great job of simulating the comedy experience in an auditorium or theater. In fact, Brian Regan wears a bright colored shirt that really pops and keeps him the focus. The DVD is presented in 1.33.1 aspect ratio so the widescreen element really helps.
7/10
The Audio
Dolby Digital 5.1 is phenomenal on a nice sound system. The crowd’s reactions and laughter come from separate speakers giving the act a real surround experience. Even with factory speakers, the sound is crisp and even bold in parts. The DVD also offers a stereo option if Dolby Digital isn’t available on your system. My favorite part of the audio is the non overpowering nature of the act and the slight noise of the crowd.
7/10
The Packaging and Bonus Features
The box art doesn’t really stand out in any way. In fact, the box should have the title and the Comedy Central presents logo a little bigger. The composition features Brian Regan almost exclusively on the cover which is fine, but the casual viewer might not recognize him.
There are only two special features. This is my main complaint. Instead of including the encore on the main feature, the DVD has it as an encore. It is really distracting to watch 2 more minutes of stand up on a “special” feature that is part of the actual show. The other feature is a behind the scenes diary that really doesn’t add much to the DVD. I would rather have a separate comedy routine or sketch as opposed to the “making of”
5/10
Overall (Not an Average) 7/10
The Movie 8/10
The Video 7/10
The Audio 7/10
The Packaging and Bonus Features 5/10
Overall (Not an Average) 7/10