Directed by: Wayne Isham
Starring: “Weird Al” Yankovic
Weird Al’s latest show takes him to the far-off and rarely unexplored land of Toronto.
The Film
The Alpocalypse Tour features the Toronto stop of the same-named tour for Weird Al’s latest Alpocalypse album. It’s not all the new stuff though. Weird Al does a good mix of new and classics from “Polka Face,” “CNR,” and “Party in the CIA” to “Amish Paradise,” “Fat” and “The Saga Begins” (which is the best way to consume The Phantom Menace). The songs are all well-written parodies, and he covers enough genres for anyone to find something in the concert they would like.
The performances are very energetic. It’s hard to believe Weird Al has been doing this for 25 years. From running around and serenading women in the live audience, showing off his expert segway driving skills and even simply moving around at all in the “Fat” suit, it’s remarkable how lively Weird Al still is after all this time. Weird Al’s band manages to keep up as well with their own costume changes and playing off Weird Al.
The actual filming is well done. The film utilizes several different cameras and angles, with the cameras themselves moving around very dynamically. The audience gets to see the show from several different perspectives. Props go to the costuming for making the costumes look good in even the close ups, where that wouldn’t matter as much otherwise for the live audience.
This film is well constructed, and the concert itself is a fun and entertaining show. Definitely worth a watch for Weird Al fans.
9/10
The Video and Audio
The film is in widescreen, although the DVD case doesn’t list the exact proportions. The audio is excellently edited. All the songs are loud and clear. In place of the dead time between songs and costume changes, the live audience applause is seamlessly cut to from song to song to make the entire experience continuous.
9/10
The Packaging and Bonus Features
The concert comes on a single disc in a white standard DVD case. The artwork is pretty neat with a well-drawn Weird Al fighting the apocalypse with a sword in one hand and an accordion in the other.
The set is packed with plenty of extra clips. A middle portion of the concert that’s cut from the film is added in the bonuses. The disc has music videos of “Perform This Way” and “Polka Face,” both of which are also performed in the concert.
Also included are random and quirky clips from Weird Al’s YouTube account, as well as comedic shorts he did on College Humor, AOL and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. These are good for a quick chuckle to add to the rest of the comedic special. Personally, I prefer some behind-the-scenes stuff, but there’s plenty out there with Weird Al, so it’s not a big loss.
The main drawback is that aside from the extra performances from the concert that were cut from the film, almost everything can be found online for free. Some more DVD-exclusive content would have helped add some value.
7.5/10
Overall (Not an Average)
Weird Al fans will get a kick out of this concert. However, since the concert will probably be aired plenty on Comedy Central (it is a Comedy Central special), and most of the bonuses are online for free, there isn’t much added value to owning the DVD. If you want everything on here in one easily-accessible spot, then this is for you.
7.5/10
The Review
The Film 9/10
The Video and Audio 9/10
The Packaging and Bonus Features 7.5/10
Overall (Not an Average) 7.5/10