Ajouter une intrigue dans votre langueGeorge Carlin continues making people laugh with his 13th HBO stand-up special.George Carlin continues making people laugh with his 13th HBO stand-up special.George Carlin continues making people laugh with his 13th HBO stand-up special.
- Réalisation
- Scénario
- Casting principal
- Nommé pour 1 Primetime Emmy
- 3 nominations au total
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You can tell that you're in the presence of a master here; master of the spoken word, master of the whole art of presenting self, master of how to glare, when, how to pause, how to circle and grip and snarl and move back from a prey you've left bleeding but only really teased. When you watch him here, what you're really going to see is a shape- shifting shaman; changing from incredulous doofus, to wily old pervert, to Diogenes the Cynic barking aphorisms at the Athenians, to hunched Svengali seducing our inner Trilby.
But to take so much knowledge of stagecraft and apply it to mere cynicism? To know how to take from wasteful surplus but not how to put back where it's needing? To be able to have been a teacher of the blackest, most cantankerous dharma and only be black and cantankerous?
This is like sharing a crack pipe with a genius. You're going to get hammered but none the wiser.
"Life is Worth Losing" is certainly funny. Only George Carlin could make topics like suicide, genocide, and cannibalism as funny as he does here. This is because although the humor here might just be way too much for some people to take, Carlin is a remarkable writer and speaker and his material is astonishing in its strength. For instance, the 'Extreme Human Behavior' bit, while it is mostly just a rant, not a joke, George is no average human ranting- he is a genius when it comes to the usage of the English language.
"Human beings will do anything, anything. I am convinced. That's why when all those beheadings started in Iraq it didn't bother me. A lot of people here were horrified, "Whaaaa, beheadings!" What, are you fu*king surprised? Just one more form of extreme human behavior. Besides, who cares about some mercenary civilian contractor from Oklahoma who gets his head cut off? F*ck 'em. Hey Jack, you don't want to get your head cut off? Stay the f*ck in Oklahoma. They ain't cuttin' off heads in Oklahoma, far as I know. But I do know this: you strap on a gun and go struttin' around some other mens country you better be ready for some action Jack. People are touchy about that sort of thing. And let me ask you this... this is a morale question, not rhetorical, I am looking for the answer: what is the morale difference between cuttin' of one guys head, or two, or three, of five or ten - and dropping a big bomb on a hospital and killing a whole bunch of sick kids? Has anybody in authority given you an explanation of the difference? Now, in case you're wondering why I have a certain interest, or fascination lets call it, with torture and beheadings and all of those things I have mentioned, is because each of these items reminds me in life over and over again what beasts we human beings really are. When you get right down to it human beings are nothing more than ordinary jungle beasts. Savages. No different from the Cro Magnon people who lived twenty five thousand years ago. No different. Our DNA hasn't changed substantially in a hundred thousand years. We're still operating out of the lower brain. The reptilian brain.Fight of flight. Kill or be killed. We like to think we've evolved and advanced because we can build a computer, fly an airplane, travel underwater, we can write a sonnet, paint a painting, compose an opera. But you know something? We're barely out of the jungle on this planet. Barely out of the fu*king jungle. What we are, is semi-civilized beasts, with baseball caps and automatic weapons.
It's not just about being funny at this point. Carlin has been there and done that. There is certainly place for a monologue like that in a stand-up show.
8/10
His opening, "Modern Man," is a four-minute mind-bending string of words (similar to the opening of "Complaints and Grievances") which is hilarious and almost unbelievable - whoever hears this and thinks Carlin is "losing it" must be kidding! After this he begins dissecting American life and basically thrashing about the people of our nation with his words - labeling Americans as fat, mall-loving idiots. And some might be offended by this, but that's why he's George Carlin.
Carlin may be getting older but I really fail to see how he's "falling apart" as a comedian here - I thought it was a great show and although it's his most bitter act I've heard, a lot of it is also totally true.
Le saviez-vous
- AnecdotesGeorge Carlin originally intended to title his previous special "I Kinda Like It When a Lot of People Die". But the terrorist attack on New York City on 11 September 2001 caused him to change the title to George Carlin: Complaints & Grievances (2001). Carlin intended to use the same original title for this special. But due to the recent disaster of Hurricane Katrina he again changed the title, but this time to something similar.
- Citations
George Carlin: I'm a modern man. A man for the millenium. Digital and smoke free. A diversified multicultural postmodern deconstructionist, politically, anatomically, and ecologically incorrect. I've been uplinked and downloaded, I've been inputted and outsourced. I know the upside of downsizing I know the downside of upgrading. I'm a high tech lo-life. A cutting-edge, state-of-the-art, bi-coastal multitasker and I can give you a gigabyte in a nanosecond. I'm new wave but I'm old school and my inner child is outward bound. I'm a hotwired, heatseaking, warmhearted cool customer, voice activated and biodegradable. I interface with my database and my database is in cyberspace, so I'm interactive, I'm hyperactive, and from time to time I'm radioactive. Behind the eight ball, ahead of the curve, riding the wave, dodging the bullet, and pushing the envelope. I'm on point, on task, on message, and off drugs. I got no need for coke and speed. I got no urge to binge and purge. I'm in the moment, on the edge, over the top, but under the radar. A high concept, low profile, medium range ballistic missionary. A streetwise smartbomb. A top-gun bottom feeder. I wear power ties; I tell power lies; I take power naps; I take victory laps. I'm a totally ongoing bigfoot, slamdunk rain maker with a pro-active outreach, a raging workaholic, a working rage-a-holic, out of rehab and in denial. I got a personal trainer, a personal shopper, a personal assistant, and a personal angenda. You can't shut me up, you can't dumb me down, cause I'm tireless and I'm wireless. I'm an alpha-male on beta-blockers. I'm a non-believer and an overacheiver, laid-back but fashion foward, up front, down home, low rent, high mantinence, supersize, long lasting, high definition, fast acting, oven ready, and built to last. I'm a hands on, footloose, knee-jerk headcase, prematurely postraumatic, and I have a love child who sends me hate mail. But I'm feeling; I'm caring; I'm healing; I'm sharing; a supportive, bonding, nurturing, primary caregiver. My output is down, but my income is up. I take a short position on the long bond and my revenue stream has its own cash flow. I read junk-mail; I eat junk food; I buy junk bonds; I watch trash sports. I'm gender specific, captial intensive, user friendly, and lactose intolerant. I like rough sex; I like tough love; I use the f-word in my email, and the software on my hard drive is hardcore; no soft porn. I bought a microwave at a minimall; I bought a minivan at a megastore. I eat fast food in the slow lane. I'm toll free, bite size, ready to wear, and I come in all sizes; a fully equipped, factory authorized, hospital tested, clinically proven, scientifically formulated medical miracle. I've been pre-washed, pre-cooked, pre-heated, pre-screened, pre-approved, pre-packaged, post-dated, freeze-dried, double wrapped, vacuum packed, and I have an unlimited broadband capacity. I'm a rude dude but I'm the real deal, lean and mean, cocked, locked, and ready to rock; rough, tough, and hard to bluff. I take it slow; I go with the flow; I ride with the tide; I got glide in my stride; driving and moving, sailing and spinning, jiving and grooving, wailing and winning. I don't snooze, so I don't lose. I keep the pedal to the metal and the rubber on the road. I party hardy and lunchtime is crunchtime. I'm hanging in, there ain't no doubt, and I'm hanging tough, over and out.
- Versions alternativesIn the original live broadcast, the audience's welcoming applause went on for so long that Carlin was unable to begin his opening joke resulting in several false starts. This has been cut from all subsequent versions.
- ConnexionsFeatured in The 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (2006)
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Détails
- Date de sortie
- Pays d’origine
- Langue
- Aussi connu sous le nom de
- George Carlin: I Like it When a Lot of People Die
- Lieux de tournage
- Société de production
- Voir plus de crédits d'entreprise sur IMDbPro
- Durée1 heure 15 minutes
- Couleur
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