George Carlin: You Are All Diseased

You don't get the highest joke-per-minute count with this one, but the laughs are so deep and satisfying, their build up so artfully and powerfully crafted, that each laugh is worth a dozen of any other comedian's. George Carlin unleashes the most furious, malevolent, blistering rant of his career, all the while reaffirming his place as one of America's all time greatest comics. What's so remarkable is that I thought I already knew just how p***** off George was. His ultra-anger may be a put on, a device masking his true gentler nature, but you'll swear he's about to spontaneously implode. Maybe the recent death of his longtime wife fueled him in a new way, or maybe he just keeps getting better. Either way, its an hour of searing, raging joy.

It was only coincidence that I was watching this special the day after George Carlin died recently. I know there is a sudden rush now to see all his old stuff as if he was a relative who we never spent enough time with but for me it was just something that I had recorded and had taken my time getting round to. I'm not a massive fan of Carlin but I have seen parts of his career that I have thought were really smart, insightful and funny.

Although it has its moments and plenty of energy, You Are All Diseased is not among his better word, indeed it is surprisingly weak. The only other review on this site that has pointed this out has been roundly slated via the "useful" voting system and I imagine it will be worse now due to talking ill of the dead but it is hard to avoid seeing the show for what it mostly is. And what that is is an angry rant that is surprisingly weak in validity and humour. I'm all for angry comedy and I think the more acerbic the better but I need to be able to understand the point being made behind it, even if the routine ends up in extreme examples, if it is built on a good point then it works.

Here though too many of Carlin's rants are built on unreasonable points from the very start and it takes away from how interesting it is to listen to. It begins at the beginning with a rant against hygiene. In that he rails against the basic hygiene habits everyone should have and it risks losing him the viewer as one starts to think "well, hang on a minute" about what is being said. Here and there he makes really good points in his angry rant but too much of it seems to be anger for anger's sake with illogical arguments and (in some cases) hypocrisy, as the basis. What is worse is that a lot of the humour seems dependant wholly on swearing, shock value and energy to carry it. Of course this is not wholly a criticism because he does work this angle really well and the crowd do love him for it, just for me I was laughing at this and I didn't think the crowd were so much as they were "reacting" to the delivery.

Carlin may be gone but he has left behind him some very work from his career; problem here is that I don't consider You Are All Diseased is among it. Many will disagree and I salute them for it and think them lucky to have had more fun than I, but for me this is quite weak stuff from someone capable of much more.

George Carlin has been a legendary comedian for years but this has got to be his funniest yet. He talks about everything from hygiene, hotels, God, food, religion, charity, cigars, names, airport security, cops, words, you name it. He talks about it.

The show is extremely crude and politically incorrect, but it's quite possibly one of the funniest things I've seen on stand-up TV. Check you're local listings or see if you can rent this baby at your local video store because it's a show you'll never forget.

10/10

This is by far the best comedy show I haver ever watched. Thanks to HBO and most of all George Carlin! When I first saw this I said this was a classic right away! I finally recorded this comedy special and I happily continue to view it frequently. I must say that before I go into detail, that George Carlin is by far the best comedian of all time, simply because of his caustic style he goes for the jugular. Carlin is not mellowing with age. In this 60-minute rant, the 61-year-old comic brimming with vim and vinegar, Carlin sniped at everything you can name airport security, germs, cigars, angels, Harley Davidson, House of Blues, Language, Guy Stuff, Parents, TV., Names, and of course God and Religion and even children. Carlin says it best when America's leading industry is the quality and manufacture of bullshit USDA Prime Cut! I think Carlin can best be described as a risk taker who tells the truth, but keeps the cynical people such as myself happy. I also suggest you purchase the cassette tape of this comedy special to listen to as you drive your car! Finally all I can say is that I'm glad Carlin is holding on to his night job. He's a real stand-up guy. Please write or phone HBO as I did and request Carlin do another comedy special you will be sorry if you don't. We hope to see George again real soon.

what can I say this man nails it right on the head, whether it's religion, politics, or whatever else. We need more people in the world like George carlin,not only is George funny as hell, he is also a very intelligent man and I truly admire him, not only can he make you laugh but he also makes you think. The whole show is basically him complaining about things but ya know what he raises a hell of a lot of good points. I would put George right up there with Bill hicks who is also a great comedian/philosopher. If you haven't checked this one out you should right away, check out the video store near you and see if they carry it along with anything else by George Carlin, any chain movie store should carry his stuff.