Lewis Black: Red, White and Screwed

I should be used to his sarcastic, insulting humor by now, but still am surprised. Don't tune this in if you're at all conservative (and certainly not if you're way toward that end of the spectrum) and/or easily offended. Otherwise, this is Lewis Black the modern Don Rickles - perhaps not vintage or at his best, but still outrageously honest at times.

Black describes his outlook well, but his insight into subsets of various American cultures from Jews to lobbyists (wait - are they different?) is certainly less than opaque in this hilarious routine. I find myself repeating the jokes - even translating them for relatives from foreign countries - to the delighted laughter of many. Linus Pauling - Nobel laureate in Chemistry - once said words to the effect that he hoped all the horrible racial epithets would be used to the point that they had no more shock value. Like Chappell and others today, Black certainly helps us all down that road. His commentary brings all manner of issues - contemporary to biblically archaic - into sharp focus, forcing the conflicted laughter over the human situation from Moses to Bush and Cheney. Highly recommended for repeated consumption.

I have seen this special and i thought it was great... he's political humor is just the kind of comedy i like and i think a lot of what he says is true.. i definitely recommend this special to anyone who like a good laugh and most of all anyone who dislike Dick Chaney or George Bush. He brings everything that is wanted in comedy up on stage with him.. he brings his jokes and his act .. his jokes are hilarious but the way he presents them is just priceless.. a lot of people think that it is not right to swear maybe as much as he does but it is funny and that is what the audience wants then that is what the audience will get and that is Comedy.

Mr Black needs to decide if he wants to be a comedian or give lectures. Either way he needs to increase his education because it's very difficult to laugh at someone so foolish that believes they're incredibly smart. More often playing, nay pandering, to the crowd and popular opinion he regularly forgets that he's supposed to be funny also. Big miss on this one.

I like Lewis Black and his ultra-high strung style of comedy. He certainly is NOT for everyone and his profuse use of the f-bomb is ample reason not to show any of his stand-up DVDs to your mother, children or Father O'Reilly. But he is terribly insightful and terribly funny.

That being said, however, this was my least favorite of the half a dozen or so Black specials I have watched. Most of it is because often his rants seem less funny than just angry. There is a fine line here and Black usually does a great job of balancing the two. But here I just found myself laughing less than normal. And, it's not just because the special features him bashing Republicans--you'd expect that since it was made in 2006 plus Black is also careful to say that the Democrats aren't a whole lot different. No, to me it just seems like Black was having a relatively flat stand-up routine...and that's okay since he has hit many, many bullseyes in other DVDs. Still worth seeing...just not one that had be in stitches.