Zach Galifianakis: Live at the Purple Onion

King of the one-liner, insult comedy, strange lying-down comedy, meta comedy, musical comedy.

This is a SPECIAL special. This film of a Zach G stand-up set captures a comedian at the peak of his powers, completely self-deprecatory and self-deconstructive, if that's a thing, Zach is just plain funny. That's all you need to know.

The only moments that didn't work for me bordered on insult-comedy and audience- participation, the sort of moments normally aimed at hecklers. Just not a fan of that sort of thing. They still worked well to showcase how quick Zach is, because he bounces instantly off something the audience-member says into something brilliant.

The chief genre here is one-liner. If you don't care for one-liners, steer clear. If you've never seen a Zach G comedy set (like I hadn't) highly recommended.

Just like the most perfect representation of a comedian film, and yet it's so not. My favorite stand-up film ever.

Zach Galifianakis is probably one of the best comedians to come out of the scene in the last 10 years…he's definitely that good, he's a top ten without a doubt on anybody's list who truly understands comedy.

No, his humor is not always right there for you to "get." Case in point, interspersed throughout his stand-up at the Purple Onion (San Francisco), are "interviews" with his twin brother Seth from the South. These segments contain very subtle comedic touches and sometimes they even seem to intentionally protrude into the going-ons that are taped at the club.

But it's okay, once you realize that Zack/Seth is really a total nutcase which is evident when he deviates from his usual "jokes" and begins to engage with the audience members…there is no one out there in today's comedy scene that I know of who is best equipped to handle total chaos than Zach. I'm not saying that he caused nor were there any chaos present at the club that night…but when he interacts with paying customers, there really is no one out there in today's world that can hold a candle to his improv.

He chastises them, he loves them, he makes fun of them, he screams at them, and he wonders overall (out loud) if they even understand his jokes. It all adds up to one of the most unique and satisfying stand-up performances you're likely to see out of all the current "newbies" out there.

We gave up about halfway through this yawn fest. The audience was obviously drunk and/or paid to be there; they mimed laughter only as long as they thought they were in the shot.

You have to really be in the mood to get through this performance, because some parts of this 'Onion' sort of, well... stink.

Not that Zach Galifianakis isn't a brilliant artist. 'Live at the Purple Onion' highlights Zach's unusual approach to comedy and has flashes of genius. But unlike most stand-up releases, this feels very much like a guy working his material out, a dry run-through, if you will, not the kind of show you'd want to pay full-price to see.

The unfinished quality is obviously part of Galifianakis' shtick, but I found myself waiting too long to laugh between jokes and eagerly anticipating Zach's mockumentary-style moments offstage (as his fictitious twin 'Seth') than his moments on stage, where his dramatic stares at the camera were often times funnier than his jokes.