Eddie Izzard: Circle

I know a lot of people say this ones really bad... but still I think it shows his comic genius anyways. There is so much great material, even though it does start out a bit slow. Plus I watched the behind the scenes footage and in the middle of the show there were technical difficulties and they had to have an intermission... so its kind of messed up, and they might have done too much editing. I wouldn't say its as good as Dress to Kill, but I think it is better than Unrepeatable. I haven't seen all of his stand up so i can't testify to all of the shows... its not his best but its definitely worth taking a look at!

i was greatly looking forward to seeing this new dvd of eddie's show from New York after reading the praise heaped upon him by our american friends on this very site. I love eddie izzard's material, and have a couple of his older shows on VHS, so what didn't i like about this one? Mainly the beggining of the show itself, i thought it took him a good ten minutes to find his feet, didn't seem to know where he was going a lot of the time, which in itself is sometimes one of his endearing qualities, but too much can make me feel irritated! A lot of the show seemed way under-rehearsed, which he does actually admit to on the commentary. Too much about 'God' as well i thought, needs to get some different topics going on, like he used to. Having said all that, once he got into his stride there was some very funny stuff: 'Chimps with guns', 'Stoned olympics' and the bit about Darth Vader in the Death Star canteen, was Izzard firing on all cylinders! Once i've viewed this show three or four times i'm sure i'll love it to pieces, but that initial first view was a little shakey.

I can understand why die-hard Eddie fans are disappointed with "Circle" because it really isn't as fall-off-the-sofa-my-jaw-aches-omigawd-I-can't-breathe-for-laughing hilarious as the likes of "Dress to Kill" and "Glorious". However, there's still a good deal of intelligent and extremely funny observation going on here and, like all of his stand-up before it, it's worth it 'cause it's Eddie and a true fan doesn't need anymore than that as a guarantee. But even those not familiar with humour of the Izzardeque variety should find plenty to amuse them on this show. The signing with chimps ("gimme a f***ing banana"), monkeys with guns and Darth Vader trying to order penne arrabiata in the Death Star canteen are truly hilarious and just what we expect from our hero. Yes, there are some re-hashed lines but the same could be said for most stand-up comedians and besides, this was released over two years after it was filmed so there's bound to be stuff that we've heard before but seemed a lot fresher at the time.

I agree with those who recommend that Izzard novices start out on the true path of comedy righteousness with "Dress to Kill", "Glorious" or "Unrepeateable" but if you've seen them and not "Circle" please don't pass it by because you've heard that it's no good. There's plenty in there to make you utter many a hearty titter and more than a few mighty chuckles and like a lot of Eddie's stuff it gets funnier with repeated viewings.

After a terribly dated and silly Matrix-style opening sequence, this DVD opens up with the show filmed live in New York Town Hall. Circle was the first live show I've seen from Izzard in a while and I was quite looking forward to it and was happy to find him on good form. His style is the same as it ever was, with perfectly scripted scatological material done with good timing and delivery that makes him such fun to flit along with. Fans have already noted that some of the topics he covers are similar to ones he has done before – God as James Mason, religion, the British Empire, Star Wars etc; but he doesn't really do the same things or the same jokes with these.

Instead he goes off on different flights of fancy which are witty and clever even if they are slightly more hit and miss than normal. One of the problems is that the film either doesn't capture the atmosphere or there wasn't at atmosphere to capture. The venue doesn't feel "full" in the way that a venue full of excitement can do but rather it feels full of people who have come along for a look. This feeling probably wasn't helped by the fact that technical problems with the sound broke up the flow for about thirty minutes during filming but regardless the audience don't seem to be getting into it and it is something Izzard notices with his regular references to "6 people jokes" etc. It knocks him a little bit at times and you can see it as he doesn't appear to be enjoying himself quite as much as his best shows but still he delivers it well.

Fans will still have much to enjoy here because Izzard is almost as good as he has been in the past and it is only the slight feel that he has done some of the topics before and also the slightly stilted audience that takes away from it.

I totally get it when peeps say that this isn't Eddie at his best.

I get it, but do you honestly blame him? Stuck out with those blimmin' dry humoured Yankies. I can feel like he's thinking' to himself "do I have to explain everything I say to this bunch??" and there is a lot of that going on. Like everything he's saying he's thinking too hard and trying to make sure they get it. But I think he's also conscious of this and tries to tone that side of it down a bit - god ain't it just a frustrating situation to be in?

I do like it, he raises some interesting stuff and makes a point of introducing a little foreign culture to an otherwise ignorant nation who don't even know what the hell's going on in their own town let alone their country and you can forget the rest of the world unless somebody tells them.

I can't imagine what the audience thought of Eddie and his great look. In england you're so used to flamboyance and decorative people. Unless you live in tiny village somewhere where the only shop consists of a post office and a broken down phone box...believe it or not there are still places like that even in Hertfordshire!

I wonder if Eddie broke throu the hearts of the American audience at all? He didn't go on about his love life, he didn't go on about wife beating, drinking down the local bar, he didn't go on about family or friends. He talked about really intellectual and fun stuff. I love it that he mentions World War 2 and Private Ryan unscared to touch upon such a 'tender' subject but without being overly offensive in anyway but just matter of fact. I love how different his stand-up is to most common sorts of stand-up. It isn't all "Don't you just hate it when" or "Have you ever walked down the street and noticed how..." or "I woke up one morning and found my wife sleeping with the milkman".

So although this isn't Eddie at his best it is still great viewing. He looks stunning (as always) in his leather and shiny black tight shirt get up. Very bondage come European wannabie cowboy. All he needs now is a cool hat and maybe even a nice little whip. And there are some very funny tangets he floats throu. At times I found myself laughing more at the bits where no one in the audience was laughing at and the bits the audience was laughing at I found myself zoning out completely feeling only vaguely amused. So it's a mixed bag full of fish (good and bad) and I say try it and then decide for yourself. :)