Customer Reviews

A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Watched this on Comedy Central and can't wait to get the DVD. We loved the old variety show format (much like the Bing Crosby and Andy Williams Christmas specials from the '70s), right down to the canned applause every time a guest is introduced. Good variety of musical guests, too. And how can you not love a show that has the world's filthiest ode to nutmeg (courtesy of John Legend)?

A Colbert Christmas is a hilarious parody that harkens back to the good old days when every celebrity under the sun had his or her own Xmas special with the usual parade of popular performers making their guest appearances. The plots of these specials were always convoluted and surreal and Colbert delivers on that with one of the strangest Xmas special plots ever conceived...he is trapped in his cabin in the snow, unable to get to his TV studio in order to tape his Xmas special because there is an angry bear outside of his cabin. While Colbert remains cabin-bound, an array of special guest stars somehow make their way past the man-eating bear and visit him at the cabin, delivering some of the most twisted Christmas Carols ever put to music as means of helping Colbert cope with his dire circumstances. What follows is one of the funniest, bizarre and insane Christmas shows ever to come along since South Park introduced the world to A Woodland Critters Christmas. If there is anything negative to be said on the subject of A Colbert Christmas it is that Amazon.com promised I would get this DVD by December 10, 2008 and have now informed me that I will not be getting it until AFTER Xmas. When I ordered the DVD it was in stock and I opted for 3 day shipping and now the item says 2-3 weeks for delivery which is totally inexcusable since my account order still says it is going to arrive on Dec. 10. My suggestion is to buy this from Best Buy or Target and pass on getting it through Amazon.com if you want it before Xmas.

I picked this up as a surprise for my family after Thanksgiving to celebrate the start of christmas. What an incredible joyous time we had watching Stephen Colbert and his struggle with bears. DVD includes many special features including a video advent calendar!

I had a lot of fun watching this, I bet you will to.

A great special if you are a fan of Colbert, and not easily offended! This is a SATIRE comic - what do you expect him to do but Christmas satire? Some religious friends who like Colbert do not like this, but I adored it!!!

Where do I even begin describing how hilarious and just sublimely ridiculous this special is? The songs are hilarious, my favorite being the Channukah song with Jon Stewart. I love that mistletoe bit, especially with the bear. It's sharp and witty, of course- nothing less would ever be expected from Stephen Colbert or accepted by his fans. It's a great alternative to some of the sugary sweet Christmas specials out there. For the more protective parents out there, I'd probably recommend pre-screening it before deciding if you want your older kids/teens watching it, because there are references to drugs and sex and whatnot.

It is worth the price alone to see John Legend sing "The Nutmeg Song." You will never drink eggnog again without thinking of the Colbert Christmas special!! You have to see it to believe it.

5 Christmas Stars for Stephen Colbert!

A COLBERT CHRISTMAS: THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL was the first holiday special I watched this year and it did not disappoint. As always, Stephen Colbert presents himself as a jovial over-the-top traditionalist American blissfully unaware of the world around him. Actually though, this Christmas special delves very little into the realm of politics besides a "War on Christmas" song by Toby Keith early on. It mostly focuses on funny and original Christmas music as well as parodies of some of the classics. Musical guests include Toby Keith, John Legend, and Willie Nelson just to name a few.

I'm a loyal viewer of THE COLBERT REPORT, so I set this special to record on my DVR as soon as I heard about it. An interview that Colbert did on NPR last week that included some clips of songs that would appear in the Christmas special got me even more excited for it. I wasn't aware that Jon Stewart would also be joining in to ask Stephen "Can I interest you in Hanukkah?"

The plot is rather simple. Stephen is getting ready to leave his stereotypical winter cabin in the woods to go to New York to film his Christmas special with Elvis Costello. Much to Stephen's dismay, when he opens the door to leave he finds a bear (aka a giant, marauding, godless killing machine) waiting for him. After calling Elvis to explain his dilemma, many celebrities show up at Stephen's cabin for traditional Yuletide merry-making, while Stephen tries to think of a plan to escape his cabin and elude the bear's grasp as he heads to New York to film his Christmas special

Overall, I would highly recommend this Christmas special for anyone who likes a little satirical holiday cheer. It's certainly a must have for fans of THE COLBERT REPORT.

I don't own the DVD yet, I only saw the special on it's TV premiere last night. Thus, I'm not sure what types of special features are on the DVD. I'll update my review if and when I get the DVD.

"A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!" is a fantastic Christmas special sure to be watched not only once a year, but multiple times throughout the year.

Each song in the special has a great tune, along with very clever and funny lyrics. You will surely have the songs stuck in your head, even after only one viewing.

The music is the best part of this DVD, so do yourself a favor and download it from iTunes. The artists, all talented singers in their respective genres, poke fun at themselves with witty and subversive lyrics. The music is cant-get-it-out-of-your-head catchy, and the production values are first-rate.

The bonus track "Cold,Cold Christmas" is one of the better cuts, but "Please Be Patient" and "Have I Got a Present For You" are instant classics for the hell-bound atheists among us.

The video portions of the program... I didn't find quite as hilarious. But they are still far better than almost anything else on TV, and they are vintage Colbert. So if you don't like it then you simply don't "get" Colbert.

Or put another way: if you "get" Stephen Colbert, you will love this DVD.

This is Colbert at it's best. A satirical look at Christmas and all it's traditions with some talented people to help him out. If you like Colbert, you will like this CD.