Customer Reviews

Just for Laughs: Stand Up, Vol. 1 - Best of the Uptown Comics

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This is a large sampling of the routines of African-American comics performing at Montreal's Annual Comedy Festival. All the comics who come to that kinder, gentler Country have apparently been told to keep their acts relatively clean for the purposes of the Festival. I appreciated that. I think I was able to enjoy the jokes more and like the comics better than if I'd been plopped down in the middle of their raunchier American routines.

There was also a lack of any pointed cultural and political commentary though - and that I did miss. There was no telling truth to power here. Even Wanda Sykes, who so often shreds the hypocrisy of our oh-so-appropriate, commiserating reactions to all sorts of tragedies - just maintained a more bland, personal tone.

George Wallace started to develop what could be for him a trademark catch-phrase similar to Jeff Foxworthy's "You might be a redneck... Wallace talked about "Things you never see." Under this heading, he mentioned, for example, the fact that you never see a BlockBuster's being built. You always just drive by and - there it is. And you're left to lamely comment, "When did they put that there?"
That was a good observation. It has left me looking for other things that just mysteriously appear.

So I recommend this tape. It will give you a good evening's worth of fun. However - skip the Bonus Materials on the DVD. That spoiled my good humor. Somebody named "Binder" conducts an interview with Sinbad that is so lame, it's unbelievable. Sinbad struggles valiantly to make the best of it - but I don't know if Binder is a Canadian joke or if he's for real. Either way - steer clear of the whole mess. Just let the comics' prepared routines leave you laughing.

Some comics were really good and some weren't, but the ones who weren't were usually the ones who didn't "know their audience." Be able to relate to your audience and talk about something they'd care about. The "black jokes" get stale in black comedy clubs so I'm really confused about why they were told in Montreal.

Dave Chapelle: I'm one of the very few people who is not amused by him. I've tried. I've watched his show and a couple comedy standup scenes, but he just didn't do it for me. He was much better on this DVD though. There were two performances from him (at the beginning and again at the end). The second routine was weak, and the n-word jokes could've been left out (they're NEVER funny). Neither routine was anything I'd want to hear twice, but it was OK.

Patrice Oneal: I know he passed recently, but I just don't feel guilty saying I'm not into his comedy. He's vulgar and offensive, and all of his jokes fell flat. It is what it is. R.I.P. though.

George Wallace: He started off REALLY slow. My head dropped when he went into how much he loves chicken. Thanks for backing up the stereotypes. We appreciate it...yeah NOT. But he picked up considerably toward the end when he started making jokes about why meteorologists are always wrong (although I'm Team Tom Skilling) and things he doesn't understand.

Reggie McFadden: *crickets* Why is he there at all? Next.

Sheryl Underwood: She is ALWAYS over the top and never funny. I really think she should go into another profession and definitely not politics with all that "don't insult my president" defending of former Pres. George Bush. And who goes to Montreal to say they're scared of white people and bringing yet another inexplicable purse onstage! Her reason for the purse "white people steal." She's probably the only comedian who I would never ever in my next lifetime enjoy seeing. Well, there are a few others, but she's at the top of the list.

John Henton: I love Overton so I expected him to be really good. And he wasn't. At all. That caught me totally off-guard.

Sinbad: More often than not, he's always funny. I loved his reality show with his kids, and he usually tells family friendly jokes. He seemed to be the one who would fit in most with this crowd. One of the best things he did was actually talk about Montreal (unfinished sidewalks, distance in blocks). He went with logic instead of relying on predictable black jokes.

Alonzo Bodden: I'd never heard of him, but he was REALLY good. He mainly talked about getting stuck in the friend zone with women, but he did his jokes in a way that he didn't offend the women in the crowd but stuck up for men. I really liked him. I'd check him out on other shows.

Bruce Bruce: I'm bored with him telling fat jokes. That's his entire act every single time. I started not to watch him at all, but I wanted to see if he was going to say anything funny. He didn't.

Renee Hicks: After she left the stage, I was thinking, "What did she say again?" Nothing stuck. She wasn't funny. Next.

Wanda Sykes: I am Team Wanda all day long. She has yet to do a stand-up routine that I have not enjoyed. Her and Chris Rock will always be in my top five comedians. She does complain about marriage quite a bit, but she manages to find a creative way to do it every time. I loved her cat jokes, mainly because I do NOT care for cats.

David Alen Grier: I've tried to get into his comedy since the "In Living Color" days. He's animated but he doesn't do it for me.

Steve Harvey: I really like Steve Harvey when he doesn't overdo a joke. He's done jokes on other shows that were funny but after repeating them over and over again, it was overkill so I'm never quite sure whether I'm going to like his routine. But this time around he did a great job. Plus, I got tired of people asking me "Did you go snorkeling?" when I went to Maui recently. THIS makes me think I didn't miss a thing by not going. He was another comic, like Sinbad, who understood his audience and talked about things that the audience could relate to, black or white.

LOL. Really. I laughed my BLEEP off!

Buy it. You will like it.