Customer Reviews

Looking Good

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Freddie Prinze's "Looking Good" is a recording of a comedy
monologue recorded before a live audience in Chicago in 1975. Freddie,
who had earned national popularity as the star of the 70s sitcom
"Chico and the Man," shows that he is a crowd-pleaser in
more than one medium with this great performance.

A self-described
"HungaRican" (half Hungarian, half Puerto Rican), Prinze was
an expert commentator on ethnic and cultural identity in the United
States. Freddie is wonderfully funny, and often talks about silly
topics on this CD. But he also uses humor to comment on serious
issues, such as poverty, crime, drugs, and representations of ethnic
minorities in popular culture. His comments on political figures of
the mid-1970s (like Gerald Ford) make this CD an interesting period
piece, but the CD as a whole still has a freshness and immediate
relevancy. There are many great bits, such as the story of Julio, the
Puerto Rican cook on Noah's Ark.

Freddie's humor is never cruel or
cheap. On the contrary; he seems to have a genuine affection for
humanity--in all its ethnic permutations, and with all our quirks.

One
interesting note: a partial transcription of the first several tracks
on this CD can be found in the excellent anthology "Boricuas:
Influential Puerto Rican Writings," edited by Roberto
Santiago. Freddie's life ended young and tragically, but "Looking
Good" preserves his bright and engaging voice.

Referring to
ethnic difference, Freddie says on this recording, "We're all the
same, right. We all have a heart. We all cry when certain things
happen, we all laugh when certain things happen." Whatever your
own ethnic background, expect to laugh when you hear "Looking
Good."

A great comedy album by someone who died way too soon. Freddie Prinze uses his experiences of growing up in ethnic New York to put humor into not so humorous everyday occurences.

WHAT A RARE GEM!I WAS A FAN OF "CHICO AND THE MAN" WHEN FREDDIE WAS STILL ALIVE. (I WAS 7 1/2 WHEN HE DIED, AND KEPT ASKING MY PARENTS WHY HE SHOT HIMSELF, AND WHY HE DIDN'T CALL THE DOCTOR.) RECENTLY, T.V. LAND RERAN THE SHOW. I DIDN'T KNOW THIS ALBUM EXISTED, BUT WHEN I LOOKED PRINZE SR. UP ON THE INTERNET AND DISCOVERED IT, I ORDERED IT IMMEDIATELY! I'M SO GLAD I DID! FREDDIE PRINZE WAS A COMIC GENIUS AND A NATIONAL DISCOVERY! THIS ALBUM SHOWCASES HIS HUMOR AND TALENT AS A PERFORMER! HIS HUMOR ISN'T CREUL OR INSULTING TO ANYONE EITHER. IT'S JUST HIS OBSERVATIONS AND STORIES ABOUT HIS AND OTHER CULTURES. THERE'S ALSO NOT A SINGLE CURSE WORD ON HERE, EITHER, AND THAT'S RARE! I LOVE PEOPLE SUCH AS RICHARD PRYOR AND GEORGE CARLIN, BUT SINCE THEIR GROUND-BREAKING HUMOR CAUGHT ON, HARDLY ANY COMEDIANS ARE "CLEAN", EXCEPT MAYBE BILL COSBY. WELL, WITH "LOOKING GOOD", YOU CAN PLAY IT EVEN IN FRONT OF KIDS AND REST ASSURED THEY WON'T HEAR ANYTHING INAPPROPRIATE! FOR ANY FANS OF FREDDIE PRINZE, OR ANYONE WANTING TO DISCOVER HIM, CHECK OUT THIS ALBUM! IT'LL GIVE YOU AN INSIGHT TO WHERE HIS SON GOT HIS GREAT TALENT!
ONE MORE THING INTERESTING, PRINZE IS NOT FREDDIE'S GIVEN NAME. ACCORDING TO DAVID BRENNER, HE WANTED TO BE THE KING OF COMEDY. ALAN KING TOOK KING, SO HE SAID HE'D BE THE PRINCE OF COMEDY. PRINCE WASN'T QUITE HIP ENOUGH, SO HE CHANGED THE C TO A Z - FREDDIE PRINZE.

I had this CD ordered for my birthday last year, and I have to admit it was one of the funniest comedy albums I had ever listened to in my life. Freddie Prinze was somebody that could have made it far in life as a comic, but personal problems and drug use destroyed his life way too soon. The man was the self proclaimed "Hunga Rican", and his ethnic jokes about himself and the "friends" he hung out with were classic comedy. Much like Don Rickles, he tried to make a statement about his race with his comedy and try to make light of all the real problems of the day. He also tried to show that "everybody was really the same" with his jokes. His jokes might been about him and his life, but many of us could relate. He was one of the best. His son could never be this good, and I am not knocking his son either.

If you are a fan of the "Chico and the Man" series, or a fan of ethnic humor comedy (Don Rickles, Richard Pryor, etc.), then his album is for you.

To the many fans that are familiar with the 2nd generation of Prinze name.
The first generation Prinze started out his career by doing comedy routines all over the world and how he went about the routines and some of his thoughts and ideas of the world are expressed on this CD, although he did do the Chico & the Man series and that was his highlight moment(Career), He also did One TV movie (The Million Dollar Rip-Off) in which was the only movie, but was his intentions to move onto this career as a 2nd career choice, along Comedy his love. If fans want to know the first generation of Prinze this is an excellent place to start.
DEBORAH ELLIOTT - Prinze Sr. was my mentor and I say it proudly.

I have this on album (remember them?). I was just a kid when I discovered Freddie Prinze and loved every little thing he did, which makes my review a bit jaded.

His comedy might be considered a little off by todays PC standards, but he had talent and made people laugh. Listening to this cd brought back memories of seeing him live (in elementary school, no less).

For those who wonder where Freddie Prinze "JR" comes from, this is a good lesson. Also, you could pick up the "Chico and The Man" DVD for a little more insight.

As a first generation fan of Freddie, I watched Chico and the Man when it first aired. I can remember purchasing this on vinyl when it first came out, and have kept it after all these years. It's great to have it on CD. Freddie was an excellent comedian, and I would highly recommend this CD. It is observational comedy with an ethnic twist. If you are hyper sensitive and extremely politically correct, maybe you won't find the ethnic humor very funny. But things were different in the 70's and I find nothing wrong in the way in which this was done. Freddie was very funny and didn't say anything inappropriate as far as I'm concerned. He is missed by lots of fans. Now I wish they would put out complete seasons of Chico and the Man!!

Tracks Include : Hunga Rican / Washington Heights / Survival / Hangin' With Nat / We're All The Same / Three Cities / Crime / Pablo's Bar / Lies / They Never Tell It Like It Is

I love this CD. Freddie was magical. I had it playing in the car and my children were laughing. They asked me who's that? I then told them the story of one talented comedian who left us too early in life.