Customer Reviews

Margaret Cho - Assassin

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

A lot of people are being critical about Margaret "turning" political nowadays, which is ridiculous because all she does is speak about her life and her experience, and everyone is more political these days. If she has anything interesting to say about politics, than by all means she should include it in her act. That said, here's my review-

She is much more connected with the audience here than with Revolution, which I'm sure a lot of people will be happy with, even though I thought she was great before. Most of her new writing is 100% political in nature here, and scathingly funny. Gay marriage, the moron in the oval office, the flavor of Laura Bushes' coochie, the pope's decidedly homosexual lifestyle- are just a fraction of the perceptive and hilarious material seen in this film. You pretty much know what to expect, which is something creative and original.

I have been a solid, die hard fan of Margaet Cho since I first saw a stand up routine of her on Comedy Central several years back. Since then, I have listened to every major release she has produced and have not been disappointed with any of them. I have read many reviews of unsatisfied customers and most of them are similar in their roots. They believe that she's too over the top. I guess they have forgotten that in history; some of the most powerful female voices have been women whose work is loud, controversial, and looks taboo subjects right in the face. Margaret's work is very confessional in every aspect much like the work of the poet Anne Sexton whose work spanned subjects such as incest, masturbation, sexuality, and sexism. How about Sylvia Plath; whose work dealt with suicide, sexism, infedility, and depression. It is my opinion that people of this generation have forgotten that there is in fact a point behind pushing boundaries; something that Cho does endlessly in her work. Like she stated in Revolution, a previous routine, "The function of art is to comment on culture". Perhaps those who claim her as being too over the top are those who simply don't appreciate art and its function in society, and moreover, don't respect successful women who are not nice about it, something she says verbatim in The Assasin.
In the Assasin, Cho packs a hard punch aimed at the right wing. When the unemployment rate is rising to unprescedented levels, the deficit has done way more than skyrocket, and we are fighting a war which is beginning to resemble Vietnam; how can somebody not be pissed off at the President and the Republican Party who is chiefly in charge of this country for the time being? Margaret addresses the flaws in government and society ferociously in Assasin and, as she always does, works to empower the underdogs (minorities); women, gays and lesbians in particular. How can somnebody not like a comedian who says "You know Laura Bush's p**** tastes like Lysol". Maybe that's just me.

I had the pleasure of seeing Margaret Cho's latest stand up comedy tour, Assassin in Los Angeles a few months ago, and it's pleasing to know that this ferocious comedian has lost nothing of her irascible bite. Now out on DVD her concert is bound to have all her loyal viewers laughing until their sides ache, and her critics - particularly the radical right - outraged at her irreverence!

Outspokenly liberal, feminist, bisexual, and a fierce defender of gay rights, Cho appreciates and understands the importance of sexual innuendo, often using unapologetic profanity to make her point. A ferocious Republican baiter, she is fiercely outspoken in her attacks on the right, unadulteratingly defending gay marriage and the morning-after pill, but never sermonizing or coming across as intentionally nasty.

Cho knows how to use biting, raunchy, and incisive humor to her best advantage, and she makes the most out of her demure, little girl look. Her stage presence is relaxed and playful, and she knows how to really draw the audience into her show. Her facial expressions are absolutely priceless, and her comic timing, honed after decades of public performance, is impeccable.

Whether discussing the dreariness of England, she says "it's where white people begin the whitening process," or the Schwarzenegger governorship "we didn't get punk'd", her manner is always "hey-girlfriend chatty;" it's just like sitting in her lounge room. Expressive and imaginative, Cho can make most ordinary and banal situation seem humerous.

In this show, Cho launches with predictable attacks on Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, and of course George and Laura Bush, and many of the jokes have a head-snapping cleverness. "Being gay is not outrageous," she declares, "and if you think it is, you're gay!"

The commedian is also a fierce advocate of free speech and she sees her minority status as an ultimate freedom to express what she wants. She basically says whatever is on her mind, no matter how irreverent or crude, and this sometimes involves a head-on collision between social relevance and unbridled honesty.

Cho gets away with every joke she attempts, reserving her most scathing criticism for the Bush first ladies, Laura and Barbara that few stand-ups would dare, let alone carry off - if only the women knew what she says about them, they'd probably be cringing in their shoes!

A Cho concert wouldn't be the same without her lambasting the hypocacy of current events: She wonders how abortion opponents can support the war in Iraq, where so many are losing their lives. She says Christians have no right to call themselves "Christian" when they show no compassion or charity towards gays and lesbians and their relationships.

Cho stands up for all the people, for she understands the power of humor and crudity to provoke thought, and also to liberate. She has something to say to everyone, and one can only hope that she is preaching to more than her choir of devoted fans. Mike Leonard September 05.

I have watched and listened to Margaret Cho over the years and found her brand of humor funny throughout. This time around, however, I find she has successfully migrated herself into that elite group of social humorists who are able to comment on our social status as a country and our politics, and do so with blazing strikes that are poignant, on-the-mark AND funny. Margaret has changed, and with this change comes a broadening of her boldness. She has taken the torch from the likes of Lenny Bruce, and she holds no punches back when she speaks her mind, be it about the rights of individuals or the brazen BS of our some of our right-wing politicians. Ms. Cho may be the one that she wants, she might be notorious, she could lead a revolution, but frankly, she IS one politically savvy comic assassin and this show is her best yet.

i love the fact that margaret cho loves to fight. she fights for what she believes in and she is not afraid to back down from the majority. i think that is her greatest accomplishment, her ability to vocalize for those who are oppressed and speaking out against those that do the oppressing. all of her dvds tackle similar rants but each one still delivers on the laughs. she has great imagination and charisma. i love that she has the audacity and the courage to speak out against the president and all of the awful right wing people. i really got a kick when she said that on the night of the presidential election, she pointed out that as the states became colored that there was a color coded map to where all the stupid people are. another great snippet came when she performed for all the republican hotel owners and she would not get off the stage. she is an inspiration to me and so many others, i wish that everyone she represents could be like her and really make a change, then everything would be great. the bruce daniels intro is worth watching as well. the real gem in the extras is the short documentary invisible son. i almost started crying. the dvd is great and on par with all the other cho videoes. i wish i could see her live again it would be awesome. but for right now i will settle for knock out dvds. thanks margaret

Why this show was so disappointing in comparison to her earlier work.

1. Her excruciating comic timing. Margaret makes bad jokes and not-so-funny faces, and when the audience doesn't go for it, she continues, hoping for the eventual applause. She gets it, all right--but it's more of a get-on-with-it clapping.

2. The Preaching to the Choir factor. I'll admit it: I hate George W. Bush. I hate the war in Iraq. I hate the assault on women's rights that's happening in our country. But to base your ENTIRE "comic" routine on it is stretching it a bit. And let's face it--most people in audiences are already going to agree with her, so it's not exactly like she's "getting the word out there" or anything. This level of political material made sense for her shorter "State of Emergency" Tour, which went around the country to various swing states (and kicked off at Harlem's Appollo Theater, which I saw--and which was far better than this DVD and should've been released in its place), but c'mon. Make us laugh, Margaret! WE KNOW BUSH SUCKS!!!!

3. All the little voices. I'm so tired of Margaret Cho's queeny-drag-queen-esque gay-male impersonations. They're not funny, they're not getting any reaction from the audience, and they should be phased out. And as a gay twentysomething male who does NOT talk like an aging, sassy queen, I can't help but feel a little alienated. It's all getting very tired.

I miss her INTELLIGENT humor. I miss the self-deprecation. I miss the humbleness, where she didn't have to precede her comedy specials with 10-minute-long "I love Margaret Cho"-fests from fans who do HOOOORIBLE impersonations of her earlier, funnier days' routines.

Basically, there were a few laughs in this DVD, but not nearly enough to justify buying it. This is the definition of a rental.

Margaret is KILLER!! SO real! SO RIGHT! DAMG I wish most people looked at this world in more of a light that she does. Just being open minded and remaining at peace. I LOVE MARGARET

I typically love Margaret Cho and her wicked sense of humor. Her edgy, sardonic, volatile way with words has always appealed to me. Unfortunatly, With Assassin, Cho has lost that charm. I actually sat down expecting to CRACK UP, but I found myself only chuckling a few times and one of the times was when Margaret famously imitated her mother-which is standard Cho. I agree with all of Margaret's political views and I find her opinions refreshing. I find myself feeling ostricized in my small-town community for having the views that I do, and it is incredibly soothing to find celebrities and people in the spotlight who can vocalize what I am always thinking. She vocalized everything....But, it was just too much for a comedy routine. I wanted to laugh more! If I was having a group discussion with Margaret, I would have appreciated her input and the views she expressed in this routine, but for a comedy routine it was lackluster.

Not really recommended unless you want to hear someone vent about Bush.

Margaret cho is no longer funny. this isnt stand up.this is just a liberally biased speech for 1 hour. get earlier dvds and ignore this.

I really loved Margaret Cho's first two concert films - "I'm the One I That I Want" (2000) and "Notorious C.H.O." (2001). She has always been a gifted storyteller, and some of her jokes about her family as well as her riffs on sex were hilarious. Somewhere in between these two films and "Margaret Cho: Assassin" (2005), Cho became increasingly politically edged. Her jokes now focus on lambasting conservatives and Christian religious groups. I'm pretty open to any topic being the source of humor, but the jokes have to be well-written and original or else it can come across as petty. Unfortunately, too much of her material in "Assassin" is stale - tired iterations of the same old Bush jokes. Of course, "Assassin" was released in 2005, so some of the jokes may have been a bit fresher then. However, even to this Cho fan, they haven't aged well.

A few jokes did score. Her impression of Bjork is terrific, and she can still tell a raunchy joke skillfully. Unfortunately, Cho is starting to come off a tad smug, even though I agree with most of her political beliefs. Making her political beliefs and activities the focus of her act is a mistake, in my view; she verges on pandering to her audience at times, and it overshadows the jokes. I'm curious to see how Cho in this age of Obama will change her act. I'm still a fan, just a tad skeptical of whether I will enjoy her future work as much.