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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Comedy Central dose it again!, July 26, 2005
Like many, I counted down the days until Dane Cook's second CD release "Retaliation" would be released in stores. A half hour after my local record store opened, I finally got my hands on it, the day of its release.
The packaging is fantastic. The case is in the style of previous Comedy Central albums where the package folds out to reveal two CDs and a DVD.
The CDs contain over 100 minuets of "new" material. I emphasize new because if you've followed Dane's career step by step, (as evident in the DVD) some of his material was used before, but not in his previous CD. The bits are very good, although there are some week spots, just like in almost every comedy CD.
As a loyal fan of Dane's first CD "Harmful if Swallowed", I found that one to be a little more complete than this one. Any fan knows how to quote "Harmful if Swallowed" cover to cover, and may find it difficult to do that here. You may not be able to quote some bits from "Retaliation", but that doesn't mean its not good.
The DVD is also very good. This contains MANY bits from the show Crank Yankers as well as Shorties Watching Shorties. In addition to those are two others which can be seen edited or unedited.
It helps to hear (and watch) his first release before this one, as he makes references to past bits (one word....shoes). Overall this was very well done, but not entirely up to par with "Harmful".
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Consummate Cook, July 26, 2005
To claim that Retaliation, the double CD plus DVD has been much anticipated would be a gruesome understatement. Dane Cook has been blazing to astronomical heights in the stand up comedy world as of late, selling out 5,000+ seaters around the nation, and is soon to break into the mainstream with a performance at Madison Square Garden, a substantial role in the upcoming comedy Waiting... and a television pilot being shopped around Hollywood. A loyal and growing fan base has been writhing in anticipation for Cook's comedic nexus, their eagerness ballyhooed by surprise website announcements and message board hype.
Finally Dane's knockout punch has landed and this monumental double comedy CD delivers the hysterical megaton blast as promised. His comic arsenal has evolved significantly since Harmful if Swallowed and Cook has pumped up his cool yet frantic, observational style on steroids compromising some of his polish and timing for a more bulldozer barrage of stream-of-consciousness tangents and absurdity which dares the audience to keep up. This is an even bolder, more confident Dane Cook unleashing the fury of his creative id onstage, exploring his limits with complexity of language, ("...in my periph." "BAMF"), concepts ("...a mythical creature poking holes in my exhaust") and structure (including an anecdote told backwards, "Tarantino style"). It is a marvel to experience a less inhibited Cook flourish within his own boundless mental agility and successfully infuse an audience with his highly acute uniqueness. Dane's brilliant vulgarity also persists and garnishes his bits along with hip references to Tekken, Transformers and He-Man. This is a virtuosic Dane Cook and he's hitting on all cylinders.
The DVD includes the remainder of his Comedy Central endeavors including the Bar Mitzvah performance, animated versions of older bits from Shorties Watchin Shorties, a more disparaging Dane chiding fellow comics from the roast of Dennis Leary and perhaps the highlight of the DVD, his improvised prank phone calls from Crank Yankers brought to life with puppets (watch Dane morph from a befuddled foreigner into a sardonic homophobe and dupe a sleazy car salesman to blow him a kiss over the phone).
Retaliation indeed establishes itself to be Dane Cook's chef-d'oeuvre and will satiate his legion of hungry fans. Aside from being an ultimate assertion of Cook's undeniable talent it marks a step in the development of his comedy and may possibly become a landmark in the turning point of his career as he transcends from popular comic to star of film and television.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
AWESOME, August 4, 2005
There are some bitter reviewers on here for some reason, I'm not entirely sure why.
Dane Cook's latest CD rocks my socks-- It has a slightly different flavor that "Harmful When Swallowed", but it is still very funny.
Much of the first CD was review for me because I unknowingly ruined it for myself by watching Dane's TV appearences on his website. I had no idea those jokes would appear on Retaliation, but it was still funny. My boyfriend and I were both supremely disillusioned by the DVD-- I didn't need to pay extra money for that. I thought it was going to be clips from his stand-up (though the Tourgasm promo was very good!), not blurbs from miscellaneous Comedy Central crap.
I absolutely loved the bits about wanting a legacy, the "nothing" fights, the car alarms, ect ect ect.
Like "Harmful When Swallowed", this CD is extremely quotable and is a excellent choice to play with a group of friends in your living room on a Friday night. SO FRIGGIN FUNNY.
I wouldn't recommend it if I thought it sucked, I assure you.
Buy it buy it buy it.
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