Comments on: Hilarity on silver discs

Question: Hilarity on silver discs

graytona — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 21:21:25 -0800

Please recommend some of your favorite standup comedy DVDs. Lesser known is good, but not outrageously obscure.

I'm looking to broaden my standup horizons with some new DVDs. My wikipediamanship brings up many names, but none of the personal recommendations I'm looking for.

All-time favorites: Mitch Hedberg, Dane Cook, Russell Peters, David Cross. British humour is great.

What makes you laugh on DVD?

By: mhp

mhp — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 21:29:08 -0800

Louis CK? Youtube?

By: mhp

mhp — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 21:30:22 -0800

Also, Demetri Martin?

Very Hedburgesque

By: Bookhouse

Bookhouse — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 21:32:55 -0800

Yeah, Louis CK is awesome. Shameless is the most recent one. Doug Stanhope's Deadbeat Hero has crap production values but is still great.

Richard Pryor did great standup films. Eddie Murphy's Raw is another classic. If you like David Cross you should check out Patton Oswalt. George Carlin's HBO specials (shoot for the early ones) are classic for a reason.

By: piedmont

piedmont — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 21:40:50 -0800

I was about to suggest Patton Oswalt as seriously underrated.
Any Robin Williams, Live on Broadway is awesomely good,but older stuff is amazing.

By: Paragon

Paragon — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 21:41:10 -0800

British you say? Rowan Atkinson's stage show is skit-based, but very funny.

By: philad

philad — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 21:42:26 -0800

Bill Hicks.

By: scody

scody — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 21:43:08 -0800

Oh my god, EDDIE IZZARD. Dress to Kill is quite possibly my all-time favorite comedy performance.

By: fluffy battle kitten

fluffy battle kitten — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 21:43:15 -0800

Louis CK - Shameless is absolutely worth the money.

Ron White - You Can't Fix Stupid
Ron White is hugely popular - however, he's also hilarious. Comedy Central frequently shows this.

Daniel Tosh - Completely Serious (Or buy his cd True Stories I Made Up which comes bundled with a dvd of his half hour CC special. True Stories I Made Up is a thing of comedic beauty.)

Bob Newhart - Button Down Concert

Patton Oswalt is also hilarious. However, it appears that his newer stuff isn't out on DVD. Pick up Werewolves and Lollipops on cd to get a feel for him.

By: katemonster

katemonster — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 21:44:20 -0800

Eddie Izzard. Dressed to Kill is one of the best, but it's all good stuff.

By: tracicle

tracicle — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 21:44:26 -0800

I love Eddie Izzard's Dress to Kill.

By: tracicle

tracicle — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 21:44:45 -0800

Heh.

By: katemonster

katemonster — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 21:45:29 -0800

Damn you scody! And you got the name right, which I failed to do. But I will attempt to one-up you by providing a link.

By: Mikey-San

Mikey-San — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 21:49:55 -0800

I'm pretty sure there's something not quite right with Zach Galifinakis, but the guy is hysterical, and this DVD is awesome:

Live at the Purple Onion

By: aristan

aristan — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 21:57:30 -0800

I am sure you are aware of Eddie Izzard. Most people know him from HBO's near constant 4am playing of Dress To Kill, but our favorite Executive Transvestite also has several other routines available on DVD. I really must recommend Unrepeatable & Glorious. Sadly, I haven't seen Circle or Sexie yet.

Thanks, because I was all nice and quiet and settled for the evening, but I'm listening to "Glorious" now.

By: mumkin

mumkin — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 21:57:33 -0800

Decidedly Eddie Izzard.

By: aristan

aristan — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 21:58:16 -0800

lmao... what the heck... like 9 of us all at once.

By: EndsOfInvention

EndsOfInvention — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 22:16:24 -0800

As if you needed any convincing, you can check out a sample of Dressed To Kill on Youtube (actually you can watch the whole thing on there but whatever).

Bill Bailey is good too, specifically Part Troll - similar to Izzard but more musical. Samples of his stuff (not necessarily from Part Troll): Magic Roundabout theme tune; Insect Nation; Acts of God.

By: gursky

gursky — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 22:17:10 -0800

eddie izzard, dane cook, and mitch hedberg are among my favourites...
but my favourite stand-up DVD is Ellen's "here and now".

i watch it about once a month, and laugh 'til i cry every time.

By: YoungAmerican

YoungAmerican — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 22:19:13 -0800

Chris Rock
Patton Oswalt
Louis CK
Zach Galifianakis

By: mewithoutyou

mewithoutyou — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 22:26:10 -0800

Jo Brand is my favorite British stand-up comic.

By: sharkfu

sharkfu — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 22:34:38 -0800

Richard Pryor: Live In Concert is one of my favorite.

By: hjo3

hjo3 — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 22:40:13 -0800

Seconding Patton Oswalt and Louis C.K. (Shameless is the funniest thing I've ever seen).

I would add: Kathy Griffin (esp. Allegedly), Billy Connolly, and Dave Chappelle (esp. Killing Them Softly).

By: micketymoc

micketymoc — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 22:49:24 -0800

Try Pablo Francisco. He uses his voice mimicry skills to great effect. He can perform Al Pacino's Scarface doing a drug deal with Kermit the Frog. Downside is, all his "dude" voices sound like Keanu Reeves.

By: miss lynnster

miss lynnster — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 23:05:34 -0800

Steven Wright I Have A Pony
Lenny Bruce
Woody Allen Standup Comic
Emo Phillips Live at Hasty Pudding Theatre
Ellen Degeneres Taste This
Bill Hicks Rant in E Minor
Margaret Cho I'm The One That I Want
And yeah, Eddie Izzard.

By: miss lynnster

miss lynnster — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 23:07:09 -0800

Oh, and I'll second that Ellen's "Here & Now" is good. That woman really is funny.

By: HotPatatta

HotPatatta — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 23:08:03 -0800

Lewis Black does great politically-themed stand up.
I'm a fan of Margaret Cho as a person and when she's being interviewed, but I think her stand up is awful.

By: good in a vacuum

good in a vacuum — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 23:18:45 -0800

Dave Chappelle's Killin' Them Softly (sample).

By: PhatLobley

PhatLobley — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 23:31:05 -0800

I am completely in love with Bill Cosby: Himself. Definitely a classic.

By: good in a vacuum

good in a vacuum — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 23:38:11 -0800

Oops, just noticed hjo3 already mentioned Chappelle. Well, I guess nobody's said Jerry Seinfeld. I'm Telling You For the Last Time is where he retires all the material from his TV show era.

By: mjao

mjao — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 00:16:40 -0800

I can't believe nobody's said Ricky Gervais Live - Animals.

By: panamax

panamax — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 00:45:55 -0800

We Don't Die, We Multiply: The Robin Harris Story has the Robin Harris standup bit ("[if ya] Gotta go, [ya] Gotta Go!") that totally slayed me when I first saw it on TV in the late 80s.

By: louche mustachio

louche mustachio — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 01:26:13 -0800

Bill Bailey

An example.

By: Neonshock

Neonshock — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 01:28:18 -0800

Seconding Bill Bailey

By: terrynutkins

terrynutkins — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 02:33:39 -0800

A few more British comedians for you:

Stewart Lee (writer of Jerry Springer: The Opera and an extremely sharp stand-up)
Maybe some Ross Noble? He's a bit surreal and chatty but very funny.
Mark Thomas is a political comedian you might find amusing.
And yeah, Bill Bailey and Eddie Izzard (Dress to Kill is great, but I like Glorious too).

By: paulfreeman

paulfreeman — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 03:38:20 -0800

Dave Gorman's Googlewhack Adventure is an amazing show (All his stuff is great) as he tells the story of flying all over the world in search of Googlewhacks. It's insane, a true story, and one of the funniest things I have ever watched.

By: unclejeffy

unclejeffy — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 04:32:56 -0800

Kevin James: Sweat the Small Stuff. Silly humor, but it cracks me up every time I watch it.

By: Jimbob

Jimbob — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 04:35:46 -0800

Go looking for some Doug Anthony All Stars - "Dead and Alive" is probably the peak. My brief Googling shows that's what is available is probably fairly unofficial or grey market - check eBay. Seriously, seriously funny Australian comedy trio in the 90s.

By: daveyt

daveyt — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 05:28:03 -0800

Peter Kay!

Northern English comic, that the southerners probably dont get/like/understand/care about as he has a "funny accent" and "sounds poor". He is very likeable, and his comedy is made up of usually stories relating to his family and growing up in a northern working class town. Its very gentle and he talks about his mum a lot. He causes minor riots on most chat shows.

If you want to understand northern english working class psyche, look no further.

By: lpsguy

lpsguy — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 05:52:41 -0800

I know his star has been tarnished lately but I would suggest you check out some of Dennis Miller's standup from earlier years. Try Mr. Miller Goes To Washington.

By: strangememes

strangememes — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 06:01:18 -0800

Brian Regan without a doubt. I haven't seen this DVD, but I have seen him live 3 times. I make a point of catching him whenever he comes to town.

By: nineRED

nineRED — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 06:55:14 -0800

Jim Norton - Monster Rain

By: craven_morhead

craven_morhead — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 07:14:53 -0800

Don't forget Dylan Moran

By: slimepuppy

slimepuppy — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 07:38:41 -0800

Dylan Moran is a brilliant Irish comedian.

Monster
&
Like, Totally

One of my favorite bits from Monster:
On men, women, and relationships.

Without a doubt, one of the funniest people I've ever seen. His bit (from Monster) about the French is also rather droll. This little clip from his series Black Books (with the equally brilliant Bill Bailey) is a little indication of the type of sardonic humour he's known for.

Highly recommended.

By: slimepuppy

slimepuppy — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 07:39:30 -0800

Agh! Craven_morhead beat me to it while I was distraced watching Dylan Moran clips on youtube!

By: ChefQuix

ChefQuix — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 08:07:19 -0800

Joe Rogan. Hilarious. Not sure if he has a DVD or not, but whatever I listened to was gutsplittingly funny.

By: puritycontrol

puritycontrol — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 08:09:23 -0800

Henry Cho - What's That Clickin' Noise?
Jim Gaffigan - Beyond the Pale

By: wittgenstein

wittgenstein — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 09:10:41 -0800

Seconding Brian Regan.

By: bristolcat

bristolcat — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 09:43:23 -0800

Seconding Jim Gaffigan.
I'm also a big fan of Mike Birbiglia.

If you are interested in stand up comedy in general, you might enjoy the documentary about Seinfeld's return to stand-up, Comedian as well as Steve Martin's book, Born Standing Up.

By: o0dano0o

o0dano0o — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:45:38 -0800

X-ing

Dylan Moran
Bill Bailey
Ricky Gervais
Jim Gaffigan

By: OilPull

OilPull — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 13:02:44 -0800

Always liked the first two Sam Kinison albums - Louder Than Hell and Have You Seen Me Lately?

By: Large Marge

Large Marge — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 13:47:45 -0800

Gervais' Animals is amazing. But also Are you Dave Gorman was a great program I saw put on by Dave Gorman (now sometimes on the daily show) about 6 years ago. Also I've heard bill Bailey is good

By: sambosambo

sambosambo — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 03:44:30 -0800

If you haven't seen Richard Jeni then you're really missing out. A big Steaming Pile Of Me is hilarious.

You seem like you'd also like Stephen Lynch. You'll see him on Comedy Central Presents every now and again, but that is not really his best effort. Check out Live At The El Rey for a decent show.

And now that I'm thinking of Comedy Central Presents, check out Steve Byrne as well. I've only ever caught his Comedy Central special, but it's one that I always watch if it's on.

I don't think you'd like Brian Regan. He's funny, and a great comedian, but doesn't quite fit in with the styles you've mentioned.

Also, even though I hate to give her credit for anything, Sarah Silverman is probably right up your alley.

Finally, (Ricky Gervais - Animals + Louis CK - Shameless)ⁿ

By: Serena

Serena — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 19:03:15 -0800

Jeff Dunham - Arguing With Myself

By: hjo3

hjo3 — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 20:21:16 -0800

Jeff Dunham - Arguing With Myself

The ventriloquist? Seriously? I (unintentionally) had one of his specials on while playing TF2 and was amazed at how incredibly trite his material is. Here's a quick sampling of the kinds of jokes he tells:
* "Marriage is an institution -- so is Alcatraz."
* "If you choke a smurf, what color does it turn?"
Plus tired, tired stuff about terrorists, 72 virgins, and viagra.

By: breaks the guidelines?

breaks the guidelines? — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 11:36:05 -0800

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Katt Williams. All of his DVDs are really funny, although he does reuse some of his material.

By: Gary

Gary — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 01:10:04 -0800

Comedians of Comedy: Live at the Troubadour, or their documentary feature which also has "Live at the El Ray".

Eddie Murphy's Delirious was re-released last year (I liked it better than Raw, but both are available pretty cheap).

2nding Chris Rock, with the recommendation to start with "Bring the Pain" and "Bigger and Blacker".

John Pinette is quite funny. He's lesser known and there's a ton of his stuff on youtube if you want to try before you buy.