Saying there is an “elephant in the room” often means someone is ignoring some enormously obvious truth. To say that Patrice O’Neal can be ignored is foolish…and to say that he speaks the truth…well, you’d have to be pretty jaded to take this man seriously when he flips one PC view of the relationships between men and women on their heads.
The less enlightened viewers might write off O’Neal as misogynist as he explains “mooshing” and his advocacy for a “Harassment Day” (where office workers can make sexual passes at their female coworkers without fear of reprimand) but that would be like dismissing Lenny Bruce as racist for telling jokes about races. Of course, O’Neal is no Lenny Bruce, but the point stands that everything he says is done so with tongue firmly placed in his cheek, or purely as satire.
O’Neal’s twisted ideas can be genuinely hilarious, but his delivery style is odd. More often than not, he attempts to spur laughs by trailing off at virtually every statement. There are a only a small handful of sentences he actually finishes as he attempts to appear befuddled or exhausted by his own comedic observations. Not to say he is without good form for he still has a great sense of timing and recovery when things dip or his trailing off mumblings do not aid him. As well, his audience interactions are relentless, unapologetic, and serve him well as such interactions have long been the stand-up comedians go-to routine to eat time or win back the crowd. O’Neal does much more than eat time with it though, as his ability to spur then spin negative reactions into something entertaining can be rather masterful.
Video
Widescreen 1.78:1. On regular screen, things are perfectly fine but expanded to a wide screen television some digital flaws start to reveal themselves during the wide shots. Oh my, I have used the word Wide a lot without making any reference to the host…Patrice O’Neal would have been all over that…
Audio
Dolby Digital Stereo. It’s just one microphone being spoken into, and the reactions of the crowd. Things are mixed well enough. Some surround might have put us more into it but this stereo is plenty.
Special Features
Trailer.
Deleted Scenes: Could seamlessly be included in the feature presentation. Most of it is his jabs at one particular audience member. Plenty entertaining for those that like the main act.
Harris Stanton: The opening act. A nice touch for a comedy DVD, getting to see the actual full show. Stanton is funny but clearly could use some seasoning as his timing is a bit rushed and delivery not as punchy as it could be. Of course, nerves might have had something to do with it.
Final Thoughts
Not the greatest but reaches close to the level of Chris Rock at points. Certainly a step above many of the overly-praised comics who are playing arenas like Dane Cook or Larry the (sigh) cable guy.
