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Thou Shalt Laugh 2: The Deuce
R1 - America - Grace Hill Media Review written by and copyright: Pat Pilon (27th January 2008). |
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The Film
 Stand-up comedy is very subjective. Depending on the viewer's own personal tastes and sense of humour, potentially any comic can be both hilarious and revolting. Add swearing and raunchy stories in the mix, and things get even touchier, especially for the younger set. That's why the producers of 'Thou Shalt Laugh' decided to make a comedy show without and cussing, dirty stories or any other offensive material. The show was quite popular and 'Thou Shalt Laugh 2: The Deuce' was born. This time, the host is legendary comedian Tim Conway, and he does a great job warming up the audience and introducing the comedians. The five other comics are very funny and prove that great comedy doesn't need to be R-rated. This is a show the whole family can enjoy together. The show is divided up into six parts on the DVD. Intro with Tim Conway (5:30) Mr. Conways starts things off by talking about his father and has a hilarious story about a cuckoo clock. As always, he's very natural and has a great time talking to the audience. Thor Ramsey (11:11) Mr. Ramsey is next and he starts off talking about his family. He talks about his wife and his daughter, making funny comments about them. He then segues to home schooling after he says that he home schools his daughter, and comes up with this gem. He's having a conversation with someone who opposes home schooling, and, in his best yokel voice, that person's objection goes: 'You're not a teacher so how can you teach her?' To which he replies: 'Well, you're not a plumber but I can see the crack of your butt.' Dan Nainan (9:55) Mr. Nainan starts this off by saying that his father is Indian and his mother Japanese. 'I'm like Harold and Kumar,' he says. He runs off about a dozen of these one-liners, some funnier than others. Though his entire set is about his parents and race, he gets in some very funny stories. Victoria Jackson (16:42) 'Two blondes walk into a building. You'd think one of them would have seen it.' This is a great way to start off a set, but unfortunately, she doesn't keep it up as much as I'd hoped. If you've seen her perform, you've heard her poetry on mustaches and gymnasts, which she repeats here again. After that, she talks about living in Miami, her husband, crime and, of course, blondes again. If you can stand her quite squeaky voice, she'll make you laugh. Bone Hampton (16:24) Mr. Hampton comes on and has an all-around strong set. No jokes are real stand-outs, but he waxes poetic on crime, being single, being in a relationship, kids and food. He has a very nice explanation on why he doesn't want a skinny kid, which is quite funny. He also has some nice thoughts on food. Taylor Mason (36:24) Before Mr. Mason comes on, Tim Conway has another great, but short set, which the entire audience seems to love. Mr. Mason is also the only comedian to appear in both 'Thou Shalt Laugh' specials, and he delivers some great laughs. He's a ventriloquist an starts off having a conversation with Paco the Pig. Some funny jokes ensue. Then he finds Romeo, a more human dummy. He talks to him about medical instrument sales and other things. He also talks about golf. Taylor Mason: 'You play golf? I didn't know you played golf. What's your handicap?' Romeo, waits a beat, looks at Taylor Mason: 'I can't move my arms and legs.' After that, Mr. Mason goes to the piano and sings about his life. He then has another conversation, this time with Paquito the Pig, where he gets annoyed with the audience, which is the funniest part of the bit. He finishes off his long set by having a phone call with God, or rather, trying to get a hold of God after God text messaged him. This is quite funny and he has the entire audience in the palm of his hand. It's also a great way to finish the special. This is a great comedy night, and what's best is that parents can watch this with their kids without worry of bad language or stories that will prompt awkward questions. The producers did a nice job picking the right comics for everybody. Here's hoping for 'Thou Shalt Laugh 3: The Trifecta'.
Video
1.78:1 non-anamorphic widescreen. For people with widescreen TVs, this will be the most annoying part of the entire presentation. Even though this was filmed in widescreen, it hasn't been transferred as anamorphic widescreen. Either zooming in or having big black borders around the comic are your choices. Luckily, this isn't a very visually elegant stage. The show was also shot on low-definition DV, making everything a bit fuzzy. Colours also aren't as strong as they could be and the level of detail is kind of low. You can distinguish Tim Conway from Victoria Jackson, which is the most important thing.
Audio
With this being stand-up comedy, the only important thing is the dialogue, and that's all clear as a bell. Every joke and intonation is clear. The audience is clearly heard laughing, but this never impedes or interferes with the comedians' jokes. Though it doesn't really matter what audio format is used, this comes in English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo. There are no subtitles.
Extras
There are no extras.
Overall
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