Years:  2010
Genre:  Comedy, Stand-up
Country:  United States
Language:  English
Starring:  Lewis Black
Run time:   80 minutes
DVD distributor:  Paramount Home Entertainment

     I am a huge fan of Lewis Black.  He is as incisive and funny as any comedian since George Carlin.  Stark Raving Black, out June 15th from Paramount Home Entertainment, is not his best stuff.  This is one of the weakest sets I have seen from him, as he doesn’t really take on current events or social insanity the way he normally does.  He has some good bits about biofuels, and performing at USO shows, but the set meanders and rarely hits home.

     That being said, this DVD is fantastic anyway.  It comes with 150 minutes of bonus material, including a documentary on Black’s life and career called Basic Black.  It’s fascinating stuff, and there’s enough of it that Lewis Black fans like me will be sitting down for hours to take all of this in.

     Now, there’s also a fold-out poster inside.  That sort of perplexed me.  Lewis Black doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who would ask for a fold-out poster of himself to be included with his DVD release.  In fact, I suspect he’s the kind of guy who would laugh at something like that.  Actually – that’s a special feature I would have loved to see on this DVD.  The conversation where the producers of this stand-up special pitched the “fold-out poster” idea to Lewis Black.  I’m hoping for that one on the next DVD release.  And I will be able to watch it on my television, which is now conveniently located directly beneath a poster of Lewis Black.

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