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DVD Bill Maher - Be More Cynical
The wit and wisdom of Bill Maher are on display in this hour-long performance, recorded in San Francisco in 2000. Of course, just how witty and wise Maher appears will depend on one's socio-political stance. Outspoken if not outrageously controversial (this gig preceded his infamous remark on his Politically Incorrect show that the 9/11 hijackers were "not cowardly"), Maher espouses views on sex, the war on drugs, religion, and other popular (and, let's face it, easy) targets that are unlikely to endear him to, say, residents of most "red states." Still, there is one opinion that this self-proclaimed Libertarian and his conservative counterparts might well share--namely, that big government is decidedly not a beautiful thing. Indeed, Maher's point is that we need to "be more cynical" not for its own sake, but so that we might avoid being duped by the real cynics out there, like those in Congress who sue Big Tobacco even as they line their own pockets with campaign contributions from those same companies. Elsewhere, although Maher doesn't specialize in one-liners, he does have some good lines: Princess Diana was "a lovely housewife who did some charity work"; when it comes to being faithful in a relationship, "men are only as loyal as their options"; those who claim to comprehend God's will really only "understand God as your dog understands you." The main problem with some of this material is that it's dated; taking shots at George W. Bush before he was elected for the first time isn't exactly fresh years after the fact. --Sam Graham
I finally got to see Bill Maher on tour last year and it was two hours of very profound statements with a funny delivery. Him, along with Henry Rollins, are the masters of the spoken word. I can listen to both rant for hours on end about the state of our country. They are dead on accurate, with biting humor to boot!
This DVD is from a show in San Francisco sometime in the summer of 2000. Although it doesn't give a date on the DVD, you know from Bill Maher that his comments are current, so if you're expecting to hear him speak about the war in Iraq or Abu Ghraib...those were things he discussed on his tour last year (which I hope will be released on DVD). On this DVD, he talks about his usual favorite subjects...drugs, the annoyance of children, complaints about women's dishonesty, defense of Clinton's affair with an intern, the idiocy of Bush and the Republican party, and his skewering of religious ideology. I particularly loved that this DVD included a reaction when some unseen audience member in the balcony yelled out to Bill that "Jesus saves!" His reaction and irreverent comments are downright funny and right on target! I loved how he compared unbelievable Bible stories that people believe literally happened with equivalent fairy tales that no one believes happened (he compared the apple from the forbidden tree in Genesis to the poison apple of "Snow White" and other similiar comparisons). To hear him say that does point out the obvious...why believe one but not the other? And what does believing in one but not the other have anything to do with how you treat people?
Bill does claim to believe in God on this DVD, though I always had the impression that he was an atheist. He defends Jesus from the people who claim to be the most devout followers...Bill simply is a man who's too smart for his own good. I'm a Bill Maher fan...as his show "Politically Incorrect" was part of my TV diet during my college years. I don't agree with him on every topic (such as drugs), but I do think he's a smart man who does his homework and probably knows a lot more about the world than our current president. Bill Maher is someone who should be running our country right now! This DVD is for his fans out there. Watch it and laugh.
Common sense and comedy make excellent bedfellows in Victory Begins at Home, comedian Bill Maher's scathing one-hour show taped on Broadway and first broadcast on HBO in July 2003. "Comedian" seems hardly adequate in defining Maher, who functions as political analyst, voice of conscience, court jester, social critic, and tireless advocate of decency, honesty, and, yes, even patriotism (unless you're a staunch conservative, in which case Maher's an insufferable moron, but that's your problem, not his). Indeed, Victory will ultimately serve as a time-capsule summary of political, personal, and religious absurdity in the age of George W. Bush, Middle East turmoil, and rampant terrorism, and after honing his edge on TV's late, great Politically Incorrect, who... More Info about this DVD Director(s): John Moffitt DVD Release Date: Released the 20 January 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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"I don't hate America," comedian Bill Maher declares during I'm Swiss, recorded in March 2005 in Portland, OR. "I love America. (But) I'm embarrassed." And there we have not only the source of the title (his discomfiture, he jokes, has led him to pretend he's from another country) but also the crux of Maher's overall presentation on this, his third DVD taken from a program that was first shown on HBO. Maher's tendency toward smugness and superiority regularly provoke the wrath of his opponents on the far right. But despite his disingenuous claims to the contrary ("I'm not making this up, I'm just reporting," or "I'm not being partisan"), he certainly can't be accused of not having a point of view. His targets are many in I'm Swiss, ranging from reality TV to Cialis ("the... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Michael Drumm DVD Release Date: Released the 01 November 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Lewis Black's performance in the HBO special Lewis Black: Black on Broadway is exactly like his "Back in Black" spots on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. If you love his sputtering, furious rants on the fake news, there's no reason you won't enjoy an hour's worth on DVD, during which Black spits out his grievances against typical stand-up comedy fodder--corporate scandals, air travel, etc.--in his usual, direct style. (Good line: "If you're in coach, kill yourself.") The only caveat: you'll get nothing extra here. The disc contains the show, brief shots of his entering/exiting the theater, and that's it. No interviews, no commentary track, not even a set of Spanish subtitles. But since Black's routine is stripped-down anger, perhaps it's fitting for the DVD to be... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Paul Miller DVD Release Date: Released the 25 January 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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