The Comedians of the Year
From Library Journal Stand-up comedy has mostly migrated to video, but these four-tape collections of recently released single albums provide good value if a more limited experience. The Comedians of the Year includes four winners of the American Comedy Awards. The stand-out is Richard Jeni, who deploys deft wit and dead-on voices and characters to produce his "greatest bits." The raunchy, presober Margaret Cho riffs irreverently on herself and Asian American identity, adding raucous impersonations of her mother and other Asian immigrants. By contrast, John Pinette's impressions of Asians seem tired, and his "show me the buffet" shtick would work better if audiences could see his impressive girth. Brian Regan offers tamer but well-executed observational comedy. For public libraries that collect comedy. In Hilarith: The Best of Lesbian Humor, Kate Clinton manages a sly mix of lesbian references and topical humor ("Linda Tripp is an insult to drag queens everywhere"). Also excellent is Marga Gomez, who skewers pretentiousness with apt impressions. Suzanne Westenhoefer and Karen Williams connect with their audiences but sound more hit-and-miss on tape. Similarly, The Best of Latino Humor--featuring Pablo Francisco, Rudy Moreno, and the Spicy Hot Mamitas (not a group but five female stand-ups)--captures hot performances that drag a bit on audio. Still, both sets should appeal to libraries serving lesbian and Latino (especially Chicano) demographics.-Norman Oder, "Library Journal" Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. Product Description This 4-cassette set contains four full-length albums from four of the hottest comics in the businessall of them recipients of the Stand-Up Comedian of the Year award at the American Comedy Awards. From the Back Cover Richard Jeni explains, Comedy is a craft and Im like a cartoonist painting funny images in peoples minds with words. Jeni has the uncanny ability to inhabit his characters so fully that the illusion is complete, transporting the audience into Richards off the wall interpretations of the world. Comedienne Margaret Cho has a way of disarming her audience, dismantling preconceptions, and delivering punchlines that sting with wit and veracity. Born and raised in San Francisco, Margaret derives a good deal of her material from her upbringing as a second generation Korean American. In his Playboy interview, Dennis Miller named Brian Regan as one of his favorite comedians. Brian is one of the most popular comics on the club circuit. He has the unique ability to be both funny and clean. I talk about food, says actor/comedian John Pinette of his stand-up act., not so much because Im a big guy, I think its the perfect common ground...everybody eats! John was most recently seen as the big guy who was carjacked in the final episode of Seinfeld.