Director:
Justin Morales
Studio/Production Company:
Cool Hand Pictures
Genre:
Comedy
Length:
Feature
Website:
http://www.coolhandpictures.com
Score:
2/5
There are two kinds of stand-up comedy films: the concert film, where a single or group of comedians do their thing completely unadulterated ala Eddie Murphy's Raw; or the pseudo-documentary that attempts to pull back the curtain on the comedian's process ala Jerry Seinfeld's Comedian. While Brew Haha Comedy Festival: Volume 1 tries to dabble in the later, it ultimately falls strictly into the former with decidedly mixed results.
The Brew Haha Comedy Club is a Connecticut staple, the oldest such club in the state. On a summer in night in 2006 they hosted a comedy festival sponsored by ziddio.com featuring a competition between 12 aspiring comics vying for an opportunity to nail a gig at a Las Vegas show alongside the likes of Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld. Hosted by comedian Peaches Rodriguez, oddly the only female performer in the show, each comic delivers a short set of presumably their best material for the judges' assessment.
As with most multi-performer "concert" films, the comedians range from the good (Tom Duncan), the bad (Ricardo Aleman), and the unfunny (Will Vought). Unfortunately, the sets are more miss than hit; and at 138 minutes that's a whole lot of not-funny. Things aren't helped by our host Peaches, whose act consists mainly of begging for applause for her "witty" observations on femininity or Latin stereotypes. She seems uncomfortable as the MC which leads to some poor segues from schtick to introduction. She really doesn't do any of the comics any favors with her generally unsuccessful attempts to warm up the audience or her generic intros that lack any distinction or variety.
The presentation of the festival as a whole is lackluster at best. This is most certainly not broadcast quality work, not even by BET's standards (or lack thereof). The disc is mired by lazy cuts between a two-camera setup, often resulting in audio-sync issues. Ghosting between cuts is prevalent with a general lack QC or finesse. Obviously this is a low-budget production, which excuses much of the poor a/v quality, but the post-production issues are inexcusable. Some shots are downright indiscernible (the introduction of the judges looks to have been shot in a dense fog). The choice to cut to the "green room" in between sets is superfluous, as it adds nothing to the show itself other than extending the runtime. In fact, being primed for some of these comics' lousy material ahead of their performance makes one dread for what's to come. Matters aren't helped by a complete lack of audio leveling -- every trip behind-the-scenes brings with it a drastic increase in decibels that practically drowns out what they're saying.
Brew Haha Comedy Festival: Volume 1 is hard to recommend to anyone with anything approaching good taste in comedy. Too much is lost from the experience of actually going to a club and watching the performances in that atmosphere. Instead of providing a unique experience, this DVD actively sets about diluting everything that makes a comedy show enjoyable. By the end we really don't care who walks away with the prize -- we're just glad it's over.
Justin Morales
Studio/Production Company:
Cool Hand Pictures
Genre:
Comedy
Length:
Feature
Website:
http://www.coolhandpictures.com
Score:
2/5
There are two kinds of stand-up comedy films: the concert film, where a single or group of comedians do their thing completely unadulterated ala Eddie Murphy's Raw; or the pseudo-documentary that attempts to pull back the curtain on the comedian's process ala Jerry Seinfeld's Comedian. While Brew Haha Comedy Festival: Volume 1 tries to dabble in the later, it ultimately falls strictly into the former with decidedly mixed results.
The Brew Haha Comedy Club is a Connecticut staple, the oldest such club in the state. On a summer in night in 2006 they hosted a comedy festival sponsored by ziddio.com featuring a competition between 12 aspiring comics vying for an opportunity to nail a gig at a Las Vegas show alongside the likes of Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld. Hosted by comedian Peaches Rodriguez, oddly the only female performer in the show, each comic delivers a short set of presumably their best material for the judges' assessment.
As with most multi-performer "concert" films, the comedians range from the good (Tom Duncan), the bad (Ricardo Aleman), and the unfunny (Will Vought). Unfortunately, the sets are more miss than hit; and at 138 minutes that's a whole lot of not-funny. Things aren't helped by our host Peaches, whose act consists mainly of begging for applause for her "witty" observations on femininity or Latin stereotypes. She seems uncomfortable as the MC which leads to some poor segues from schtick to introduction. She really doesn't do any of the comics any favors with her generally unsuccessful attempts to warm up the audience or her generic intros that lack any distinction or variety.
The presentation of the festival as a whole is lackluster at best. This is most certainly not broadcast quality work, not even by BET's standards (or lack thereof). The disc is mired by lazy cuts between a two-camera setup, often resulting in audio-sync issues. Ghosting between cuts is prevalent with a general lack QC or finesse. Obviously this is a low-budget production, which excuses much of the poor a/v quality, but the post-production issues are inexcusable. Some shots are downright indiscernible (the introduction of the judges looks to have been shot in a dense fog). The choice to cut to the "green room" in between sets is superfluous, as it adds nothing to the show itself other than extending the runtime. In fact, being primed for some of these comics' lousy material ahead of their performance makes one dread for what's to come. Matters aren't helped by a complete lack of audio leveling -- every trip behind-the-scenes brings with it a drastic increase in decibels that practically drowns out what they're saying.
Brew Haha Comedy Festival: Volume 1 is hard to recommend to anyone with anything approaching good taste in comedy. Too much is lost from the experience of actually going to a club and watching the performances in that atmosphere. Instead of providing a unique experience, this DVD actively sets about diluting everything that makes a comedy show enjoyable. By the end we really don't care who walks away with the prize -- we're just glad it's over.
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