Irrera, Dom

Barnyard - The Original Party Animals (Full Screen Edition)

When the farmers away all the animals play .. And sing and dance. Eventually though someone has to step in and run things a responsibility that ends up going to otis a carefree cow. Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 01/27/2009 Starring: Voice Of Kevin James Voice Of Courtney Cox Run time: 89 minutes Rating: Pg

When the farmer's back is turned, the animals party down in Barnyard. A young cow named Otis (voiced by Kevin James, The King of Queens) loves to have fun at the farm's wild late-night hoe-downs, despite the disapproval of his father, Ben (Sam Elliott, Thank You for Smoking). When Ben dies defending the barnyard from marauding coyotes, Otis is chosen as the new leader--but responsibility sits uneasily on Otis' head and he fears he may not be able to protect his friends from the coyotes. Barnyard's design of the cows seems inspired by Gary Larson's The Far Side comics; though the style is simple, the characters are surprisingly expressive. From moment to moment, the movie is reasonably entertaining. The actors--including Courteney Cox, Danny Glover, and David Koechner (Anchorman) as a very menacing coyote--do solid voice work and there are plenty of amusing gags. But as Barnyard gallops towards its end, the combination of cliches (the story is a clumsy reworking of The Lion King), odd choices (the male cows have udders), and lackluster dialogue makes the movie sag. --Bret Fetzer

The Aristocrats

Penn jillette & paul provenza capitalize on their insider status & invite over 100 of their closest friends (some of the biggest names in entertainment) to reminisce analyze & deliver their own version of the worlds dirtiest joke an old burlesque routine too extreme to be performed in public. Studio: Image Entertainment Release Date: 09/04/2007 Starring: Penn Jillette Paul Provenza Run time: 86 minutes Rating: Ur

Released without a rating and billed as "the most vile, disgusting, and vulgar" film of all time, The Aristocrats is also funny enough to qualify as a minor comedy classic. We say "minor" only because hearing the same foul joke told by 100 celebrated comedians is inevitably exhausting, even though the shaggy-dog gag (a vintage in-joke among comedians, allowing outrageously obscene improvisation, and always ending with the same titular punchline) is also a fascinating litmus test for each comedian's irreverent style. As codirectors and show-biz insiders, veteran comedians Paul Provenza and Penn Jillette (from the comedy duo Penn & Teller) corralled an unprecedented parade of stand-up celebrities (George Carlin, Robin Williams, Drew Carey, Whoopi Goldberg, Sarah Silverman, the South Park kids and many, many more), each telling "the dirtiest joke of all time" in their own inimitable fashion. The sheer volume of vaudevillian vulgarity takes on a life of its own, more fascinating than funny, until Gilbert Gottfried (at a celebrity roast for Hugh Hefner, shortly after the terrorist attacks of 9/11/01) tells what is unanimously hailed as the definitive version of the joke. It's a matter of context, style, and bawdy bravado, and for better or worse, The Aristocrats will endure as a testament to a joke so bad--so uproariously bad--that no comedian worthy of the profession can resist the temptation to tell it. --Jeff Shannon

Comedian

If you see Comedian expecting a concert film with Jerry Seinfeld, you'll be disappointed. But if you're looking for an incisive--almost surgical--examination of the psyche of a stand-up comedian, this is your movie. Comedian zigzags back and forth between the hugely successful Seinfeld, who's trying to get back to his stand-up roots by developing an entirely new act, and an unknown comic named Orny Adams, whose naked craving for success is almost painful to behold. Adams lays bare his ego to an embarrassing degree; Seinfeld is more subtle but just as revealing about the fears and anxieties that drive him to go back on stage. By following these two through comedy clubs, festivals, and spots on David Letterman's talk show, the documentary cunningly explores how jokes are put together, the in-the-trenches camaraderie (tinged with competition) of stand-ups, and the sheer existential terror of trying to make people laugh. --Bret Fetzer

Behind the scenes look at jerry seinfeld as he returns to standup comedy and breaks in a new act as well as the rise of an unknown comic getting his first big breaks Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 01/04/2005 Starring: Jerry Seinfeld Run time: 82 minutes Rating: R Director: Christian Charles

Hollywood Shuffle

Bobby taylor was on his way to becoming a star when a funny thing happened... Studio: Tcfhe/mgm Release Date: 01/08/2008 Starring: Robert Townsend Helen Martin Run time: 81 minutes Rating: R Director: Robert Townsend

The alumni of Hollywood Shuffle are spread across dozens of current comedies and TV sitcoms--this is the movie that introduced Robert Townsend and the Wayans Brothers to the world. Townsend plays a young actor who struggles with being offered stereotyped street hustler roles while trying to maintain his self-respect and the approval of his family. Between scenes of comically humiliating auditions, Bobby has satirical fantasies about the plight of black actors, including the classic "Black Acting School" sketch, in which white teachers demonstrate jive talk and street moves for the befuddled black students. Townsend has a charming, low-key comic style, one considerably more subtle than that of some of the black comics who have risen to success with supposedly self-aware renditions of the stereotypes Townsend mocks. Townsend made this movie on his credit cards and it is clearly a heartfelt labor of love. --Bret Fetzer

Barnyard - The Original Party Animals (Widescreen Edition)

When the farmer's back is turned, the animals party down in Barnyard. A young cow named Otis (voiced by Kevin James, The King of Queens) loves to have fun at the farm's wild late-night hoe-downs, despite the disapproval of his father, Ben (Sam Elliott, Thank You for Smoking). When Ben dies defending the barnyard from marauding coyotes, Otis is chosen as the new leader--but responsibility sits uneasily on Otis' head and he fears he may not be able to protect his friends from the coyotes. Barnyard's design of the cows seems inspired by Gary Larson's The Far Side comics; though the style is simple, the characters are surprisingly expressive. From moment to moment, the movie is reasonably entertaining. The actors--including Courteney Cox, Danny Glover, and David Koechner (Anchorman) as a very menacing coyote--do solid voice work and there are plenty of amusing gags. But as Barnyard gallops towards its end, the combination of cliches (the story is a clumsy reworking of The Lion King), odd choices (the male cows have udders), and lackluster dialogue makes the movie sag. --Bret Fetzer

When the farmers away all the animals play .. And sing and dance. Eventually though someone has to step in and run things a responsibility that ends up going to otis a carefree cow. Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 01/27/2009 Starring: Voice Of Kevin James Voice Of Courtney Cox Run time: 89 minutes Rating: Pg

The 4th Tenor

A restaurant owner falls in love with an opera singer and desperate to impress her travels to italy to learn how to sing. Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 05/03/2005 Starring: Rodney Dangerfield Robert Davi Run time: 97 minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: Harry Basil

Long-suffering comic Rodney Dangerfield (Caddyshack, Back to School) stars in this cinematic fairy tale about a New York restaurant owner named Lupo, a cynic who suddenly falls madly in love with a tempestuous singer (Annabelle Gurwitch). She spurns him, saying she can only love a man who can sing great opera--so Lupo sets out to learn and falls under the sway of a couple of Italian con men who promise to teach him how to sing. But when he is given a role in an opera, his voice turns the audience into an angry mob. He flees and ends up meeting a buxom young widow (Anita De Simone) with a family secret that can give Lupo the voice he desires--but will it give him Gina? The 4th Tenor strives for a gentle, magical tone. Fans of Dangerfield may enjoy the movie as the comic's last hurrah; others will find him far too old for the part. His spirit yearns, but his flesh is weak. --Bret Fetzer

The Godson

Open Mic - Dave Chappelle

Who wants to be a star? Who has what it takes? How do they think up all that funny stuff?!? For every comedian that you see knockin' 'em dead on Jay Leno or the Letterman Show, there are thousands more who battle each week...not for the national spotlight but for survival, five minutes at a time, on the stage of comedy clubs, roadway dinners or hole-in-the-wall bars across America. These are the next generation of star comedians, and their stories are central to understanding what it takes to make it big. "Open Mic" is a revealing look behind the veil of Hollywood's glamour into the competitive and crazy world of stand-up comedy. Featuring comedy performances and interviews from some of today's hottest comedians, this is the breakout film that proves: dying is easy...comedy is hard!

Rodney Dangerfield: Nothin' Goes Right (1987)

Cable TV Special. Dangerfield's Comedy Club is the setting for an irreverent and raunchy hour of laughs with a line up of stand up comics that includes Andrew Dice Clay.

Splitz