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The Movie: Dennis Leary is an asshole, and an angry one at that. Everyone knows it. He knows it. The guy who has spent his professional career roasting others should have been the world's finest target of a really, deeply nasty roast. While there are some delightfully funny moments throughout this Comedy Central program, one can't help but feel that there's a little too much love in the room. Sitting on stage with - for some reason no one can figure out - Keifer Sutherland, Leary sits and giggles occasionally as a series of comics - Adam Ferrara, Nick Dipalo, Colin Quinn - get up to go after Leary. The bigger names - Christopher Walken (who weaves a wonderfully weird tale), Michael J. Fox, Conan O'Brien (who inserts Leary's "Quaker State" ad in-between a "respectful" discussion of Leary's career) and others - appear on pre-taped efforts that come before where the commerical breaks were in the actual broadcast. It's not too difficult to go after Leary's career - "Two If By Sea" wasn't exactly an Oscar winner - but there are some comics that hit high notes, such as Ferarra's effort early in the show. The comedian talks about visiting infamous smoker Leary's estate, which he notes was bought with Marlboro miles. Colin Quinn follows up nicely: "I'm the fourth biggest star here tonight. Does that bother you? It should!" The real surprise is Leary's priest, whose roast of Leary is funnier than a fair share of the comics that take the stage during the show. The show does hit some slow moments, though: Gina Gershon's singing/dancing effort doesn't exactly fit in (speaking of music, nor does Jim Brewer's metal version of Leary's song, "Asshole", which ends the show), while some of the comics seem to spend as much time roasting their fellow roasters as they do Leary. Leary's final reply does get a few laughs, as it's a bit more savage than many of the barbs they threw at him during the program. Still, while this roast never quite catches fire, it's funny more often than not. Jeff Garlin ("Curb Your Enthusiasm") hosts. The DVD is uncensored. The DVD VIDEO: "Roast of Denis Leary Uncensored" is presented by Paramount in 1.33:1 full-frame, the show's original aspect ratio. The picture quality is excellent, the image retains terrific sharpness and detail throughout the program. I noticed no instances of compression artifacts, edge enhancement or other wear on the elements used. Colors remained bright, vivid and well-saturated, with no smearing. SOUND: The show's 2.0 soundtrack provided very clear dialogue and music, with no issues. EXTRAS: The first feature is a 22-minute uncut version of Leary's show-ending rebuttal ("Christopher Walken was supposed to be here tonight, but he couldn't make it, because the guest list was limited to people from the f---ing planet Earth.") Red carpet interviews are included, as are two additional scenes: an uncut version of Dr. Dre and Ed Lover's Movie Segment and a deleted scene featuring Patrice O'Neal as Rubben Studdard. Final Thoughts: "Roast of Denis Leary" features some very funny bits and will likely get some repeat play from fans. The uncut version of Leary's rebuttal is also a highlight. Recommended. |