Search - Curt Rosen :: Werewolves and Lollipops (W/DVD)

Still Feelin' Kinda Patton, or "Starting Today, Everybody Ha

Flap Jackson | State Road, NC | 09/03/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With the passing of the late and not-so great George Carlin, the baton in my mind has now officially been passed onto the culinary rat from the Pixar film, Patton Oswalt. Listening to this CD however, you would never guess that this guy who rants a no-holds barred fire-bombing, devastating everything in his sights until the last C-Word, WTC joke and W. jab is spewn, plays in a family film as a cute rat who cooks. Be warned, you will probably be offended.



That all being said, between the political commentary I could have done without, there are some pretty damn funny bits. Chief among these, " At Midnight I Will Kill George Lucas with a Shovel," which is for all us geeks who express much hate at George Lucas' Star Wars prequels. Because, between all the hilarity, he actually makes a pretty good case. Then there's Oswalt's best track so far, "You Are Allowed 20 Birthday Parties." This track lays out the rules for how many birthdays you can really have, or the birthdays that anybody gives a crap about. And when you think it can't get any better, he gets to the 100's, where he explains that you can murder anybody, and get away with it. "This is how we weed out the weak people," Oswalt says, "if you get beat up by a 100 year old, then you deserve to die." This is a classic track that builds up and comes off so funnily.



Oswalt has some pretty good material up his sleeve, and while it may sound formulaic at the times, like a standard comedy album, complete with 15-second tracks, and 6-minutes tracks, and witty commentary on such American oddities such as the KFC Bowl. Still, what separates Patton from most other comedians of his ilk, is he borderline annoying, without going over the annoyingness line. He crosses many other lines, but he never gets so annoying that you turn the album off. You'll come close with some of his weirdly waste tracks, but most of these are toward the beginning and the end. Otherwise, when he starts getting into his rhythm he comes up with some great one-liners. But really, next time Patton, no singing!



So, while some may step back in horror, or sit back in boredom, but between all the filth, filler and such, there's some pretty witty and funny bits that will make you crack up. So, given the choice of Carlin and his politically soiled and tinged brand of "comedy," or Oswalt's vile, witty, nerdy and current brand of comedy, I'll easily take the rat who can cook.



Real Score: 4.5"

One of the best comedians working today

David Simmons | Albany, CA | 04/03/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Patton's humor is SOOOO close to my heart. We're both about the same age and have very similar interests (Star Wars, comic books, sci-fi).



This CD/DVD combo is very interesting because the DVD gives you a preview of the CD in its "rough" form, before all the jokes were polished. Some were not even kept for the CD.



I'd recommend watching the DVD first and then listening to the CD to get a glimpse of how the material was sharpened into its final, side-splitting form.



Many thanks, Patton, for all the gutbucket belly laughs! I hope to see you in concert sometime soon!



Dave S."