Sub Pop | 2010 | 90 mins. | Unrated
In 2009, David Cross’ first book, I Drink for a Reason was published. Initially, the plan was for him to do a comedy tour in support of the release. When that didn’t pan out, he collected the material he had planned for the tour and put on some shows at Boston’s Wilbur Theater. His latest DVD/CD, Bigger and Blackerer consist of two of the shows, back-to-back. Anyone familiar with Cross’ work will note that this act comes across as less angry than his previous albums, but no less funny. As Cross himself admits, age has given him perspective, if not understanding, of the stupidity of the world around him.
The performance begins with a strange introduction, in which a kid in a bald cap sporting black rimmed glasses comes out, introduces himself as David Cross, and then spouts profanity at the crowd. Then, Cross himself comes out, and almost immediately stops the show to inquire as to why a deaf man is signing to the audience and how he’s able to do it if he’s not watching David and reading his lips. It turns out he’s just there, hanging out; telling his own jokes to whatever deaf people might be in the crowd that night. Once we get past this, Cross gets to what he’s good at, as he rips into junkies and shares some stories about his own experiences with drugs and what it was like living near a methadone clinic for a few years.
Then the liberal leaning comedian launches into politics. He gives his thoughts on anti-Obamacare groups, chastising those that don’t support it, saying, “American has a long standing tradition of voting against its own self interests.” He also takes a few pointed shots at the Tea Party movement.
A Jewish atheist, Cross also discusses religion. He talks about growing up an Orthodox Jew (“No choices, ever.”) bu7t being an equal opportunity offender, he takes some shots at Scientology, Catholicism, and Mormonism. As any fan of David Cross knows, he has never been shy about expressing his distaste fir organized religion of any kind. In his show, he treats religion a bit like a fairytale, but manages to stay on track and make some valid points.
Cross is a smart guy and this comes across quite often in Bigger and Blackerer. However, Like Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy and others, he’s not above crossing the line for a laugh. Let’s put it this way: Anne Frank and date rape are in play. Other topics include drink testing and going into an adult video store.
Though I wouldn’t go as far as to say David Cross is as good as Richard Pryor, their styles are somewhat similar. Cross uses equal parts insight and barbed attacks, using intentionally shocking statements to get his audience to pay attention. The performance is periodically disjointed and it doesn’t always flow perfectly—likely a result of it being shot over two nights—but more often than not, it’s successful.
Bigger And Blackerer is presented on DVD in a 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer that looks pretty good. There are a few spots where the harsh stage lights suck out some of the detail but otherwise the picture is sharp and colorful. There aren’t any problems with mpeg compression artifacts, or any obvious edge enhancement.
Audio options are offered in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. There are no alternate language tracks or subtitles provided. Dialogue is easy to follow and always easily discernible and the levels are well mixed. There aren’t any problems here, it all sounds pretty good.
Sub Pop has included four deleted scenes that clock in at roughly thirty minutes, shot during the same time frame as the content used to put together the feature. Topics covered here include Dane Cook, more political bits, and pop culture minutia. There are also some live clips from Cross’ performance in Seattle from 2004 that looks like it was shot covertly with a hidden camera. It’s on an angle and half the time, Cross isn’t even in frame. The content is amusing though, so it’s worth watching once.
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