Shout Factory | 2009 | 60 mins. | Not Rated
Loud, outspoken, and prone to say whatever’s on her mind, Kathy Griffin is one of those Comediennes’ people seem to love or hate. Most straight men likely find her a bit off putting; she seems like the type who wouldn’t hesitate to rip any guy a new one that tried to “put her in her place.” Personally, I find her opinionated banter hilarious, and have always enjoyed her show, My Life on the D-List, with frequent appearances by her assistants, tour manager, and of course, Maggie Griffin, her box-of-wine loving mom. Whether Maggie realizes it or not, she makes it easy to see where Kathy gets some of her sense of humor from.
As a fan, I was pleased to received Kathy Griffin: She’ll Cut a Bitch on DVD. Filmed at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland Oregon, Griffin continues to go after her favorite targets: Neo-Conservatives, movie stars and dish about her life in the gray area between success and failure. She’ll Cut a Bitch has her recounting rubbing elbows with stars such as the Jonas Brothers (“I’m calling [BS] on their [bleeping] purity rings!”), Cher (“Who knew Cher’s real hair is Cher hair?”), the desperate housewives (“Marcia Cross’ face looks like a hockey rink”) and Mary Tyler Moore (“She said, ‘Thank you,” and walked away from the crazy lady”). Griffin gives us a hilarious backstage pass to her experiences at the Emmys, the Grammys and in Cher’s bedroom.
Griffin knows her comedy isn’t for everyone (and clearly doesn’t care), as she takes a moment in her routine to give a shout out to her gays, and advised the straight men dragged there by their wives to go back to napping. With that out of the way, she goes on to recount various encounters with celebrities that generally don’t go well. One of the funniest stories included here involves her describing sitting next to Tracey Morgan at the Emmy’s and getting the church-giggles while Tracey goes on one of his famous rants. While Oprah gives a serious opening Emmy speech, Tracey cracks jokes about the queen of daytime, mentioning how upset he was to learn that Ernest Borgnine was his real father.
While this is truly side splitting stuff if you are a fan, I can’t help but wonder if it’s a stretch to call Kathy Griffin a D-List celebrity. With two Emmys, a reality show going into its sixth season, and a full slate of concerts, couldn’t we at least move her to the B-List?
The video is presented in full screen 4:3 ratio, which looks quite good. The picture is very clear, the images sharp. There are no noticeable artifacts to report. While there’s not a whole lot to look at other than the comedienne herself, the details are clear right down to her glitter eye shadow.
The audio is presented in 2-channel stereo. The level is consistent throughout, and does the job. Her voice is strong, the audience not too loud.
The special consists of about 12 minutes of additional stand-up material in which Griffin discusses the unintentional comic genius of Sarah Palin, and some texting with funny lady Sarah Silverman gone awry.
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