All Rise...

The closest Judge Patrick Naugle got to standup comedy was as a Serf at Medieval Times. He got heckled every night.

Editor's Note

Our review of Kathleen Madigan: Gone Madigan (Blu-Ray), published February 2nd, 2011, is also available.

The Charge

"If you want to have an affair with someone, have an affair with a 40-something. You won't get caught because I am too damn tired to text or Facebook anyone that it happened."

The Case

I'm realizing just how difficult it is to review a stand up comedy special. Is there any other art form quite as subjective as comedy? I mean, what is funny to me may not be funny to you, and vice versa. And frankly, neither of us are wrong. One man's Larry the Cable Guy is another man's personal hell (for the record: I think he's funny).

Which brings me to Kathleen Madigan, a comedienne that I had never heard of until a few weeks prior to reviewing her special, Kathleen Madigan: Gone Madigan. I'm always up for discovering a new stand up comedian (my personal favorite at the moment is Russell Peters). So I popped in this new DVD and found Madigan to be amusing but not hysterical and her material to be accessible but never cutting edge. Madigan has a boozy, 'old broad' aura about her, as if she's spent many years smoking cigarettes and drinking vodka at various clubs and lounges. Her material often runs the gambit from drinking to dating to TV's "Hording" reality shows to polygamy and a few other topics in-between. Again, it's all pretty funny stuff but not gut-busting pee-your-pants funny. I especially liked her take on gay marriage, noting that past presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee said if they pass gay marriage the next logical step is people wanting to marry an animal. "If you want to marry a goat, go ahead. I've been to so many boring ass weddings last year that I'd love it if someone married a goat."

Will you like Kathleen Madigan: Gone Madigan? Madigan does a good job of appealing to the masses and not alienating herself with her topics (the aforementioned gay marriage topic doesn't really make an argument for gay marriage as it does goat sex). She's what I consider to be a 'heartland comedian,' where most of American can relate to her topics and she does a nice job of laughing not only at others but at herself as well. If that sounds amusing to you, I'd say it's worth a spin.

Kathleen Madigan: Gone Madigan is presented 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. There isn't a whole lot to report here, except to say that the image looks good (which consists of Madigan standing in front of a purple curtain on stage). Colors are solid and DNR, dirt and edge enhancement are non-existent. The soundtrack is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround and gets the job done. Except for a few beginning and end musical cues (as well as audience reaction), this is a front heavy mix.

The only extra features included on this disc are an interview with Kathleen Madigan and a behind-the-scenes featurette with Madigan, Louis Black and Madigan's parents (amusing, but nothing overly exciting).

The Verdict

You can do slightly better and far worse than Kathleen Madigan: Gone Madigan.

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