The Charge

"Two plus two is chicken!"

The Case

Brian Regan is my favorite comedian. And if you've heard his stuff, I'd wager he ranks high on your list of stand-up performers. I've caught the guy twice in live shows and each time out he's made me laugh so hard I've ruptured internal sutures from eight-year-old hernia operations.

Regan's brand of comedy is tough to categorize. He doesn't do political and social humor, focusing more on observational stuff, mixed with his unique brand of—what, idiocy? He makes goofy faces and funny voices, indulges in self-deprecation and is clean; that is, the harshness of his vocabulary tops out at the occasional "hell" and "damn" and the edgiest his material gets is the lambasting of dog psychics.

But don't think that the accessibility and relatively family-friendly nature of his comedy translate into hacky crap. The guy is absolutely hilarious and the only times I wasn't laughing loud and hard during this DVD was when he was reeling off bits I had seen already. Thankfully, there was enough new material woven into the set—if you're a hardcore Regan fan, there's probably a good chance you've been exposed to even more. Still, as only the third DVD release of Regan's stand-up, with Epitome of Hyperbole I'll take what I can get. Really, you can never have too much of this guy.

So now I'm at a crossroads at this review. I know I've only churned out a couple of paragraphs, but such is the challenge when reviewing stand-up DVDs. I'm not going to even attempt to recap his funnier lines because a) I'd just butcher them and b) even if I quoted his stuff verbatim, I wouldn't do it justice. For Regan, much of the funny comes from his delivery.

I'll just leave it at this: if you're a Reganite (not sure if I just coined that term) you've got this disc pre-ordered. If you're looking for an uproarious 45 minutes of clean, goofy comedy, I recommend this highly. Even if you've never heard of the guy (though should you be even a low-key follower of the stand-up circuit, it would surprise me if his reputation eludes you) but are remotely interested in stand-up, again a recommendation. I don't know anyone who's heard Regan that hasn't thought he was pretty much the funniest man alive. I know that sounds elitist, but screw it. I defy you not to cough up a lung when he launches into his intelligent life on Neptune gag.

The disc is straightforward: 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and 5.1 surround, a behind-the-scenes documentary featuring interviews with Regan and the encore, a brief segment where Regan returns and does requests.

Similar Decisions

• Christina Aguilera: Genie Gets Her Wish
• Richard Pryor: Live!
• Funny Money
• George Lopez: Why You Crying?

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