All Rise...

Judge Daryl Loomis never felt so good as the day he saw a fire truck.

The Charge

I just pooped a little.

The Case

Once upon a time, he was one of the most grating people in Hollywood. But over the years, Bobcat Goldthwait (Shakes the Clown) left his old persona behind and now sits in a director's chair. With a ton of television credits under his belt, including Chappelle's Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and his fourth feature film God Bless America, he rarely sees the stage anymore. With his latest comedy special, Bobcat Goldthwait: You Don't Look the Same Either, he's not only back in front of an audience, he's better than ever.

Those hoping for (or dreading) Goldthwait's old psychopathic persona, he doesn't do it anymore. In its place is a shockingly traditional comedy special, at least stylistically. He's now a middle-aged man on stage telling stories…and, wow, can he tell them. Without question, You Don't Look the Same Either is the funniest stand-up special I've seen in a long time. While the style may be normal, the material is anything but.

Fans of Goldthwait's films will immediately recognize the incredible darkness of his humor. Absolutely no subject is off limits and he reserves the biggest shots for himself and his career. Whether it's the admiration for the Johnny Depp's beautiful face he developed while working on Blow, or getting arrested for setting fire to the Tonight Show set (which really did happen), this is one relentlessly hilarious hour of comedy.

From the moment he reacts to an audience member mistaking him for Gilbert Gottfried, he has the crowd in the palm of his hand. Goldthwait's stage presence is easy-going (another surprise), even when shocking the audience with his disturbed choice of subject matter. He claims most of the stories are true, and I pretty much believe him. But even when he's talking about normal comic stuff—like going bald or traveling by plane—he still manages insert his own offensive spin on all of it. Goldthwait's humor, whether on stage or screen, is most definitely not for everybody. If you like your comedy dark and over the line, You Don't Look the Same Either is a must-see. Nobody has made me laugh this hard in a long time.

Presented in standard definition 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen, this is no high end production and the transfer proves it. The Dolby 2.0 Stereo mix is what you'd expect; you can hear the jokes and the audience perfectly well, which is all we really need. There are no extras.

Though I find it hard to write about stand-up comedy, for constant fear of overselling it, this is one damn funny hour.

The Verdict

Case dismissed.

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