Featured DVD Review: Eddie Griffin: You Can Tell 'Em I Said It

February 18, 2011

Eddie Griffin: You Can Tell 'Em I Said It - Buy from Amazon

Eddie Griffin's career box office number is approaching $1 billion, but he got his start in stand-up. His latest special, You Can Tell 'Em I Said It, airs on Saturday before coming out on DVD on Tuesday. I got a screener to review, so is it worth checking out for his fans? Fans of stand-up in general? Perhaps even worth picking up?

The Set

First a note: The DVD is sold as uncut and uncensored, and it earns that label with the first sentence Eddie Griffin utters. His set starts with his take on politics, or the, how to put this politely, the physical attractiveness of the past few first ladies. It's a great way to start the set, because if you are offended by that, a lot of the rest is really going to get to you. Religion, race, missing kids. He's got great energy, even if some of the jokes are obviously little more than attempts to offend and a lot of those miss. (At least with me. If I get the impression you are trying to offend me, you simply won't be able to do so.) On the other hand, some of it is very astute.

The set as presented on TV is 90 minutes, including commercials, or about 66 minutes without. On the DVD it is extended to 82 minutes and while it does drag at times and does start to run out of steam in the end, for the most part the jokes hit their mark.

The Extras

There is a 27-minute behind-the-scenes featurette that includes rehearsals, some comparisons with the final set, before the set crowd shots, etc.

The Verdict

The hit to miss ratio on Eddie Griffin: You Can Tell 'Em I Said It is good, not exactly great, but fans of his will certainly want to check out his special on Comedy Central tonight. And if you like it, the DVD has enough additional footage and enough extras to be worth picking up.


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