Featured DVD Review: Godfrey: Black By Accident

August 27, 2011

Godfrey: Black By Accident - Buy from Amazon

Godfrey has been doing stand-up for closing in on 20 years now. He's been a few movies (Zoolander, Soul Plane, etc.) he's still best known for his comedy (including his viral video White Women's Workout). This is his first hour-long special, which was recorded in January but aired on Comedy Central on the 27th of August. Now that it is out on DVD, it is worth checking out for those who missed the show? Perhaps even worth picking up?

The Set

I love watching stand-up comedy concerts, but I still hate reviewing them. They are so hard to talk about without spoiling any of the jokes. His subject is all over the place, starting with being an old school hip hop fan and ending on sports. (He made fun of curling. He is my new sworn enemy.) He spends a lot of time on the weather, including how cold it gets in Chicago, which is where he's from. (This gets a reaction for an audience member.) He also talks about the horrible heat in New York City and the horrors of Swamp Ass and having sex in the heat. As a stand-up comedian, he probably travels a lot, so it's no surprise air travel and airport security comes up. He also talks about sports and how blacks had to break the barrier in each sport, which segues into politics and Obama, and how Denzel Washington would make a great president.

The hour-long set mostly works. There were two main faults. Firstly, he did repeat himself a little too much. Secondly, some of the voices he did, especially the female voice, was grating. (The low point was when he kept repeating the female voice.) On the other hand, there were many laugh out loud jokes and he kept the energy up for almost the entire hour. Even with the one or two spots where the energy sagged there were still funny jokes mixed in with the parts that didn't work. Overall the hit-to-miss ratio was solid and it is worth checking out.

The Extras

Extras include a 12-minute interview with Godfrey plus 2 minutes with the make-up lady when she had to come on stage in the middle of the set. This is better than a lot of similar releases, a lot of which have no extras.

The Verdict

Godfrey: Black By Accident is definitely worth checking out for fans of stand-up in general, many of whom will want to buy the DVD. If you missed the special but like Godfrey's past work, it's worth picking up.


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