DVDs in Review

George Carlin Live: It's Bad For Ya

Title:  George Carlin Live: It's Bad For Ya (2008)

Release date: October 26 2009

Certificate: 15

Format: DVD

DVD RRP: £17.99

Rating: 4/5

There are plenty of stand-up comedy DVDs released (and, infuriatingly re-released) on the run-up to Christmas but George Carlin's latest is one of the most noble, chiefly because it's his last filmed performance before he died.

Clocking in at only 69 minutes, 'It's Bad For Ya' is the kind of comedy that's all-encompassing and transcends its running time.

Carlin rants and raves about the absurdity of life, frequently firing in his own brand of realistic and warped logic into numerous topics such as the things that people say after a loved one has died, raising children and the somewhat tiring diversion into politics which comes as standard issue with most American comics.

And yet, even in that latter category, Carlin adds a few zingers such as "I call him Governor Bush because that's the only political office he's ever held legally" and refers to the over-protection and cushioned raising of children as "a sophisticated form of child abuse".

What makes Carlin's angry, offensive and expletive-filled tirade work is that he bases his ideas around fact or common sense, shot through with some unexpected blasts of philosophy. Carlin is an intelligent man and he uses his blunt delivery to expertly appeal his rational ideas to the masses.

'It's Bad For Ya' may not be the perfect swansong Carlin would've hoped for, but it's a fantastically dark and sarcastic way to go out on a high note. And it actually makes for a solid Christmas present too.