Comedy DVDs Round-Up 1

November’s comedy releases come just in time for the festive season - those stockings won’t fill themselves, you know. From feelgood humour to thoughtful (and very funny, too) discourses of race, sex and class, there's a comedy turn recorded live to suit all tastes. There are some crackers available and here’s a selection of the best on offer.

Chris Rock, Kill the Messenger (Warner Bros)

The American self-styled hip-hop comedian has long since attained worldwide stardom, both through stand-up and film, and this DVD, filmed in New York, London and Johannesburg on his 2008 world tour, is evidence of that. His material, predominantly about race, but also about more mundane matters as the price of petrol or the differences between men and women, speaks to a wide audience who like their comedy with more than a dash of intelligence and insight.

Rock has frequently courted controversy with some routines, most notably with “Niggas versus Black People’’ from a few years ago, but he’s an equal-opportunities offender and everyone, black or white, male or female, gay or straight, liberal or conservative, will have both their conscience and prejudices tested. For instance, when he talks about how black men go out with white women, but not black women with white men, there is much laughter of recognition from the black members of the audiences, while the white ones cover their faces, wondering if they are allowed to laugh when he explains why.

Equally, Rock says, he is often asked if it’s ever OK for white people to say the “n” word – the ultimate answer, after a very funny digression involving getting up early on Christmas Eve to buy the last must-have toy in the store for your children, a mugging and a police report - is a seemingly straightforward ‘’Not really’’ which we know translates after this very well constructed routine as ‘Not ever’’.

Rock has no need to display his anger at continuing prejudice; we do that for him when he describes how he’s only one of four black people in his toney New Jersey neighbourhood. The others are Mary J Blige, Jay-Z and Denzel Washington, all performers at the top of their profession. His white neighbours are the local dentist and suchlike; we can, as Americans say, do the math.

It’s the combination of thoughtful commentary, punchiness and subtlety that marks out Rock as perhaps the most intelligent American comic working today. He’s certainly one of the funniest: talking about expensive petrol prices, he says: ‘’Next time I fill my tank, I’m going to jerk off in the gas station. When I spend that kind of money, I’m used to coming.’’ Rude, funny and clever.

The DVD captures Rock’s energetic delivery, as we see him criss-cross the stage, his voice getting higher pitched as he pretends to be outraged at much of modern life, and it frequently cuts between the three gigs, often within the same line of a routine. The changes of location are obvious as he wears different clothes and this neat construct underlines the repetition Rock uses for emphasis. The one negative note some may feel is that the Barack Obama material (which forms nearly half the gig) is now dated, but Sarah Palin as a vice-presidential candidate in the most powerful nation in the world will never cease to be side-splittingly funny. Kill The Messenger on Amazon

Andy Parsons, Britain’s Got Idiots (Universal)

Andy Parsons’ first DVD is a mix of favourite old material and new stuff from his recent Citizens! live tour. The comic (who appears on BBC2’s Mock the Week) is on great form here, his “everything is shit” views given a good workout as he moans at hilarious length about how crap the British are at everything, while we suspect he is secretly proud of their underachievement.

Many of his targets - traffic wardens, reality TV, call centres - are obvious, but he subtly mixes that material with more serious comment, including Creationism now being taught in schools, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the global financial mire we’re in. While his Mr Angry persona may be assumed to be a very cleverly played comedic construct, one never doubts the intelligence and genuineness of Parsons’ political insights.

Parsons is terrific at audience interaction and successfully negotiates a fine line between warmth and apparent contempt. But it’s his gag-writing - clever and rarely predictable - that’s his strongest suit and is the material that stays with you. Britain's Got Idiots Live on Amazon

Rhod Gilbert, The Award-Winning Mince Pie (Channel 4)

Time was when Rhod Gilbert was routinely labelled a miserablist. He was also a fantasist of some renown, inventing a life in a Welsh village, Llanbobl, complete with wife and kids. But he decided to try some observational comedy about the real world - and when you’re pedantic, sensitive and given to pointless rage at life’s irritations, sooner or later you’ll experience something that you can turn into an extremely funny show.

And so it proves with The Award-Winning Mince Pie, based on an incident late one night at Knutsford service station off the M6 which ended with the comic nearly being arrested over their innocent, but incorrect, description of said mince pie.

Gilbert recounts the tale and starts speaking in a normal voice. As he adds to it layer by layer, the energy mounts and by the end we are worried he will have a seizure, such is his rage about the ‘’fare’’ on offer in the café, the toilet-cleaning roster and the rubbish produce for sale in the service-station shop. Here is a man who takes things at face value, and then finds himself constantly disappointed by life and the ridiculous expectations he has of it. Anyone who has ever felt impotent rage will feel his pain.

Gilbert was unlucky not to receive the prestigious If.comedy award (formerly the Perrier) at the 2008 Edinburgh Fringe for this show. And unlike the titular mince pie, it is something to be savoured. Rhod Gilbert And The Award-Winning Mince Pie on Amazon

Stephen K Amos, Find the Funny (ITV)

This show doesn’t have a discernible narrative beyond giving people a good time, but that doesn’t take away from it at all; Stephen K Amos is, after all, a natural entertainer who seems able to find humour in everybody and everything.

This DVD was filmed in Sydney, where he has a huge following, and much of the material is peppered with local references, such as why Australians don’t drink one of their biggest exports, Foster’s lager, and the shock many still show on their faces when a black man walks down the street.

Amos also makes much use of his childhood, growing up in an aspirational London family of Nigerian origin and there's a rather touching section when he exhorts a youngster in the audience to follow his dream rather than do his parents' bidding, as Amos had done in studying law for several years. His parents, you won't be surprised to learn, were strict and didn’t believe in giving their children fripperies; Amos recalls how in their house there was no TV remote control: "I was the remote control" and he paints both a funny and affectionate picture of family life chez Amos.

Amos’s mostly observational comedy may not be the most cutting - rude taxi drivers, boring penpals and useless careers officers all make an appearance - but he makes his points about race very well. Ultimately, though, he’s the quintessential feelgood comic. Find The Funny on Amazon

Russell Howard, Dingledodies (Channel 4)

Russell Howard is probably best-known as a panellist on BBC2’s Mock the Week; he’s the one who appears to have most luck in getting a word in edgeways against the shouty Scottish one who, many will be relieved to know, will not be returning for the next series.

Howard is 29, but his emotional age appears to be 15 and his childhood japes – setting fire to one’s anal hairs and scrotal pantomime, anyone? – form a large part of his act. But, helped by a combination of youthful good looks and a genuine playfulness, he stays just this side of crudeness. And when he tells us how his parents used to play practical jokes on him, one sees where his zestful, if ever so slightly skewed, take on life comes from.

Howard, who rather winningly appears always to see the good in people, is a wonderful antidote to the current trend for aggressive and cynical stand-up. He has a lovely way with words, goes on delightful flights of fancy, ad libs and digressions, and is a very physical performer. But he’s no Pollyanna. Several times on this DVD a more mature Howard is hinted at when he strays into social commentary; it was filmed in Brighton, ‘’Britain’s gay capital’’, and he starts the evening by telling us an anecdote that swiftly deposits homophobia in the bin marked stupid. He’s also touchingly self-deprecating; he describes his lazy eye as making him look ‘like a Picasso in the rain’’.

Dingledodies, by the way, is a word coined by Jack Kerouac in On the Road to describe those life-affirming eccentrics he was always drawn to. Howard may not be in Kerouac’s league as a commentator on life and he’s not weird, but he is certainly worth spending some time with. Dingledodies on Amazon

Ed Byrne, Different Class (Spiritentertainment)

Ed Byrne’s accomplished show navigates the weird and wonderful intricacies of the British class system - as an Irishman he is by turns confused and amused by it - and explains the importance of horse ownership and the size of your telly in determining into which class you fall. He also talks about the joys of getting married, as he did last year. The only downside to getting wed, he tells us, is the planning of the wedding - and his sharp-witted observations wring every ounce of humour from the experience.

Much of his material comes from being wonderfully pedantic - “I was at the airport the other day. I was at an airport, I should say. We say ‘the airport’ as if there’s only one” - and he’s winningly honest about an example of esprit d’escalier that dates from his student days. Both riffs, by the way, have unpredictable and clever payoffs.

Byrne’s comedy is smooth, never more so than when his more serious, clearly heartfelt points - about inappropriate clothing on young girls, or our obsession with celebrity culture - are made in the guise of self-deprecating or meandering routines ostensibly about something more mundane. Some may cavil that his comedy is too slick, or not cutting enough, but it’s done with consummate artistry. Different Class on Amazon

Michael McIntyre, 'Hello Wembley!' (Universal)

Michael McIntyre - you either love him or hate him, and thankfully for his bank balance both fans and television producers appear to be in the former camp. This DVD was, as the title suggests, recorded at Wembley, one of the arena venues that are now McIntyre’s professional home, such is his burgeoning career.

McIntyre was until recently a journeyman comic (and that most difficult thing to pull off, a very good MC on comedy bills) but has developed his own voice over the past year, and his motormouth delivery, highly physical presentation and Tiggerish persona are on display here.

His observational material is generally inoffensive - the small things in life that irritate, the cute things children say - and he has a talent for spinning out small incidents into lengthy routines. He occasionally moves to more unPC territory but such is his unrelenting cheeriness that it can take a moment to realise he's just said something rather dodgy. But there is little here that several generations of a family couldn't gather to watch together and his fans will love it. 'Hello Wembley!' on Amazon

And something for the turkey...

Johnny Vegas, Live at the Benidorm Palace (ITV)

Johnny Vegas (the alter ego of Michael Pennington) first appeared to great acclaim as a boozy, slobby and bitter pottery-maker at the Edinburgh Fringe in 1997, but has in the past few years developed a very fine CV as a serious actor, most notably as Krook in Andrew Davies’ brilliant adaptation of Bleak House for the BBC in 2005. He’s now one of the stars of ITV’s Benidorm and this DVD, filmed in the Spanish resort so beloved of the kind of British holidaymakers and expats featured in the sitcom, must have seemed like a good idea at the time.

But oh dearie me, no it's not - either Vegas or his producer have stayed out in the sun too long. It’s lame, tasteless, unfunny, even cynical - Vegas admits at one point that he's doing this show for the money. He appeals to the audience’s lowest common denominator, with jokes about how inefficient the Spanish are, lavatorial and wank gags, and extended riffs about sweaty sex. The lowest point comes when he bullies some women in the audience to “admit” they are lesbians. Ghastly. Live At The Benidorm Palace on Amazon