JOE ROGAN: LIVE FROM INSIDE THE BELLY OF THE BEAST
PLOT-A stand-up comedy performance by Joe Rogan.
VIOLENCE-None.
SEX/NUDITY-Three women get onstage and flash their breasts, two of them make out briefly.
WHY I WATCHED IT-I had never heard of Joe Rogan before I watched this DVD, I merely noticed it had the "Sacred Cow Productions" label on it, which is associated with the late Bill Hicks, a comedy genius. I figured there must be something cool about Joe Rogan. Then I noticed on the back of the case, it said Joe's act was vulgar and offensive and so forth. Definitely up my alley. Also of note, I found this disc in a huge cardboard box full of promotional items that someone at my work was going to throw away. I rescued it from the garbage, which is where I'm sure they figured something vulgar and offensive belonged.
THE DOPE-I'm a huge fan of stand-up comedy. My whole life, I've been buying comedy albums and watching comedians on TV. Over the years my list of favorites has remained relatively the same: Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Bill Hicks, Martin Lawrence, Chris Rock, Margaret Cho, Andrew Dice Clay, and Bernie Mac. After wathcing this DVD, I have officially added Joe Rogan to that list. He is that incredible. The true test of a comedy act is if you laugh every time you listen to it, and the comedians on that list are the ones whose material I can hear over and over and never get sick of. Joe has the same anger and wit that Bill Hicks had, but possesses a youthful energy and and unique perspective as well. He's not pissed off and bitter, he just finds humor in the absurdity of many things as do we all. Reviews like this are really hard to write, because it's hard to explain this stuff in words other than "it's funny as fuck and I laughed my ass off the entire time". Truly, if you dig any of the comics I mentioned above, especially Hicks, Carlin and Clay, you need to seek out Joe's stuff. Go to www.joerogan.net for more information.
MEMORABLE SCENES-His bit about "When Animals Attack" will destroy you, same with the one about Hugh Hefner.
DVD NOTES-There are a few extras on the disc, but the coolest one is called "Interactive Tits". Apparently at one point during the show, three girls came up on stage and showed their breasts to the audience (this was edited out of the actual show). This feature allows you to watch this from 4 different camera angles of your choice. Wonderful.
(December 2002)