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Reviews
David Cross: Let America Laugh (2003)
I was disappointed.
I was expecting much better from David Cross. I am indeed a fan, not so much now after watching this mediocre `on the road with' production.
Two things that have drawn me to his work were his delivery and the continued speculation on my part of `what makes this guy tick?' I never could quite figure out what was brewing behind his hilarious sarcastic jabs that make up much of his stand-up and the creativity behind Mr. Show and his other works. I always have viewed him as an intelligent, stoner type who `got it' especially evident when his work revolves around topical issues.
In `Let America Laugh' we get to see Cross interact with his traveling companions and often with a variety of typical drunken folks that you would see in Anysoutherntown, USA. These scenes are intertwined with footage of him performing his stand-up.
I don't ask for much.If just *some* of the footage could have captured his delivery, I would have been satisfied with this video. Instead, almost all of the scenes were him talking above the crowd at various venues, they mumbling and generally being rude, often heckling. Because of the constant crowd noise, you don't get to witness what I feel he is best at, which is the excellent timing that makes up his delivery. If you intend to rent/buy this to see his stand-up act, you will not get it from this video. I was OK with that aspect of the video, I mention this because at about the halfway point, I was basically looking for ANYTHING that was entertaining. That just never happened.
I never really got to see what was behind the man. It is hard to explain what I felt of Davis Cross `the person' after viewing this. I kind of felt disappointed. like in the case where, say you have always been dazzled by some extraordinary feat and then come to discover that what you have been witnessing was trickery and not really that spectacular once you see what is behind the feat.
The video was just not funny, I honestly did not laugh once. The drunken fools were not funny, Cross wasn't especially funny, there just wasn't anything entertaining about it.it was dry, dull and empty.
Was he just playing to the camera, I don't really know. He did not come across as the same person when I saw him on "Dinner for Five", granted he made just a few comments on that show. I'm left thinking "would the real David Cross please stand up"?