Mike Birbiglia – What I Should Have Said Was
Nothing: Tales From My Secret Public Journal (Shout! Factory DVD)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: C+ Concert: C+
The
simple standard for all comedy DVDs, especially for stand-up comedy, is if the
comic is funny or not. Mike Birbiglia
likes to talk very much, something the title of this DVD release points
out: What I Should Have Said Was Nothing: Tales From My Secret Public
Journal. At nearly an hour, this
comedy is about funny things that have happened to him as he has tried to
establish himself as a comedy star.
Well, if Kathy Griffith is on the D-list, Birbiglia is still looking for
one.
He is
funny, but I never laughed once during any of the program or its supplements,
but he is smart and entertaining and I did at least find myself smiling most of
the way through. He has talent, but
needs to become bolder than just playing on how funny apathy can be. Maybe he needs more time in the business to
make this humor work, but I would like to see what he does in the near
future. At least his humor is
entertaining; something many new comedians lack.
The 1.78
X 1 image is seems to be an HD shoot and looks good, but has some softness and
depth limits from the trade down to DVD, but is still good enough for stand-up
comedy. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is
also simple, has no surrounds and is well recorded, but the audience is too
much in the background in even this mix.
Extras at about a half-hour each include bonus concert footage and a
documentary Strictly For Fans.
- Nicholas Sheffo
