Bill Maher – “But I’m Not Wrong” (2010/HBO DVD)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: D Concert: B
Attacked
by the Far Right and just about anyone else he can offend, Bill Maher (like
Howard Stern) has gone from a broadcast hit sensation to one confined to a
pay-broadcast format, but that has only made him get wilder. At HBO, Maher has more freedom than he could
have ever had at ABC and besides his regular TV series, he has issued a series
of concerts and his latest, “But I’m Not
Wrong”, is as daring and hilarious as ever.
Hitting
the nail on the head more often than expected, Maher has choice words about sex
scandals, Sarah Palin, President Obama, drugs, health care, realities of sex,
religion, racism, the current state of politics and much more and to say the
least, does not hold back. Remarkably,
he has issued several concerts on DVD and this is only the very first one we
got to cover. Looks like we have been
missing some truly funny shows. On
stage, Maher has stand-up comic savvy you would not necessarily know he has
from his TV show, but is up there with the best stand-ups around, even if he
never gets the credit for it.
He offers
a badly needed discourse that is not tied to bad trends (especially since the
1980s) and that is why the 80 minutes here is so non-stop good. Just expect that he will say anything!
The anamorphically
enhanced 1.78 X 1 seems to originate from 1080i HD video and is just fine for
that, even with motion blur and some other issues, but I softer here simply
because DVD is not high definition.
Color is also good. The Dolby
Digital 2.0 Stereo is well recorded and just fine for a stand-up talking, plus
you get mild Pro Logic surrounds and the audience is never heard out of balance
with Maher. There are no extras.
- Nicholas Sheffo
