“It's all bullshit, folks, and it's bad for ya!” After 45 years as a professional comedian and observer of modern life's faults and foibles, the late George Carlin's bracingly irreverent and boldly uncompromising farewell—his 14th and final HBO special, recorded in March 2008—is a clear-eyed, clear-headed critique of the American landscape. Some may dismiss Carlin as a cantankerous old misanthrope, but fans of the caustic comic will enjoy his articulate take on what he calls “The Great American Okey-Doke,” which he defines as our collective inability to question untruths foisted upon us as accepted wisdom from a very early age. Carlin says that “God Bless America” is “an empty slogan,” rails against obsessive parental pampering of children, and calls the Holy Bible “America's favorite national theatrical prop.” Carlin, who died less than four months after this performance, also has plenty to say about how politics, religion, and commerce work alone or in tandem to strip us of our ability to think for ourselves. Although not Carlin's funniest concert, this is perhaps his most potent defense of his bleak worldview (summed up by the notion that humanity is “circling the drain” with a deeply uncertain future). DVD extras include a half-hour December 2007 interview with Carlin, and an archival Carlin performance from the January 25, 1969 broadcast of The Jackie Gleason Show. Highly recommended. Aud: P. (J. Shannon)
George Carlin: It's Bad For Ya
(2008) 68 min. DVD: $14.98, Blu-ray: $24.98. MPI Media Group (avail. from most distributors). ISBN: 0-7886-0959-9 (dvd). Volume 24, Issue 2
George Carlin: It's Bad For Ya
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