George Carlin: Life Is Worth Losing

Although George Carlin long ago left behind his “hippie-dippie weatherman” character, his unique style of observational humor hasn't changed all that much (other than being angrier) since the peak of his popularity in the late 1960s and early ‘70s. This live performance, staged in 2005 at New York's legendary Beacon Theatre and cablecast on HBO, finds the aging but still vital comedian in good form. Carlin's facile delivery belies the intellectual rigor he brings to his routines, which are alternately witty, cynical, and satirical, in keeping with the subjects under discussion. He discusses religion, for example, in the context of a sun worshipper, who gloats that he doesn't have to dress up to practice his faith and that nobody asks for money or bores him with “pageantry.” He also comedically tackles such taboo subjects as suicide, autoerotic asphyxia, and yeast infections. As fearless as he is inventive, Carlin may have slipped a little in recent years—but only a little, which still puts him ahead of many standup comics working today. Recommended. Aud: P. (E. Hulse)