Thirty years after late comedian Sam Kinison (1953-1992) peaked in popularity on TV and in standup shows, this Spike TV-aired documentary answers an important question: was Kinison all that funny? Yes, and frequently so. From a contemporary perspective, it's easy to lump Kinison in with misogynist poseurs from the same era such as Andrew Dice Clay. But while Kinison could go too far (phoning ex-girlfriends of guys in his audience to scream at them), and his jokes about gays were ill-considered, his broader sensibility about calling out repressed rage concerning relationships and the world's absurdity struck a chord. While there are generous clips here of Kinison doing his act, most of filmmaker Adrian Buitenhuis's I Am Sam Kinison consists of recollections and impressions from other comedians, family members, and friends such as Charlie Sheen and Corey Feldman. Most poignant are the memories shared by Kinison's older brother, who served as the star's manager and saw him through good and bad times, and was present for Kinison's final moments following a highway collision. Also covering Kinison's years as an evangelical preacher, the honing of his comedy craft, and the emotional toll of a younger brother's suicide, this biographical profile successfully makes its subject more of a sympathetic figure than one might have imagined. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)
I Am Sam Kinison
(2017) 98 min. DVD: $19.99. Virgil Films (avail. from most distributors). Closed captioned. Volume 33, Issue 2
I Am Sam Kinison
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