Notorious C.H.O.

Margaret Cho is an NC-17 woman in a PG-13 world. Leave it to Cho to reference September 11 with a joke at once profane and respectful. Like Richard Pryor, the Korean-American outlaw comedienne seems to have found her niche with concert films that allow her the freedom to be her "actual self." She riffs unabashedly about relationships gone sour and relates her experiences as a sexual Captain Kirk, boldly going where she has never gone before. Notorious, yes, but not as accessible for the uninitiated as her last concert film, I'm the One That I Want, which dramatically chronicled the rise and fall of her ill-fated sitcom, and the toll it took on her physical and mental health. The faithful, though, won't pass up the chance for a private audience with the diva of the disenfranchised. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by Margaret Cho in character as “Mrs. Cho and Friends,” seven minutes of deleted scenes, the four-minute animated short “Grocery Store,” the two-minute “Notorious” movie shoot featurette, a 12-minute making-of featurette, and Cho's filmography. Bottom line: a fan-friendly extras package for a sure-to-be-popular-with-Cho-aficionados concert flick.] (K. Lee Benson)