This holiday offering from self-described “broadcasting legend” Stephen Colbert is everything you'd expect (arch, silly, clever) and more (who knew the dude could sing, or that he had a slightly sentimental streak?). The premise is thin: trapped by a ferocious bear (um, make that a guy in a bear suit) in his snowbound country cabin, Colbert can't get to the taping of his Christmas special in New York City, where special guests such as Elvis Costello await. But the “storyline” is merely an excuse for a series of appearances by a very disparate bunch of musical guests. Some happily play to their stereotypes: “hunter” Toby Keith, sporting a machine gun, sings about “atheists and judges” and their “war on Christmas”; Willie Nelson, hilariously wasted (“I'm so high, you're hallucinating”), is the “fourth wise man,” bringing his offering of marijuana to the baby Jesus; “indie folk darling” Feist plays an angel in an It's a Wonderful Life moment; and John Legend parodies his smooth lady-killer image with an earnest ode to nutmeg. But the straight-ahead group version of Costello's “(What's So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding” is a nice change of pace, and Colbert sings well on tunes like “Another Christmas Song” (co-written by Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne). DVD extras include the accurately-named “Book Burning Yule Log” and a video Advent calendar (by Dec. 2, “I'm out of ideas—let's just give ‘em chocolate”). Recommended. Aud: P. (S. Graham)
A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!
(2008) 43 min. DVD: $19.99. Paramount Home Entertainment (avail. from most distributors). Closed captioned. ISBN: 1-4157-4490-4. December 22, 2008
A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!
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