As a Saturday Night Live regular from 1986-1992, Dana Carvey delighted TV viewers while playing a multitude of very different characters, some real (George Bush the elder), others invented (the Church Lady). Carvey was able to slip into these roles with an ease that made him the envy of his peers, but in subsequent stage work and feature-film vehicles, the frantic funny man never quite scored as decisively as he did in SNL skits. Sadly, this recently taped standup performance for an HBO comedy special marks the latest in a string of disappointments from the erstwhile high-flying comic. As usual, Carvey is at his best when imitating famous people: Bush the younger, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Al Gore, Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Al Pacino, and others. But when he's rattling off jokes and anecdotes, Carvey becomes almost painfully banal—in keeping with the subjects he riffs on, which include aging, safe sex, global warming, and (yawn) permissive parenting. DVD extras on this two-disc set include deleted scenes, an audience Q&A, and—on the second disc—Carvey's complete 1995 special Dana Carvey: Critics' Choice. Granted, Carvey knows how to work a crowd (and may well be much funnier in person than on a TV screen), but this reviewer will tell no lie: this is strictly an optional purchase. Aud: P. (E. Hulse)
Dana Carvey: Squatting Monkeys Tell No Lies
(2008) 2 discs. 60 min. DVD: $19.98. HBO Video (avail. from most distributors). Closed captioned. ISBN: 1-4198-7005-X. Volume 23, Issue 6
Dana Carvey: Squatting Monkeys Tell No Lies
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