TV Show Info:
Cast: Patton Oswalt, Dave Attell, Frank Caliendo, Brian Posehn, Nick Swardson, Zach Galifianakis, Mike Birbiglia, Stephen Lynch
Rating: Unrated
Studio: Comedy Central/Paramount

Release Info:
Original Air Dates: Various
DVD Box Set Release Date: August 26, 2008
Online Availability: Amazon

Fans of stand-up comedy should already be aware of Comedy Central Presents. Despite being a hit or miss show some nights, this is hands down one of the best shows to find good comedians. From Stephen Lynch to Dane Cook some of the best in the business have been represented. Still, like some of my favorites, some of my least favorite comedians have also been on this show. With this in mind, I will admit that there are times when I skip watching the show if I see it on the network.

DVDs like this are great because you can celebrate the show on your terms. If you like the comedians represented in a certain Comedy Central Presents set then it makes sense to pick it up. If you don’t, then you can save your money and avoid it altogether. In the case of Comedy Central Presents II I find it to be a mixed bag. There are a few pretty good forces of comedy here, but there are a few that really did nothing for me at all. Considering the set had more positive moments than negative, you probably won’t hear too many complaints out of me overall.

The The Best of Comedy Central Presents II Plot
There are plenty of comics to go through. The good news is that most of them are good. There are some duds, sadly, but the majority manage to be pretty decent. Dave Attell got things rolling to a good start. Attell is always a safe choice thanks to his hilarious act and his superstar comic status. There will be people that watch The Best of Comedy Central Presents II just for him. One of Attell’s funniest moments is when he offers advice on what to do if you’re caught masturbating. Add that in with all the drunken stories and you’re sure to have a good time on your hands.

When Mike Birbiglia was up I wasn’t sure who he was or what to expect. It was mildly awkward to see this man on stage because it’s obvious that he is not quite comfortable there. Maybe it was just one of his first performances, but he fumbled a few jokes and it really slowed down his portion of the program. He had some funny moments, but what it all comes down to is he needs better timing and some work on delivery.

The point is he’s not going to be the best on the disc. He won’t even be close. After Birbiglia was Frank Caliendo. This was by far one of the worst acts, so I suppose he got the best spot. Putting the weakest acts together allows people to forward through the losers and get back to the good stuff. If you’ve ever seen a Caliendo act then you know what to expect. He never changes. The same impressions from George Bush to John Madden are represented here.

Caliendo is followed up by Zach Galigianakis. It’s hard to describe him as a comic because he doesn’t appear to have one set thing he does. He dabbles in some musical comedy at the piano and then he tells some jokes. He’s hyper and high maintenance, but it works out well in this case. His hyper-involved comedy makes him fun to watch.

I would say that his musical comedy made him fun to watch, but the undisputed king of musical comedy is next when things get rolling with Stephen Lynch. I have been a fan of Lynch for years and he cracks me up every time I see him. In this performance, he does songs from his album, “The Craig Machine.” If you had any questions about whether or not The Best of Comedy Central Presents II was uncensored, Lynch should help remove those questions. Some highlights include “Vanilla Ice Cream” and “Craig Christ.”

Patton Oswalt is up next, making this one of the funniest blocks on the set so far. Oswalt’s comedy just has a way of getting to me every time. Maybe it’s his stories about Amsterdam, pot, and Easter eggs? Whatever it is, it works. While parts of his comedy are relaxed and comfortable, it’s when he gets worked up that things really take a turn towards hilarious. Like the other two before him he is well worth watching.

Nick Swardson follows and for me he is the most impressive of the bunch. I don’t quite know why I was expecting him to not be funny, but he was. Swardson is best known as the homosexual rollerskating prostitute on Reno 911. Just having that on his resume should have been enough to know that he was going to be hilarious. The funniest things about him by far are his mannerisms. The looks on his face are simply priceless.

The final comic on the roster is Daniel Tosh. If you watch this you will notice that the audience doesn’t receive Tosh in the best way. Maybe it’s because he is awkward on stage or maybe it’s because he starts and stops jokes without finishing them? Whatever the reason is, he wasn’t nearly as funny as he could have been. Many of the things he said were approaching funny, but it was all built up with no climax. This was by far one of the most depressing moments on the disc.

The editing process didn’t work well for me. On the bright side, on the last The Best of Comedy Central Presents the downside was that the majority of the segments could be purchased in other, better comedy sets. This does occasionally happen, but the majority of the segments only seem to be available here which is a positive step up from last time.

Storyline/Plot:
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Acting:
Directing:

Audio/Visual:
Comedy Central Presents II is presented in full frame with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1. Considering that the majority of these episodes are new there isn’t much to say about them. The colors are good and the clarity is high. The picture is sharp overall and I did not notice the presence of dirt, grain, or other unsightly visual annoyances. Overall, things looked just fine.

The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0. This is the same audio used when the acts occurred on television. The audio sounds fine for the most part. I wasn’t finding a need to play with the audio and while not incredibly dynamic, the sound came through loud and clear, doing just what it needed to do. English is the only available language and while there are no subtitles, Closed Captioning is available.

Visual:
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Bonus Features:
Comedy Central does not often offer a lot of bonus features. If you are used to this then you won’t be shocked when you see this section pretty bare. If you discount the previews, which really count more as marketing and less as features, the only thing you receive are three short clips promoting The Daily Show, Reno 911!, and The Colbert Report.

Bonus Features:

Bottom Line:
The Best of Comedy Central Presents II offers a reasonably good time from start to finish. Out of all the comedians there were only two that I really didn’t care for watching. Considering I found all of the others to be well worth watching I have to recommend this. If you haven’t seen the show or are familiar with the comics I listed you are going to want to watch this. Even if you have seen the acts, if you liked them this is a great way to revisit the episodes.

Overall Rating:

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