What's a guy to do? He gives his wife a nice set of socket wrenches for an anniversary present, and can't quite figure out why she's not as enthused about them as he expected. (In fact, she's downright mad. Who would have guessed?) To make matters worse, he then gives his honest opinion of her latest dried-flower craft creation. Oops. But never fear, Red Green is here! In We Can't Help It – We're Men, Red Green offers an apology (or at least an excuse) to all womankind (note the title) and helpful advice to all the guys out there who just can't figure out how to get along with their "better half." The theme of the difference of the sexes has been fodder for countless stand-up routines and full-length comedies, but it's a vein that's not tapped out; with his character of Red Green, the Canadian comic Steve Smith offers a dry, low-key, and (of course) very off-the-wall send-up of the topic.

The Red Green Show is... well, it's different. If you haven't seen any episodes of this comedy series, it's good to know up-front that it's decidedly quirky. Imagine a combination of talk show, variety show, and handyman's how-to show, set in the Canadian backwoods, hosted by Red Green with the help of his ultra-geeky nephew Harold (Patrick McKenna) and various members of the Possum Lodge. Offbeat? Certainly. Entertaining? Actually, yes: you have to see it to appreciate how off-the-wall it is, but Red Green does have a peculiar charm that grows on you.

In We Can't Help It – We're Men, Red Green tackles such weighty topics as "What do women want?" (not that the panel of "Experts" comes up with any good answers); men and directions; homemade gifts; and, of course, handyman projects like restoring a vintage lawn chair. Because it stays on the same general theme throughout, the 65-minute main program has a slightly different feel than the shorter episodes that typically touch on a variety of humorous topics. But since the different skits play up different aspects of the theme, We Can't Help It – We're Men never feels repetitious. In fact, as I noted in a review of another Red Green special, It's a Wonderful Red Green Christmas, having an overall theme makes the whole program funnier, tying together the different clips as it does.

It's included in the bonus section, not as part of the main program, but it's worth noting here that a second full-length (71-minute) Red Green special is also included: Red Green's Of Cars and Men.

The DVD

Video

Red Green's We Can't Help It – We're Men appears in its original television aspect ratio of 1.33:1. It looks reasonably OK, assuming you don't have really high expectations. The image is a bit soft and washed out, but it's perfectly watchable. Of Cars and Men looks a little more grainy, but is still passable.

Audio

The Dolby 2.0 audio is perfectly satisfactory, presenting the dialogue in a reasonably clear and clean manner. The laugh track also seems to be reasonably well balanced with the rest of the program.

Extras

Acorn Media's releases of the Red Green programs are always nicely loaded with bonus material. In this case, we get a full second special: Red Green's Of Cars and Men (71 minutes), in which Red Green tackles the subject of – you guessed it – men and their love affair with all kinds of automobiles.

Another thirty minutes or so of footage is included in the "bonus segments": these twelve short segments offer a variety of wacky how-to projects and Possum Lodge misadventures. These are really pretty funny (I particularly liked the satellite dish wok and the creative use of ugly carpeting), so the only thing that's really missing is a "play all" feature.

Final thoughts

If you're a Red Green fan, then this is certainly a DVD you'll want to pick up, as it has two full-length Red Green specials plus a handful of entertaining short segments. (Note: guys, don't take this recommendation by a woman reviewer to mean that this is an ideal DVD to buy your wife for a birthday present... not unless you know she has a quirky sense of humor...) For viewers who haven't seen any Red Green episodes but think that this brand of offbeat comedy is up your alley, We Can't Help It – We're Men is a reasonable DVD to pick up as an introduction. Recommended.