The Show
Caroline Rhea's had a few different careers to this point, making her name as a comic, moving on to sitcoms, then trying talk shows, before disappearing into the background a bit, emerging to do a movie or host "The Biggest Loser." With the rebirth of "One Night Stand" on HBO, she's back on the stand-up scene, and the return isn't too bad.

Rhea's act is very self-deprecating, made up mostly of jokes about her failures at relationships, weight and sex. Delivered with a bubbly personality and a willingness to be goofy, the jokes work in theory, but they don't garner the laughs one might expect. Maybe it's the familiarity the audience has with the material. Either way, there are full sections that don't work, like her bit about sleeping in bed with someone else, or her section on southern culture, which actually ends with an explanation of a joke. But even that didn't bomb like her joke about her mom's gay code.

The main problem with the set is that the jokes are simply too generic, and could be told by any relationship-based comic. On the other hand, her stage persona is a lot of fun, as she makes silly faces and tosses in some throwaway lines that are better than much of her set-up material. The addition of some more adult comedy, including bits on oral sex, was a nice touch, and it freshened things up, but there's just not enough of it to carry the show.

If Rhea was to rework her act to drop the comedy-club staples and introduce more bits of silliness from her semi-famous life, while maintaining the new adult material, including her bit about The Sound of Music and imitation of a horny chimp, she would improve her set tremendously. As it stands now, it's more of a best-of performance from a comic you've seen about 100 times.

The DVD
"One Night Stand: Caroline Rhea" is a one-DVD release, packed in a standard keepcase with a promotional HBO insert. The disc has a static, full-frame main menu, with options to watch the main feature or check out the extras. There are no subtitles, no audio options and no scene selections, though there is closed captioning on the show.

The Quality
The full-frame transfer looks very good, though it does have some softness and a bit of video noise. The color is very good, as are the level of detail and black level. The disc is free of dirt and damage.

The audio is presented as a Dolby Digital 2.0 track, which is crisp and clear, and sits firmly in the center channel. One wouldn't expect much from a stand-up act, and if so, one wouldn't be disappointed. There's no distortion in thedialogue, and the mix combines Rhea and the audience well.

The Extras
An eight-minute set by Rhea, taken from her 1995 appearance on "Women of the Night," is interesting, as it shows a younger performer, but one who always had a confident delivery. Unfortunately, it also shows how little her act has changed in the past 10 years. Even so, this is classic Rhea.

"Behind the Scenes with Caroline Rhea" runs nine minutes, and serves as a video profile of the comic. You have to be a fan of hers to enjoy this, as it's nine minutes of her talking to an interviewer, which can drag pretty dramatically at times.

The Bottom Line
Rhea is still funny, getting a good deal of mileage out of being cute, but her act hasn't grown much over the years, as she's still talking about finding a husband and her awkward nature. The lack of an evolution leaves her a bit predictable and honestly, somewhat boring. Even so, there' are some decent laughs for just about anyone. The DVD looks and sounds good, and the extras, though very light, are the best of the "ONS" bunch. HBO should have released a few shows together, as there's hardly enough content here to justify laying down $15 for this disc. Give it a rental if you want to check it out.

Follow him on Twitter

*The Reviewer's Bias section is an attempt to help readers use the review to its best effect. By knowing where the reviewer's biases lie on the film's subject matter, one can read the review with the right mindset.