I was aware of Stanhope's work prior to seeing "No Refunds." From what I saw, I found his schtick amusing on "The Howard Stern Show" and "The Man Show," but something must have happened to him over the past couple years because this stand up performance was far from gut bustingly funny. For the entire show, Stanhope smoke, drinks, and swears up a storm as he rambles on about abortions, immigration, New Yorkers, religion, and how this generation is full of dreary people. Instead of making astute observations on these select topics, Stanhope insults everyone and everything to the point where it stops being funny. His act seemed to be one long angry rant from a tired, grumpy, bitter comedian who is full of regret. It was more sad than funny. When it was all over and done, I honestly felt the need to shower. I wasn't even in the audience, but watching him via DVD still rubbed me the wrong way.

What makes his act so unsettling is the fact that Stanhope really seemed unstable. I don't know if he's putting on a show or speaking from his heart, but his outrageous claims and statements elicit more disgust than laughs. I can't speak for everyone, but I am willing to bet audience members felt mighty uncomfortable when Stanhope talking about how glad he was when his wife got an abortion. I am all for free speech and comedians (or any other artist for that matter) pushing the boundary, but his act seemed less about expression and more about him having a meltdown. Is Stanhope another Michael Richards waiting to happen? Time will tell.

The DVD

Video:
The 1.78:1 widescreen video quality is what you'd expect from a special shot on digital video. Not much thought was put into shooting this special whatsoever. There are only 3 shots used, and next to no crowd shots. That's just plain lazy.

Sound: The Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround is to put it kindly- poor. As the acoustics of the comedy club sound like Stanhope is talking in a cave, it makes it nearly impossible to hear his act when the crowd is laughing and clapping.

Extras: 3 extras here. There's one pointless interview/promo titled "Doug F**ks Up" which does nothing more than show how Stanhope is not all right in the head as he blanks out and forgets what to say. Additionally, there are two deleted scenes titled "Laugh If It's Funny" and "What The F**k Is He Talking About" which are the opening intro to the show and a collection of cut scenes from certain rants, basically showing him mess up on jokes.

Final Thoughts:
"Doug Stanhope: No Refunds" is more sad than funny. Seeing a burnt out comedian self-destruct on stage is not my idea of comedy.

Film and television enthusiast Nick Lyons recently had his first book published titled "Attack of the Sci-Fi Trivia." It is available on Amazon.com.