INTRODUCTION:

The promotional material for this DVD reads as follows: "From the company that brought you Animal House and the Vacation movies comes the greatest comedy DVD series in history! From the four corners of the globe, National Lampoon has invested all of its resources in discovering the talent, jokes and energy that will keep audiences laughing now and forever." Exaggerate much?

CONTENT:

After recently reviewing National Lampoon Live - The International Show, I dreaded having to sit through another hour plus of poor stand-up, let alone writing another review about it. To my pleasant surprise, however, this event proved to succeed in nearly every way that the other failed.

Frank Caliendo opens the show with 12 minutes of warm-up material, and it's almost all hilarious. Granted, this is Caliendo's standard routine, but the mark of great material is when you can see it numerous times, and it's always funny. This is certainly the case with Caliendo's Madden routine, and no matter how many times I see it, it leaves me in stitches. Mix in a little Bush and Robin Williams, and it's a great way to start a show.

The first performer on stage is John DiResta, a former transit cop and self-proclaimed "White Trash Comic." His set starts off fairly well, but it quickly devolves into raunchy gross-out material that just doesn't work. Opening the show with his set is a good idea as he's the weakest of the group.

Next up is Sam Tripoli, a very energetic presence on stage whose style is similar to Dane Cook's, with lots of enthusiasm and physical antics. He is Armenian and makes a couple of jokes about it, but unlike many other comics, his material does not hinge on that one aspect of his person, and he quickly moves into his own unique set. The crowd is really into it, and he clearly feeds off their energy.

Bert Kreischer keeps the laughter going strong with another solid set. His style is pretty standard, but his material is original. At this point in the show, the crowd is really into it and is making it easy on the comics. Bert's whole set is very confident and polished, and it falls right in line. He finishes strong with what he'd like to hear said on The Dating Game when asked to "describe your perfect date."

The energy of the previous two comics presents a bit of a letdown for Tess, the fourth performer of the evening. While bubbly, she doesn't have that in-your-face style of the others, and it doesn't work well in this slot. Also, most of her material was used so heavily in various performances of Last Comic Standing that it doesn't have the same kick when reused in this setting. Still, she mixes in some new jokes and while not the best performance on the DVD, it's good for a few laughs.

The final performer is Steve Byrne who is half Korean, but unlike Dat Phan, while he starts with an Asian joke and ends with another, the majority of his set is straight comedy. Much like Tripoli, it's not a crutch for him, and he has much more depth than simply playing off his ethnicity. Creatively using sound effects, he delivers a killer set to end the DVD and cap off a successful evening of comedy.

Mixed in after the performances are short interviews backstage with Bronwyn Leigh. While Magdalena from The International Show came across as forced and awkward, these short moments are moderately entertaining and aren't nearly as cringe inducing.

PRESENTATION:

Like the others in the set, this DVD is presented in anamorphic widescreen and looks fantastic with footage that is bright and clear. Also like the others, the soundtrack is a somewhat awkward 5.1 mix that highlights a bit too much of the audience and causes some distraction from the comedy. A simple stereo track would have been preferable in this case.

The main menu is very simple and consists of a "Play Show" button that (obviously) plays the entire presentation in addition to clickable images of the performers that jump to each comic's particular chapter.

WHISTLES:

The "extra" on this disc is an 11 minute "Man on the Street" segment with Boogie. Picking out hot women from outside the venue as well as interviewing some of the comics themselves, this piece is good for a few laughs and is a drastic improvement over the disaster that is Jay Davis.

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS:

Unlike its companion DVD, this event succeeds in its task. While Tess has popularity from Last Comic Standing, the other four are far from being household names, even to the casual stand-up fan. The talent in this event is actually worthy of a DVD, and it feels neither gratuitous nor forced. Certainly none of these performers is ready to be a legitimate headliner yet (except Caliendo), but many of them would make a great Featured Act, and I wouldn't be surprised to see one of them show up in a more mainstream setting down the road. If you're unfamiliar with these comics and are looking for some relatively "New Faces" I Recommend giving this a shot.