Reviewer's Bias*
Loves: Stand-up comedy
Likes: Pablo Francisco
Dislikes:
Hates: Potential unfulfilled

The Story So Far...
Pablo Francisco first made an impact on MadTV, before breaking through as a stand-up comic with an appearance on "Comedy Central Presents...," spots on "The Tonight Show" and a trio of comedy CDs. In 2004, his "Bits and Pieces" DVD was released by Shout! Factory. DVDTalk has a review here.

The Show
When I first saw Pablo Francisco on a comedy central stand-up show, I felt like I was watching someone truly original and funny, as his combination of vocal effects, imitations and goofy humor made me laugh harder than your average stand-up. Now, years later, his act hasn't changed much, so it's not as fresh, and therefore not as funny.

A sweaty Francisco works the San Jose stage with a manic level of energy that sells stretches of the show that might otherwise fall flat. The vocal effects are still there, and still impressive, and the surfer-guy voice, used to best effect in portraying his exotic-dancer roommate, is still amusing. But too often, Francisco uses his vocal ability to fill dead spots, saying "boo boo be boo" or some other nonsense. It was cute the first time, but it quickly becomes repetitive.

Also returning from his previous sets is his trademark movie trailer bit, in which he imitates the deep-voiced announcer behind all those "In a world..." previews. Instead of saving this famous bit for the end of his show, as usual, the joke is spread throughout the show, appearing during his Jackie Chan routine, as part of his "Captain Sex-Blocker" routine (which is similar to content on "Bits and Pieces") and other sections. I can't blame him for using it again and again, because I know if I could do that voice, I would never stop.

Though the case indicates "all-new material," there's quite a bit of content here that's been heard before, including some material as far back as his "Knee to the Groin" CD. As far as the new jokes go, I can't be certain when this show was taped, but there's a dated feel to the material, including a rather lengthy segment about 15-minute celebrity William "American Idol" Hung, which, combined with a long bit about Chinatown, Jackie Chan and Asian films, is pretty insulting to Asians, without the redeeming humor to go with it. Considering he also does bits about Cher's "Turn Back Time" video and Mentos commercials, I'm guessing Francisco just uses some old references in his show.

One bit that really works though is tied into the "Captain Sex-Blocker" jokes, as he uses his vocal abilities to show how the wrong music can wreck an intimate moment. I actually laughed pretty hard at some of the songs he imitates, along with his physical actions. I was less enamored of his new drug routine, which is such a hackneyed comic bit that he really should be above it, but it allows him to break out a variety of vocal gags, including his techno music beat-box thing and a Mr. Magoo imitation, so it's not all bad. The finale, an involved real-life interpretation of the video game "Grand Theft Auto," falls flat unfortunately, ending the show on a down note.

The DVD
Packed in a standard keepcase, this one-disc release features a static anamorphic widescreen main menu, following an animated widescreen menu with an option to watch the show censored or uncensored. Options on the interior menus include play, scene selection and special features. There are no audio options, other than the editing, no subtitles and no closed captioning.

The Quality
The show is delivered in an anamorphic widescreen transfer that's clean and colorful, without a speck of dirt or damage. There are no signs o f digital artifacts either. It's not the most challenging image to reproduce, but a solid one.

The audio is presented in a Dolby Digital 5.0 track, but there's no separation between the channels, which all deliver a clean version of Francisco's voice, the music and the audience reaction. Francisco is the strongest sound on the track, so he's not overpowered at any point. There's nothing here to impress anyone, but it's solid for sure.

The Extras
There's a handful of extras included, starting with "Casa De Pablo," a visit to Francisco's home, a parody of MTV's "Cribs." It's a cute featurette, with some smart gags thrown in, as you explore his less-than-expansive residence. "Bootleg" footage of the comic in Iceland follows, presenting some of his better-known material in home-movie quality. There's also a silly stills gallery.

Pop the disc into your DVD-Rom drive and you get a surprising amount of extras, including the 16 images from the stills gallery, a collection of soundclips in AIFF and WAV formats, and the two featurettes from the DVD in iPod format, for easy downloading.

The Bottom Line
Not as funny or as original as his first big set, "Ouch!" is nonetheless "classic" Francisco, with all the hallmarks that have made him a popular stand-up. The material just doesn't have the impact it once had though, thanks to the repetition. It's still an amusing 70 minutes of manic comedy and imitations. The DVD looks and sounds nice, as good as a stand-up act can, and the extras are a good addition to the show. If you like Francisco, it's worth checking out, but if you've never seen him before, try to find his Comedy Central special first.

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*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.