Zach has done a half hour stand up special on Comedy Central and is currently one of the Comedians of Comedy (it's a tour!, it's a tv show!, it's a documentary!). He's paid the bills with acting in films like Below and the tv show Tru Calling. He also had a short-lived talk show Late World with Zach on VH1, in the days before they became a reality tv station, and it was a real crash and burn project, something he hilariously commented on during the final days of its run when the series was canceled but they were still requiring him to make shows until his contract was up.

Live at the Purple Onion is, I'm pretty sure, Zach's second solo DVD release. The first, Look Who It Isn't? was released via his website and was a mix of stand up, some skits, and some Late World bits.

"My name is Zach Galifianakis. I hope I'm pronouncing that right."

Live at the Purple Onion features a fairly good set of material in front of an intimate crowd. He opts to spend most of the set on his feet rather than behind the piano. Zach does some of his one line, character impressions, like The Pretentious Illiterate, The Forgetful Vegan, The Timid Pimp, and The Effeminate Gay Basher. He comments on an older couple in the front row and tries to get to the bottom of why they came to see his show and how incredibly disappointed they must be. He impresses upon the crowd how shabby the set is going and that doesn't bode well for the DVD. "This is a dud. I need dinosaurs, thunder, and race wars. I've gotta' sell this motherfucker!" He goes into a tirade about the hollowness of celebrity that ends in a mock rampage about how he missed out on being cast in Kangaroo Jack. Like his Comedy Central special, in the finale, Zach does a bit of a performance piece with jokes written on a large notepad while a full choir of kids comes out and sings "The Greatest Love of All."

"God, I've gotten fat. And, I don't mean p-h-a-t, fat. I mean F-A-A-A-T-T-T, fat."

Along with the stand up you see Zach and his buddy Joe Wagner on the road to the gig in an old, orange and white, VW bus. Also, most amusingly, Zach plays his sensitive brother Seth Galifianakis in interview segments conducted by former Daily Show correspondent Brian Unger. Posted on Zach's website, I first saw Zach doing the less than masculine Seth on Jimmy Kimmel. Seth seems to be a creation that remarks on Zach's North Carolina upbringing. Seth is a combination of resentful and envious of his hipster, LA and NY comedian brother. Seth also suffers from heavy dose of redneck cluelessness to anything beyond his small town upbringing, be it his own sexuality or grasp of popular culture.

"My girlfriend looks a little bit like Charlize Theron and a lot like Patrick Ewing."

The main impression I was left with was the looseness of the performance in Live at the Purple Onion. Unlike most comics releasing a live show, Zach decided to keep the set pretty freeform rather than hone his material or in post-production cobble together the best moments from several shows or iron over the sore spots. Yes, its probably a good 95% pre-existing jokes but his comedy is such that the actual rhythm and editing of the set maintains a sense of the scattershot. Zach's just throwing bits around, being casual, and not afraid to remark when the jokes are not working. He's not out to manufacture his act as top to bottom perfection. It's an approach that is bit harder to appreciate, I think, and doesn't always serve just how funny he can be when everything is clicking, but he's certainly got balls to embrace the ragged sections as much as the jokes that win the crowd over.

The DVD: Netflix.

Picture: Anamorphic Widescreen. Really, when it comes to a stand up gig, filming should be pretty simple. Keep the comedian in frame, have some good lighting, and don't go out of focus. Its not like they removed a wall of the club so they could set up a crane shot or wanted Lucasfilm to digitally render a gigantic crowd scene. So, what you get is some good DV that, depending on the scene, varies a bit in terms of quality but is more than serviceable.

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 or 2.0 tracks. Again, same as above, its gets the job done. The audio can get a tad noisy at times and some of the random "moving amongst the crowd" bits and location footage were not captured with the best clarity.

Extras: A bunch of bonus clips- The awkward slapping bit (3:48). Pretty self-explanatory, Zach engages with a meek audience member. Awkward slapping ensues. Zach shaves (1:52). Out takes from the Seth Galifiankis interview (11:16). Mainly a bunch of blooper crack-ups. More... (11:57).

Conclusion: Zach Galifianakis has a beard. Zach Galifianakis tells jokes. Where's my Pulitzer?

What one finds funny is such a delicate thing, so if you don't know about Zach, for Pete's sake rent the DVD first. For his fans, while not a definitive showcase of his comedic talents, its certainly worth a purchase and will garner the occasional replay.