Review of Pablo Francisco: Bits and Pieces

Introduction

After my first brush with Doug Stanhope, I thought I`d try another title in the Ad Lib Breakout Comedy Series, looking in vain for a good hearty laugh. Come on down Pablo Francisco. Tell me a joke and make me laugh so hard I wet myself. Failing that, I`d settle for a plain laugh or even a smirk.

Some comedians need an angle, something that marks them out from their peers. It could be the use of a prop such as a keyboard, a trademark deadpan expression, someone who enjoys wearing high heels perhaps. What`s Pablo Francisco`s angle? Mimicry and sound effects; his act is littered with them in an attempt to add something to enhance the gags and get the laughs when the jokes aren`t funny enough.

Is Francisco up to the challenge?

Video

Presented with a 1.78:1 widescreen enhanced video transfer, the quality of this digital production shows up very well. Colour and detail are good, and there`s no dirt, but colours such as white can look a little overexposed in some of the show. Despite this, it`s nice and clear and doesn`t have any other problems.

Audio

This comes with a Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo soundtrack, and seeing/hearing that this is purely dialogue it`s not a problem at all and works well enough.

Features

Easy to navigate menus with a few extras:

• Inside the Comics Studio (3:33) - Francisco recounts a few anecdotes that inspired some of his material.

• Audio commentary - The whole show with commentary from Francisco. He provides a bit of insight into where his jokes came from. He`s not performing, just relaying his stories, and I have to say this is more interesting than the main show and he managed to make me smile once or twice.

• Screensaver - Select a widescreen or a fullscreen screensaver. Just what you need to pass away those hours while protecting your TV screen. Nearly as good as just turning off the television...

• Bonus CD - This DVD package comes with a bonus CD of the main show, so I suppose if you like the stand-up routine, you can listen to this in the car or stereo somewhere.

Conclusion

I spent a flat hour with this clown and failed to smile once. This is getting to be a habit where I failed to laugh last week watching Doug Stanhope. Watching stand-up comedy at home is different to seeing someone live, and this is perhaps one of the few things I can think of as to why I just fail to chortle at any of his jokes. Admittedly his jokes are mediocre and he relies heavily on his sound effects and facial expressions to persuade the audience to laugh, but I thought there must be a slight smile to be gained. Oh well, his old material (he makes Viagra jokes) is unfunny and other things such as the "I`m from Irvine", or his NASCAR rant fail too. It`s nice to see a DVD package, which includes an audio CD, but it`s a shame that it`s the same recording of his unfunny show.