Search - Jim Gaffigan: King Baby on DVD

Absolute awesomeness

Brandon Cozart | Charlotte, NC USA | 03/26/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Mortal men might be ashamed at their pudginess, laziness, and gastronomical obsession, but not Jim Gaffigan. Instead, Gaffigan uses these characteristics as punchlines that have surely earned him hundreds of dollars as he travels the country to inform the masses how much of a pig he is, and how they pretty much are too. Fresh off his widely successful Beyond the Pale DVD, released in 2006, Jim Gaffigan has decided to once again grace us with his shockingly pale presence in his newest DVD, King Baby.

Filmed during a stint in Austin, Texas, King Baby is perhaps best used as a pedagogical tool. In it we learn the wonders of meat, the absurdities of camping, and the sheer genius of the escalator and snooze bar. Of course, this is not all as there are many other topics discussed to both gladden the heart and inform the mind.

Most known for his "Hot Pockets" bit, Gaffigan spends most of his time on stage talking about food in ways both memorable and ethereal. After spending a little over an hour at the feet of this master of burlesque, the student will no doubt desire to adorn all food with bacon (or at least the most magical form of bacon: the bits of bacon), only achieving perfection if done while lounging on the couch and watching television at the same time.

In addition to the main feature, this disc also contains many insightful extras. These include Comedy Central commercials for both the Beyond the Pale and King Baby specials, interviews with the baron of jest himself, PSAs for "Our Massive Planet," and three "Pale Force" animated shorts."

If anyone can make jokes based around bowling, hot pockets a

Dennis A. Amith (kndy) | California | 04/02/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If anyone can make jokes about bacon, being lazy, playing bowling and hot pockets for long period of time and make people laugh, Jim Gaffigan can definitely make it happen!

With the success of Gaffigan's Comedy Central DVD "Beyond the Pale", Gaffigan returns with "King Baby". From the starting menu of the DVD featuring two young kids pigging out on BBQ ribs, you know that you're going to be in for a fun time.

Filmed in Austin which capped off his sold-out 2008 stand-up tour, Gaffigan is on fire as his routine consists of going out bowling, being lazy, going camping, his bedroom, ketchup, waffle house and of course, being known for his comedy routine about bacon and much, much more.

Featuring 30 minutes of extra footage not see in the "Comedy Central" special, Gaffigan's comedy at best is comedy that doesn't have to get explicit. He literally talks about everyday things that people think about and makes it funny. From getting a disease by putting your finger in the holes of a bowling ball to losing a remote while your laying down and of course, America's love for bacon. These jokes are funny because people have experienced them and immediately know what he's talking about.

His comedic delivery is smooth and constant and at times even poking fun at himself and using a high or an effeminate voice when criticizing his own jokes. So, overall, "King Baby" was an enjoyable live performance by Gaffigan but despite the 70-minute runtime, you realize how much special features are packed on this DVD. And there are a lot!

VIDEO & AUDIO:

"King Baby" is featured in widescreen. Picture quality is good with good angles from the front, side and towards the audience and above the audience. Good editing and overall, easy to see. No dizzying camera angle switching.

As for the audio, audio is presented in English Stereo and English 5.1 Surround. Audio is clear and you hear both Gaffigan and the audience quite clearly.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

As enjoyable as the 70-minute comedy performance for Gaffigan, part of the enjoyment of this DVD is watching the many hilarious special features included. This DVD is packed with special features! "King Baby" comes with the following Special Features:

* Featurette: Pale Force - As seen on the "Conan O'Brien" comes "Pale Force". Featuring three episodes of animated shorts that are about four minutes long. "Pale Force" features the shirtless superhero duo Jim Gaffigan and Conan O'Brien who are known for their pale white skin and shooting lasers from their nipples. In "Sidekick", Conan is complaining about becoming Jim's sidekick and him doing all the work but Jim getting all the credit. In "Land of the Robots", Jim is fixing a robot which Conan accidentally turns on and thus being sent to an area where only robots reside. In the third short titled "Pale Christmas", Conan celebrates Christmas Day and the series becomes a hilarious musical about being pale.
* Featurette: Our Massive Planet - A total of four featurettes about a minute to three minutes long. "Our Massive Planet" features interviews with a Professor Turgeon who talks about the wild but has never been outside of the US and his knowledge is based on what he learned from the Internet. "Credentials" are about a guy being interviewed about the wild but has no true experience to talk about the wild. "Primates 2 is about primates being stuck indoor and using MySpace and enjoying the popcorn snacks poppycock. "Zebra" features an interview with Prof. Turgeon who has footage of the wild but what is thought of his travels in Africa, the footage is from the zoo. In "Dogs", Prof. Turgeon talks about how to approach a dog.
* Featurette: XM/Sirius Interview - A 26-minute featurette from "Unmasked - Live from Comix" on XM/Sirus. Gaffigan is introduced about his comedy career and answering questions from the audience.
* Featurette: Never Aired British Interview - A British interview introducing Jim Gaffigan to UK audiences and about his "Sexy Tour". Gaffigan talking about letting his sexiness out and how he became a comedian. A featurette that is nearly seven minutes long.
* Featurette: Atlanta: Meet and Greet On Demand - A near 10-minute featurette about Gaffigan's comedy tour and his stop in Atlanta. Meeting with the fans and talking about his experience in Atlanta.
* Featurette: The Sexy Tour -- Friday Night Stand Up - Features nine hilarious "Friday Night Stand Up" commercial segments with Gaffigan promoting a tour because he feels he is very sexy but yet everyone around him thinks he's unsexy.
* Featurette: The Beyond the Pale Tour - Friday Night Stand Up - Features eleven hilarious "Friday Night Stand Up" commercial segments promoting Gaffigan's "The Beyond the Pale Tour". Each segment is about a 30-seconds to a minute long.

JUDGMENT CALL:

"KING BABY" is another enjoyable comedy performance from Jim Gaffigan. Compared to many comedians featured on Comedy Central DVD's that would get into the sex and drop a bit of profanity in their routine, Gaffigan's comedy is not risque or profane. It's straight up comedy about subjects that everyday people often wonder about and it's just the way it's delivered is how hilarious it can be.

I can type an example of his jokes on this review and realize, by typing it...it won't be funny. It's all about Gaffigan's delivery of the jokes, one after the other and he can go on five minutes about bacon and people will still be laughing. His demeanor is calm and when he says he's a lazy guy or talks about certain foods, you kind of believe he's not BS'ing and that his comedy is part of the way he really perceives things.

That is the upside to his comedic performance, the downside is that some jokes may go a bit too long for some people. Some may wonder how long can Gaffigan joke about bacon and the fact that he's talking about bacon or ketchup, some may find his comedy a bit too safe. No hardcore sex jokes, no making fun of people in the audience, it's straightforward comedy about things in life that are daily occurrences but Gaffigan knows how to take those things and make it funny.

And as mentioned, 70-minutes of concert performance is great but Gaffigan fans will truly be happy to know that there are a good number of special features included on the DVD. If there was anything that I could of hoped for is that like a few other Comedy Central DVD's, some come with a CD of the actual live performance. That would have been cool to listen to some Gaffigan on a long commute and I hope they consider it for his next comedy DVD release.

All in all, Gaffigan's style of comedy may not be for everyone. For those who are wanting comedy with profanity and jokes about ethnicities or sex, this is not one of those comedy DVD's. But if you are wanting to watch a comedian who can make jokes out of topics such as bowling, laziness, ketchup, garbage bags, pillows, deodorant, bacon and more... Gaffigan knows how to deliver. Definitely check "King Baby" out!"

BACON BOY WONDER & JIM GAFFIGAN'S GENIUS!

Bradley D. Mottier Jr. | Los Angeles | 03/27/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Let me start off by saying, yes, I am a HUUUUGE Jim Gaffigan fan. The man can do NO wrong in mind, so of course I'm giving his new special/DVD/CD "King Baby" a 5 star review. That being said, I can honestly say that I have not laughed so hard at a live show in a loooooong time ( I saw most of "King Baby" when he came to my town for his "The Sexy Tour"). I was then lucky enough to see a sneak peek screening in Los Angeles and I was amazed at how well his stage show was turned into one of the funniest comedy specials I have ever seen. His first special, "Beyond the Pale", is probably my all time favorite, but "King Baby" is definitely giving it a run for it's money. It was in repeat viewings that I really fell in love with "Beyond the Pale" and I'm sure that after the 10th time watching it (which will definitely happen) I may have a new favorite!

I can't wait to watch "King Baby" premiere on Comedy Central this Sunday, but I'm looking even more forward to getting the DVD in the mail. It supposedly has over 30 minutes of stand-up not seen on the Comedy Central premiere and has a ton of exclusive bonus features. I am in comedy heaven!"