Werewolves and Lollipops (W/DVD)

Rating:

All comedians are different, and all appeal to different tastes. You may not care for Patton Oswalt. You might like Jim Gaffigan instead (their styles, subjects, and language are very different), and that is fine. I happen to like both. I also like Lewis Black, but I'm not too particular. So whatever I might say about this album, the best thing for you to do is listen to one or two of his bits yourself.

However, if you are already a fan of his or have seen him interviewed and thought he was as sidesplittingly hilarious as I did, you should probably buy this album.

I say this because this is Patton at his best. If you are a fan there is a good chance this album will meet your expectations or even exceed said expectations. "Werewolves and Lollipops" compares favorably with the best of Richard Pryor, Bill Hicks, Rodney Dangerfield and all the best comedians of yesteryear.

Needless to say, an album of this caliber puts Dane Cook and the rest to shame. Patton has a unique way of looking at the absurd in our society, from highly unhealthy smorgasbords of starch to quirky, prestigious liberal arts schools. His take on things is somewhere between insane and sheer genius. Maybe that is why I like it.

My favorite bits: America Has Spoken, Clean Filth, The Miracle of, Childbirth, 20 Birthday Parties, Physics for Poets, George Lucas, Death Bed, Cirque du Soleil. In my opinion, the first half of the disc is arguably better. Once again, this is all dependent on relativism.

Buy the album. You'll love it.

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Patton's stand up line is always a unique experience that takes the pop-culture of today, and bends it over with his nerd perspective on life and his way on surviving it. Even when a (probobly drunken) heckler opposes his act, he retaliates to make the joke even greater then before, which is the true sign of a comedian that can take any situation and end it with laughs.

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The product that I ordered was practically new, infact I wrapped it and stuck it in my husband's stocking for Christmas. Were both huge Patton Oswalt fans and we've really enjoyed listening to the CD on road trips and watching the DVD w/ friends. In this economy buying used makes sense but it doesn't mean you have to scrimp on quality, thanks to this seller I didn't have to!

Rating:

I'm usually pretty hard to please when it comes to comedy. Somehow it just takes quite a bit to get more than a smile or chuckle out of me. But this CD had me sputtering with laughter. Patton Oswalt alternates between self-deprecating, sarcastic, and mocking, but never forgets to be funny. I love his timing, delivery, and totally relatable point of view. Ed Wynn once said "A comedian is not a man who says funny things. A comedian is one who says things funny." Patton Oswalt totally embodies this philosophy, eschewing formulaic jokes and cheap laughs in favor of hilarious story-telling.
The included DVD contains a brief intro from Patton, followed by a live performance of the same act from the CD, but at an earlier time. So this gives you a chance to see how some of the jokes evolved before the performance that went onto the CD. The DVD is pretty cool, but the encounter with a heckler on the audio CD is priceless and not to be missed.
Just a note, a few people I recommended this to were turned off by the foul language, but I have to emphasize that Patton Oswalt doesn't rely on four letter words to make his jokes funny. The language is just part of his voice and, I feel, doesn't detract from the performance at all.

Rating:

This entire album is absolute gold. The routines are tighter and punchier than the also-good "Feelin' Kinda Patton", and you also get to hear Mr. Oswalt dealing with an annoying audience member (bonus!). His humor isn't for everyone, but it's perfect for those that enjoy a little bit of bitterness and oddly specific word choices with their geeky rants.

There were times that I had to pause the album because I was laughing so hard. In fact, I was listening to it in a car with some friends and the driver was cracking up so much that we had to switch back to radio, out of fear his shaking laugher would cause us to swerve into another lane and die a fiery, metallic death.