'Donnell Rawlings: From Ashy to Classy'
(Donnell Rawlings / DVD / R / 2010 / IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT)
Overview: With his firm grasp of the outrageous, Donnell Rawlings (HBO's The Wire) was born to make people laugh. He grabbed America's funny bone on Chappelle's Show with characters like Ashy Larry and the distinctively jheri-curled Beautiful. Now Donnell goes even further, taking on the entire American culture with impersonations of everybody from Michael Jackson to Barack Obama, and bringing his audience to tears with his razor-sharp insights and fearless observations.
DVD Verdict: I have to admit that I had not heard of Donnell Rawlings before this DVD arrived to be reviewed. And so, giving anything at least one shot, I put it in last night and gave it that one shot to impress me!
And, yes, it did - just! I mean, sure Donnell has one of the coolest voices of any comedian I’ve ever heard, but his always-raised (ie: shouting) delivery can wear after a while, trust me! His loceabe, goofy-expressioned face is a treat though.
Mind you, he does say some seriously on-the-mark stuff: "Do you know why I loves texts to women," he asks. "Because you're then forced to read the shit that you would never listen to." Now, tell me that ain't true?! It may not be delivered as well as one would have hoped from a comedian, but it's sooooo true!
A friend of mine that wandered into my front room whilst I was watchig this (that reminds me, I have to lock that door at night) remembers Donnell from his Def Comedy Jam and Comic View days. More than me, as I have no idea what Comic View is or was, sorry!
He also skillfully uses references to past jokes throughout the performance, not ashamed to 'float back there,' but if you go to D.C. and strangers yell out, "Take it in the face" at you, well, than you should know that this DVD is to blame! Don't ask, just watch! (Oh OK, then, just one - "What's your last name? ... Aire ... What's your first name? Billion ... TAKE IT IN THE FACE!" This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:
Picture Gallery
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