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Archive of Roasts Multi-disc compilation of Dean Martin celebrity roast contains many comedy gems to discover
By Michael Shashoua / Jester editor-in-chief
“Dean Martin Roasts: Stingers & Zingers,” an 8-disc DVD set released by
Starvista Entertainment on April 14 is a voluminous package that is
nearly impossible to review in its entirety without days on end to
devote to it. Picking out pieces of it to watch is like diving in to
the video archive consoles at the former Museum of TV & Radio in New
York (now the Paley Center).
So, this review is based on just a small sample of the roasts in the
set – those for Carroll O’Connor (Archie Bunker on “All In The
Family”), Truman Capote, Monty Hall, Hubert Humphrey (any others).
It’s often been said that these roasts, the inspiration for the more
recent Comedy Central roasts – contained material that pre-dated
political correctness, in a way that might seem shocking even to
fans of the more recent type of roasts, like those for Justin Bieber
and Charlie Sheen.
But what’s more surprising is that some of the material is just
plain corny or hacky – usually that delivered by those who were
outside show business – authors like Joseph Wambaugh on the Capote
roast or Sen. Lowell Weicker on the Humphrey roast, who were less
adept as comedians. Some of host Dean Martin’s lines, strangely
enough, come off the same way, but that might be a factor of his
boozy personality.
The material that might offend some is actually the more
well-crafted stuff, and some of the highlights of the collection as
I’ve managed to get to – namely, Nipsey Russell at the Carroll
O’Connor roast, taking the stage as the head of the Archie Bunker
Fan Club in a KKK outfit, then removing the hood to reveal himself –
and launching into self-effacing racial jokes about what Archie
Bunker thinks of various things like whether a black man could
become president (“only if he runs against a Mexican”) or an
astronaut (“they would end up with the top down, playing the radio
too loud”). It’s a performance that goes even further past the lines
than Dave Chappelle would cross decades later.
Foster Brooks turns up on several of the roasts – he’s a performer
who may be forgotten or unknown to younger people today, unlike
others whose personas endured longer in pop culture, even after they
retired or died. If you don’t know, Brooks performed much of the
time in character as a drunk, slurring and struggling to find words
as he spoke – but in a manner that was carefully constructed to
provoke laughs. Brooks’ act is something of a wonder to behold, and
the sheer volume of this set means it may contain many other
interesting nuggets.
Overall, despite whatever might be considered offensive in these
roasts, the collegial manner of the roasters and their subjects
toward one another keeps the audience in on the jokes, rather than
having the lines come off like nasty, hurtful statements. Even
though roasts have been revived in a more modern form since these
days, seeing an old master like Redd Foxx drop a double entendre
with perfect timing is uniquely entertaining. There are plenty of
such gems to discover in this set.
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Feedback? Email shashouamedia@gmail.com or michael.shashoua@jesterjournal.com
© 2005-2018 Michael Shashoua