I always look forward to physical sweating funny man, and this new best-selling tour and DVD was no exception. Lee Evans plays at London's O2 Arena to another huge crowd (whether it broke another record, I'm not sure) with his great true life, some observational and always fun to listen to and watch comedy style. I will admit there was a tiny bit of me thinking this wasn't as good as the previous show, XL, but you can't say this is a bad show. The best part is possibly the two minute date and life sketch, and obviously his songs at the end are worthwhile as well, so this won't disappoint. Lee Evans was number 23 on 100 Greatest Stand-Ups, and he was number 14 on Britain's Favourite Comedian. Very good!
4 Reviews
Evans at his absolute peak
PersonalTrainerRussHowe23 May 2011
Something happened to Lee Evans between 2003-2004. He matured incredibly as an on-stage comic, toning down his often immature sets into a highly polished show which the audience would find themselves being able to associate with the jokes he told as opposed to just enjoying his madcap antics.
When he released 2005's "XL" he rose to a level he'd never previously experienced, a truly remarkable show peppered with great gags and revealing a lovable warm side which was previously buried underneath his nonstop action mannerisms. It was fair to say few expected he'd be able to top that with a follow-up show but, to my surprise, he did it and he did it well. "Big" is Evans' finest show to date.
We still get a couple of sections we could do without (such as the over-long Date sketch to close out act one, but these sketches are part & parcel of Evans' longterm show) but once he gets into gear he lands some cracking jokes. This has to be among my favourite comedy shows and is one I can happily watch time and time again with my partner.
Longterm fans will note that Evans usually features his best material in the 2nd half of his show, and "Big" follows suit. In fact, the moment Evans begins talking about the male/female relationship we know we're in for a great act two, for this is one area of his comedy he has really nailed over the last few years. Anyone in a couple will find themselves in stitches of laughter as he plods through the oddities of marital life and the sheer lack of understanding that men have for how women think.
I wrote this review after reading one on here which said he found the show too predictable.... and it made me wonder if they had seen a Lee Evans show before or not. Anyone who watches Evans knows he's a fan of the old-style comedy, classics and slapstick, if it's unpredictable jokes which wind on for years which take twists and turns that you're after, you are not going to get that from a Lee Evans concert but, quite honestly, you never were, and he's never made any attempts to be anything other than what he wants to be.
Lee Evans was already a very good comic, with "XL" he elevated himself onto the big stage, and with "Big" he cemented himself as a GREAT comic by delivering another great show. The older he gets, the more middle-age takes hold of him, the more long-term marriage gets him down, Lee Evans gets better and better as a stand-up. What was once a young, action-packed slapstick comic without any real direction, is now becoming a 'grumpy old man' who feels left behind by the technological world and it suits him perfectly as a stand-up. I for one cannot wait for his 2011 show, we're not a couple for going to comedy shows but a testament to how funny this DVD is (particularly act two) could be said that we are actually going to buy tickets for his next gig when the time comes around.
When he released 2005's "XL" he rose to a level he'd never previously experienced, a truly remarkable show peppered with great gags and revealing a lovable warm side which was previously buried underneath his nonstop action mannerisms. It was fair to say few expected he'd be able to top that with a follow-up show but, to my surprise, he did it and he did it well. "Big" is Evans' finest show to date.
We still get a couple of sections we could do without (such as the over-long Date sketch to close out act one, but these sketches are part & parcel of Evans' longterm show) but once he gets into gear he lands some cracking jokes. This has to be among my favourite comedy shows and is one I can happily watch time and time again with my partner.
Longterm fans will note that Evans usually features his best material in the 2nd half of his show, and "Big" follows suit. In fact, the moment Evans begins talking about the male/female relationship we know we're in for a great act two, for this is one area of his comedy he has really nailed over the last few years. Anyone in a couple will find themselves in stitches of laughter as he plods through the oddities of marital life and the sheer lack of understanding that men have for how women think.
I wrote this review after reading one on here which said he found the show too predictable.... and it made me wonder if they had seen a Lee Evans show before or not. Anyone who watches Evans knows he's a fan of the old-style comedy, classics and slapstick, if it's unpredictable jokes which wind on for years which take twists and turns that you're after, you are not going to get that from a Lee Evans concert but, quite honestly, you never were, and he's never made any attempts to be anything other than what he wants to be.
Lee Evans was already a very good comic, with "XL" he elevated himself onto the big stage, and with "Big" he cemented himself as a GREAT comic by delivering another great show. The older he gets, the more middle-age takes hold of him, the more long-term marriage gets him down, Lee Evans gets better and better as a stand-up. What was once a young, action-packed slapstick comic without any real direction, is now becoming a 'grumpy old man' who feels left behind by the technological world and it suits him perfectly as a stand-up. I for one cannot wait for his 2011 show, we're not a couple for going to comedy shows but a testament to how funny this DVD is (particularly act two) could be said that we are actually going to buy tickets for his next gig when the time comes around.
Unoriginal
singwaileung-114 May 2009
I'm a huge fan of Lee Evans, but his latest stand up show Big: Live at the O2 was a bit off. Some gags were a bit out dated. And his little dating agency skit disappointingly unfunny - nowhere close to his Bohemian Rhapsody. The second half of his show was better than the first, but he needs to find some new topics to work on.
It goes through the same sequence and some of the stuff here were just reworded versions of his gags from his Wembly gig. His topics are his family, women, sport, the NHS, and old people. Undoubtedly he is still hilarious, but he needs a change. Some examples of his outdated gags include him mentioning how small mobile phones are these days. Actually, they are becoming bigger. The touch screen topics were quite lame when he mentions how touch screen 'has been around for ages'. Also the gag saying he would tell a person to 'f*ck off' if they asked him to go play golf. I'm sure the audience wanted to tell him to f*ck off if he said golf is sh*te. This gag went on too long, as as soon as he talked about the scoring system - we knew exactly where he was headed.
And he mentioned his ass a bit too often for my liking.
I am looking forward to his next tour whenever that happens, but I hope he updates his topics. Otherwise he may become too stale.
It goes through the same sequence and some of the stuff here were just reworded versions of his gags from his Wembly gig. His topics are his family, women, sport, the NHS, and old people. Undoubtedly he is still hilarious, but he needs a change. Some examples of his outdated gags include him mentioning how small mobile phones are these days. Actually, they are becoming bigger. The touch screen topics were quite lame when he mentions how touch screen 'has been around for ages'. Also the gag saying he would tell a person to 'f*ck off' if they asked him to go play golf. I'm sure the audience wanted to tell him to f*ck off if he said golf is sh*te. This gag went on too long, as as soon as he talked about the scoring system - we knew exactly where he was headed.
And he mentioned his ass a bit too often for my liking.
I am looking forward to his next tour whenever that happens, but I hope he updates his topics. Otherwise he may become too stale.
Weak
studioAT24 October 2017
Comedy, especially stand-up is subjective, and I'm sure I will disappoint many by saying that I didn't enjoy this show or Evans himself whilst watching this DVD.
It has its moments, and the topics covered are universal enough, but Evans seems to have the need to punctuate every moment, every joke with an expletive, and after a while that becomes wearying and at times lazy.
I can't recommend this show or him I'm afraid.
It has its moments, and the topics covered are universal enough, but Evans seems to have the need to punctuate every moment, every joke with an expletive, and after a while that becomes wearying and at times lazy.
I can't recommend this show or him I'm afraid.
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