I have to admit to not having seen much of Lee Evans prior to seeing this comedy show, but I know for sure that I'll be seeing a lot more of him now! Evans' comedy isn't particularly clever or witty, but he tells in such a way that it's hard not laugh, and once you get into his zone, the whole show becomes funny - and when you consider this is over two hours long; that's quite an achievement, Mr Evans. The show focuses on things that Evans hates, and features great sections on things like machines, airports, women, the postal service and many other annoying things are well observed, and often correct. One of the funniest things about the show is simply the way that Evans laughs at his own jokes; what he's just said somehow becomes even funnier when you hear his comedic laugh following on. Evans' look gives him a great comedy edge, as he looks like someone you could have a laugh with, and on the evidence of this show; that's certainly true. Some people may find the show a little too frantic, or maybe even too similarly structured; but if you're looking for something to watch with you're friends while you have a few drinks - you could certainly do a lot worse than this!
11 Reviews
Not his best but still good.
cerebralassassinxxx28 February 2007
I have been a fan of Lee since I saw Different Planet Tour about 8 years ago. And I always await his shows with baited breath.
I do like this XL tour but it is certainly not his best work. He does look to be grasping at straws occasionally, perhaps trying out new material as he suggests. But this should not be the case for a DVD.
Having said this there are still some hilarious moments that have stuck in my head. Certain sections had me in absolute stitches, but unfortunately these moments of utter hilarity were fewer and further between than they have been in Different Planet Tour and Live in Scotland.
This is still a very funny performance and worth a watch, but if you are a long time Lee Evans fan you may be slightly disappointed.
I do like this XL tour but it is certainly not his best work. He does look to be grasping at straws occasionally, perhaps trying out new material as he suggests. But this should not be the case for a DVD.
Having said this there are still some hilarious moments that have stuck in my head. Certain sections had me in absolute stitches, but unfortunately these moments of utter hilarity were fewer and further between than they have been in Different Planet Tour and Live in Scotland.
This is still a very funny performance and worth a watch, but if you are a long time Lee Evans fan you may be slightly disappointed.
Fan-foockin-fabby-doozy!
Duzniak3813 March 2006
I think that Lee Evans is really funny, and if you enjoyed his other, previous tours, I'm sure you'd enjoy this one just as much. Lee puts on an energetic, lively performance, and delivers fantastic jokes, interesting stories, and is a classic stand up comic; and this tour just goes to prove how great he really is! His gags are SO true to life and quotable, and Lee Evans is a pleasure to have fun and laugh along with! The songs at the end of the tour were SUCH a nice touch, and I think that this may be the best tour he has ever put on. I urge you to go and buy the DVD if you love Lee's work, you won't be disappointed! I was laughing so hard when I first watched this, and since I have been passing the DVD on to my friends, who have enjoyed it just as much!
If Comedy was Illegal this man would be strung up lmao
chris-white200623 June 2006
Warning: Spoilers
After watching the last 10 minuets of the show on tele i was intrigued to watch the whole thing after spilling a nice cup of tea down myself after the joke about the bath. I was so desperate to find out where i could buy it... i looked everywhere round Newcastle's town but just couldn't find it... Finally i found it on DVD and quickly forked up the cash. Once home i watched the full 2 and a bit hours. and i can tell you i had never cried SO much in my entire life. My sides hurt i was in a hot sweat and i could hardly see through the tears as it was so funny. Anyone who hasn't seen this show MUST!!!! see it!!! i cannot stress how much this has too be seen by u all. it is honestly THEE funniest shows i have ever seen in my life. and i stick by that. Thanks for reading this. from The White Meister
Lee Evans: XL Tour Live 2005
jboothmillard13 March 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I saw him live on stage when he did this tour, so I was obviously going to buy this show on DVD. I thought I heard Lee Evans on Jonathan Ross that he was thinking of quitting comedy, but I was obviously wrong, he returned with this fantastic huge audience stage stand up show. He is still creating some fantastic, true to life and utterly hilarious jokes with both his mouth and his body. Some of the best moments are when he is using his body to do the talking, and he is sweating like mad. When I saw him on stage he was brilliant, and nothing compares to stage, but this straight-to-DVD show is just as good as seeing him in person. Lee Evans was number 23 on 100 Greatest Stand-Ups, and he was number 14 on Britain's Favourite Comedian. Outstanding!
His Best Show Ever!
animalmad916 January 2011
Lee Evans Was Clearly At His ABSOLUTE Best On This Show. He Had The Crowd Almost Falling Out Of Their Seats In Hysterical Laughter.
To Me, XL Tour Was The Best Show He's Done. The Funniest Joke? Easily The One About Parcelforce, This Was Clever, Witty And Very Very Precise. As Are All His Jokes.
The XL Tour Holds The Record For The Biggest Comedy Tour And You Can See Why. The Facts And Figures Are Astounding And Some Will Blow Your Mind. He Is, To Me, The Greatest Comedian And Certainly The Sweatiest To Ever Appear On Stage.
XL Tour 2005 Lived Up To The Expectations I Thought It Would. So For Gags Flying Every Minute And Unbeatable Stand Up Comedy. Buy This, You'll Laugh So Much, You'll Have To Pause The Show To Calm Down, Well At Least I Did Anyway.
To Me, XL Tour Was The Best Show He's Done. The Funniest Joke? Easily The One About Parcelforce, This Was Clever, Witty And Very Very Precise. As Are All His Jokes.
The XL Tour Holds The Record For The Biggest Comedy Tour And You Can See Why. The Facts And Figures Are Astounding And Some Will Blow Your Mind. He Is, To Me, The Greatest Comedian And Certainly The Sweatiest To Ever Appear On Stage.
XL Tour 2005 Lived Up To The Expectations I Thought It Would. So For Gags Flying Every Minute And Unbeatable Stand Up Comedy. Buy This, You'll Laugh So Much, You'll Have To Pause The Show To Calm Down, Well At Least I Did Anyway.
Stand-Up Comedy at Its Best !
ichocolat26 August 2007
Lee Evans rawxx !! The DVD XL Tour Live is over two hours but I was laughing all the way through the show! I gotta admit that I'm an easily distracted person and to keep me fixated on the show is a feat in itself! Kudos to Lee Evans for his wonderful comedies.
At first I had a feeling that I may not be able to understand the British slang, partly because I studied American English, but I gotta say that my fear is unfounded. Lee Evans spoke in British slang but it is easy enough for me to understand.
The joke is extremely funny, and if laughing loudly in your neighourhood is a criminal offense, please watch this DVD somewhere else. You have been warned! And I gotta say that this show will certainly make any man laugh, or at least smirk at his jokes.
At first I had a feeling that I may not be able to understand the British slang, partly because I studied American English, but I gotta say that my fear is unfounded. Lee Evans spoke in British slang but it is easy enough for me to understand.
The joke is extremely funny, and if laughing loudly in your neighourhood is a criminal offense, please watch this DVD somewhere else. You have been warned! And I gotta say that this show will certainly make any man laugh, or at least smirk at his jokes.
bonus excellent tour cant fault it cried and cried
rcoockie14 June 2006
i as a lee evans fan found the last comment completely wrong and off putting. i went to see lee evans in Manchester first time live i have seen him and the material he used on the DVD wasn't the same at all. i find mr evans to be a comic genius when I'm feeling down i watch him and i am feeling myself again. this last DVD had me crying from start to finish call me simple if you like but if you like comedy then you will like and enjoy this latest tour he is now currently holding the world record for a stand up comedian and i bought his whole collection and enjoy each one of them and i am happy i was at the gig when it happened. completely enjoyable from start to finish and i have turned plenty of people into lee evans fans i hope to see more in the near future. mr evans i salute you you do a cracking job.
Lee Evans: The Greatest Comedian Ever
Wrighty_8714 December 2006
Warning: Spoilers
This is the first time I have ever written anything like this but I felt I had to. Lee Evans is without a shadow of a doubt the funniest man I have ever seen in my life and I'm not just saying this because I am a fan but because it is true. Compare him to comedians like Peter Kay, who uses the same jokes in every tour, Jim Davidson, who offends most people who see it (still funny though)and you will see how good Lee Evans really is. I'll admit that I had not heard of Lee Evans until 5 years ago but when my friends said that they had seen his videos I had to see them for myself and made it a mission to see all of his filmed tours. I began by watching his Scotland tour and by within a few minutes I was already crying because it was SSOOOO funny. Since then I have seen all of his tours, So what now and the world of Lee Evans and just cannot stop laughing even though I know every word. His XL tour was the best stand up comedy tour ever. I bought it the day it was released and put it on as soon as I got in as I had seen a clip of it on The Paul O'Grady Show and couldn't wait. People don't like the fact that he swears a lot but think about it, without the swearing it wouldn't be as funny. His 'Walking Holiday' bit was legendary especially when he does the part about the guy showing them around their room and then trying it on with his Wife. The routine about not been able to run on the London Underground after the bombings did shock people, but he saved it when he said, "What.......I'm just doing my job" and then followed by his amazing, but girlie laugh. That was gold. I do not know anybody that doesn't like Lee Evans and that's the kind of reputation you want as a comedian. Lee Evans: I take my hat off to you as without your tours I would not have experienced true stand up comedy. I say greatest comedian ever because I am comparing him to the likes of Peter Kay, Jimmy Carr and numerous others and only been 19 I have not seen, or if I have, can't remember some of the comedy legends. PETER KAY SUCKS BIGTIME, SAME JOKES IN EVERY TOUR. COME UP WITH NEW MATERIAL LIKE LEE EVANS DOES. Although granted some of the jokes in the XL tour I had heard before, but only a couple!!!!!!!!!!
Lee Evans....comedian?
dogyorky4 February 2021
There's something about Mary...yes, he was good in that. But a comedian? You must be joking. I recently read that he'd given up stand up comedy and was spending more time with his family. Great for us, not sure about them. Sometimes kids are a godsend.
Funny but does feel a bit exaggerated, forced and often lacking real insight or wit
bob the moo28 May 2006
Having become the biggest comedy tour ever in the UK I had high hopes when Lee Evans' tour came onto television recently. I have enjoyed him as a performer before, finding him a nice mix of imaginative routines and physical humour. With this show though I was a bit put off by him from the early stage as his material seemed disjointed from his physical routine; the latter mainly being exaggerated actions and lots of face pulling. Meanwhile his material is a rather forced series of observations on real life, most of which are exaggerated with his movements and do somewhat smack of desperation.
He does say some funny things and at times his delivery did hit the mark but too often I just thought he was making a big deal out of nothing; for example mocking the "attempted delivery" notes made me think actually they were pretty useful, security checks at banks also was a pointless target and it was like this several times during the show, not that insightful, more just frantic and transferring energy to the audience by nature of his delivery. His material was surprisingly crude and I didn't think he needed it all.
What surprised me once was how very structured his material was; the show I saw was from Cardiff but I reckon they could have edited between shows and I would not have noticed because it is so samey. I know this is the same with everyone (everyone tours with the same gags) but Evans' flow from one subject to another just made it very obviously rehearsed and preparing taking the feel of spontaneity out of it. I could not help but contrast this with Eddie Izzard who I saw once live deliver line-for-line the same show I already owned on CD from San Francisco; yes it was a b*gger that I knew it all already but his delivery convinced me that he was thinking it all up as he went along. With Evans I longed for this feeling but it never came.
He is still funny and his energy is infectious but I just felt all these little niggles undermined the show as a whole and that I wasn't that impressed even if I a bit amused. Evans is a great comedian but this show isn't evidence of it and he's been better elsewhere. Fans will probably love it for obvious reasons and there is enough here to justify the casual viewer having a go, but for me personally I didn't think it was worthy of being the UK's biggest ever comedy tour.
He does say some funny things and at times his delivery did hit the mark but too often I just thought he was making a big deal out of nothing; for example mocking the "attempted delivery" notes made me think actually they were pretty useful, security checks at banks also was a pointless target and it was like this several times during the show, not that insightful, more just frantic and transferring energy to the audience by nature of his delivery. His material was surprisingly crude and I didn't think he needed it all.
What surprised me once was how very structured his material was; the show I saw was from Cardiff but I reckon they could have edited between shows and I would not have noticed because it is so samey. I know this is the same with everyone (everyone tours with the same gags) but Evans' flow from one subject to another just made it very obviously rehearsed and preparing taking the feel of spontaneity out of it. I could not help but contrast this with Eddie Izzard who I saw once live deliver line-for-line the same show I already owned on CD from San Francisco; yes it was a b*gger that I knew it all already but his delivery convinced me that he was thinking it all up as he went along. With Evans I longed for this feeling but it never came.
He is still funny and his energy is infectious but I just felt all these little niggles undermined the show as a whole and that I wasn't that impressed even if I a bit amused. Evans is a great comedian but this show isn't evidence of it and he's been better elsewhere. Fans will probably love it for obvious reasons and there is enough here to justify the casual viewer having a go, but for me personally I didn't think it was worthy of being the UK's biggest ever comedy tour.
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