I originally rented OUTLAUGH! through Netflix solely because Lea DeLaria appeared in it and I needed a good laugh. Admittedly, at the time I had not heard of most of the other comics who were featured in this documentary of the 2005 OUTLAUGH! comedy festival, mainly because I had been sorely out of the loop. I must say, though, that I was VERY pleasantly surprised to discover some of the incredible GLBT talent that is out there through this DVD! What HAD I been missing?!?! I ended up playing the DVD so much (several times daily) that it just made more sense to buy it.
I thoroughly enjoyed this video from Lea's opening (I can relate directly to the whole LA/rain issue; she hit the nail on the head!) to the very end. Not only was the comedy top-notch, but it also offered very interesting and important political commentary throughout, which was very nicely and effectively interspersed with the comedy routines. Very nice segues, too! Until LOGO came onto the scene (and I wasn't even aware of that channel until relatively recently), there weren't to my knowledge many mainstream outlets for GLBT comics, which is no doubt why I was only familiar with the very funny Stephanie Howard (through Comedy Central) at the time I first watched the video. And embarrassingly enough, I was mostly just familiar with Lea DeLaria's work as a jazz singer and actor when I rented the video. (How out-of-the-loop was I?) However, I was very impressed with the talent as well as the flow of the video. It made me want to attend the shows live and I plan to do so, although I live in New York.
OUTLAUGH! is more than just a documentary about a bunch of comedians putting on a show. It is far more important to our community than one would assume off the top. If you haven't rented this video yet, then please do so. Better yet buy it! It's that important. And please be supportive of its underlying statement with regard to civil rights. And what better way to start the first of hopefully a very long series of OUTLAUGH! videos than with the one and only Lea DeLaria? Kudos to Mike Player and to everyone who had a hand in putting this together. And thanks to LOGO for running a series of segments of OUTLAUGH! 2006. Beyond the laughs, my thanks to them all for helping me get back into the loop! Peace. :o)
I thoroughly enjoyed this video from Lea's opening (I can relate directly to the whole LA/rain issue; she hit the nail on the head!) to the very end. Not only was the comedy top-notch, but it also offered very interesting and important political commentary throughout, which was very nicely and effectively interspersed with the comedy routines. Very nice segues, too! Until LOGO came onto the scene (and I wasn't even aware of that channel until relatively recently), there weren't to my knowledge many mainstream outlets for GLBT comics, which is no doubt why I was only familiar with the very funny Stephanie Howard (through Comedy Central) at the time I first watched the video. And embarrassingly enough, I was mostly just familiar with Lea DeLaria's work as a jazz singer and actor when I rented the video. (How out-of-the-loop was I?) However, I was very impressed with the talent as well as the flow of the video. It made me want to attend the shows live and I plan to do so, although I live in New York.
OUTLAUGH! is more than just a documentary about a bunch of comedians putting on a show. It is far more important to our community than one would assume off the top. If you haven't rented this video yet, then please do so. Better yet buy it! It's that important. And please be supportive of its underlying statement with regard to civil rights. And what better way to start the first of hopefully a very long series of OUTLAUGH! videos than with the one and only Lea DeLaria? Kudos to Mike Player and to everyone who had a hand in putting this together. And thanks to LOGO for running a series of segments of OUTLAUGH! 2006. Beyond the laughs, my thanks to them all for helping me get back into the loop! Peace. :o)
