Originally published on Panic Dots.
If you don’t like Russell Brand, then you might as well stop reading this right now. In fact, you should probably question why you even clicked on this review in the first place. It is, after all, about The World According to Russell Brand, his new DVD.
I must confess that I am a self-hating Russell Brand fan. I tried for so long to despise the man. I mean, look at him. He’s the epitome of everything that’s wrong with the current trend of dressing up in alternative garb without putting in the hours scouring record shops for out of print punk albums, or lurking in the darkest corners of metal clubs and generally looking at everything through a prism of nihilistic cynicism. No? Just me then.
He’s a raver who decided to reinvent himself when day-glo stopped being fashionable.
He’s the kind of man who will spend a grand at All Saints ensuring all of his clothes look like they were picked out at a vintage charity shop.
But, he is funny.
That being said, I haven’t a clue why this DVD even exists. When a comedian has been around for 20 years or more, then it makes sense to release a Best of compilation. But Brand has only really been around for 5 years, and in that time he hasn’t really built up enough material to warrant a “best of”. They haven’t even included any of the material from his latest show, Scandalous. It’s just segments of his first two stand up shows spliced together with excerpts from his TV show, Ponderland, with rather annoying transition cards (that I’m sure take up at least a 5th of the run time) in between each clip.
Final Thoughts
I’m not sure who this DVD is marketed towards. If you already like Russell Brand, then you’ve probably already seen this material and own at least one of his DVDs. If you don’t, then this isn’t going to change your mind. And if you’re thinking of introducing someone to the whimsical wonder that is Brand, then just buy them one of his other DVDs. His jokes work a lot better within the context of his live show, and feel a bit lonely and lost when they’re left to fend for themselves.
I still laughed, though.