''Comedy's Dirtiest Dozen'' is a 1988

stand-up comedy Stand-up comedy is a comedy, comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of One-line joke ...

concert film A concert film, or concert movie, is a film that showcases a live performance from the perspective of a concert goer, the subject of which is an extended live performance or concert by either a musician or a stand-up comedian. Early history The ...

directed by Lenny Wong and starring

Tim Allen Timothy Alan Dick (born June 13, 1953), known professionally as Tim Allen, is an American actor and comedian. He is known for playing Tim "The Toolman" Taylor on the ABC sitcom ''Home Improvement'' (1991–1999) and Mike Baxter on the ABC/Fo ...

Chris Rock Christopher Julius Rock (born February 7, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and filmmaker. Known for his work in comic film, television and stage, he has received multiple accolades, including three Grammy Awards for best come ...

Bill Hicks William Melvin Hicks (December 16, 1961 – February 26, 1994) was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist, and musician. His material—encompassing a wide range of social issues including religion, politics, and philosophy—wa ...

Jackie Martling John Coger "Jackie" Martling, Jr. (born February 14, 1948) is an American stand-up comedian, writer, radio personality, author, actor, and musician also known as Jackie the Joke Man. He is best known as a former writer and in-studio comedian fo ...

, Otto Peterson, Monty Hoffman, Steven Pearl, John Fox, Joey Gaynor, Larry Scarano,

Stephanie Hodge Stephanie Hodge (born December 24, 1956) is an American actress and stand-up comedian, known for her roles as Nurse Sandy Miller in the NBC sitcom ''Nurses'' from 1991 to 1993, and as Jennie Malloy on the WB sitcom ''Unhappily Ever After'' from ...

and

Thea Vidale Thea R. Vidale (born November 20, 1956) is an American stand-up comedian and actress. Vidale is perhaps best known for her role as Thea Armstrong-Turrell in the ABC sitcom '' Thea'', which originally aired from 1993 until 1994. Vidale is noted as ...

. Ben Creed was the emcee.

Production

Island Films (an offshoot of

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

) intended to run the film in theaters and not on cable TV. Due to financial changes at Island, the film was only screened in New York and Los Angeles and only released on VHS and DVD after Allen and Rock became stars.

Release

It has been shown on The Ovation Channel. Richard Baker and Rick Messina of Messina Baker Management auditioned hundred of comics in New York and Los Angeles for this production.

Reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote: "The film's producers maintain that these performers are legends on the regional comedy club circuit, but that the "adult" content of their material keeps them off cable comedy and talk shows. Based on what we see of their routines, it's obvious why."

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

singled out Chris Rock and Larry Scarano as standouts. Otto & George and Bill Hicks were praised in other reviews.

References

External links

*
Comedy's Dirtiest Dozen
on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

1988 films Stand-up comedy concert films American comedy films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films {{1980s-comedy-film-stub