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

stand-up comedy Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage (theatre), stage and delivers humour, humorous and satire, satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical comedy, physical acts. These ...

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 comedy, stand-up comedian. Ea ...

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) for which he won a Golden Gl ...

Chris Rock Christopher Julius Rock (born February 7, 1965) is an American comedian, actor, and filmmaker. He first gained prominence for his stand-up routines in the 1980s in which he tackled subjects including race relations, human sexuality, and obse ...

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

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 for ...

, Otto Peterson, Monty Hoffman, Steven Pearl, John Fox, Joey Gaynor, Larry Scarano, Stephanie Hodge 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 a ...

. 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 Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

) 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'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' 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'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

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 aggregator, 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 ...

1988 films Stand-up comedy specials and films American comedy films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films English-language documentary films {{1980s-comedy-film-stub