Pablo Francisco: Ouch!
It’s stand-up from one of the rising stars on the circuit today
Tags: misc dvd Categories: DVD/TV Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Jan 20th, 2007
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Pablo Francisco: Ouch! Live from San Jose isn’t going to win any fans over. This comedy performance plays directly to the already established fan base this comic enjoys. Not only does the back of the case feature “All-New Material” rather prominently, letting potential viewers know that the routine performed here is, well, supposedly all new, there are bonus features that play strictly to the fan. There is a 5 minute look at Pablo’s home in a sort of MTV Cribs style segment that was created what seems specifically for this DVD. There is also a still gallery of some faces that Pablo makes – thankfully this lasts under a minute.
One of the bonus features is an 8 minute clip for Pablo Francisco’s performance in Iceland. It is billed as bootleg footage, but the multiple camera angles make it appear more like a television special that was filmed for that country. Sure, the footage doesn’t look that great, maybe having been shot directly to videotape, but I think the whole of that performance could have been included here.
Let’s move on to the actual stand-up of the release, the main reason for watching this in the first place. There are some undeniably funny moments, and not having seen him perform, I can’t testify to just how new the “all-new material” is. I will say that for a comedy routine that clocks in at over an hour, I personally laughed too few times. There seems to be an over reliance on driving a joke into the ground, milking it for all its worth, rather than leaving the audience wanting more. The pacing is off, where the dead space after a joke has been done to death leaves the next one little time to find footing before having to take off.
Sure, Pablo Francisco is an able performer with a wealth of voices, but saying the same funny line over and over in the same voice doesn’t make it funnier every time, it loses some of its impact. Also losing impact is the topical humor, where bits from the 80’s are given far too much prominence in the routine. It is as if he is unable to find the humor in today’s world. Some will say that what he presents here is plenty funny enough. That may be true, but for a DVD that was released at the end of 2006 spending 5 minutes on William Hung of American Idol fame as the most recent pop culture reference is just… sad.
Like I said, I did laugh out loud a few times, but not anywhere near enough to justify purchasing this. I like stand-up comedy and had heard of Pablo Francisco, but not seen any of his material. If this is any indication, I don’t need to keep an eye out for more. Those that are already fans might be satisfied.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
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+ Vocally adept + Good inspirations for routines |
4.9 |
| What Doesn't | |
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- Old and overused subject matter - Many jokes over done |
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| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| This seems to be just for fans of Pablo Francisco. It win any new ones. | |
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Tags: misc dvd
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Jan 20th, 2007 and is filed under DVD/TV Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
