Russell Brand's DVD Shows Two Sides of Bawdy Brit

Russell Brand is only on the first few ticks of his 15 minutes of fame, but he’s already a tough sell to conservative audiences. The British comic unleashed a crude anti-Bush tirade while hosting the MTV Video Music Awards last year, all the while begging viewers to vote for then-Sen. Barack Obama.

Brand proves he isn’t the Molotov cocktail-throwing comedian he appears to be in his new stand-up comedy DVD, “Russell Brand In New York City: Extended and Uncensored.”

He’s actually the male Kathy Griffin.

The new DVD, out May 19, finds the comic spending way too much time dissecting his VMA appearance. Like Griffin, Brand finds humor from recalling how his life intersects with the lives of stars big and small. He’s a B-lister hovering on the perimeter of celebrity, a prankster who can’t gain admittance into fame’s inner circle.

In between, the bawdy Brit strikes a self-effacing stance, mocking his own craving for a slice of American notoriety.

First, he’ll have to tone down the mock outrage his antics draw. He reads some of the vicious letters he received after his VMA appearance, but the segment begins badly and never recovers. Every star gets his share of insane hate mail, and Brand’s ripostes to the ones read aloud here seem more petty than humorous.

The stunt reveals his modus operandi. He instinctively provokes conflict, then rails against those angered by his comportment. It’s a predictable cycle, and one that could yield comic results. And sometimes it does, as Brand’s prickly wit often salvages his stale observations.

But too often his material feels strained, as if he needs to go back on the road to polish up a sly reference here, a verbal tic there. The comic’s sexual material is particularly bland, the kind of jokes that had the best chance of shocking audiences had they been told a decade ago.

Brand drops a few literary references with ease, and he flaunts the kind of fluid physical moves which could serve him well in his upcoming remake of “Arthur.”

He’s already proven he can swipe a scene or two from last year’s hilarious comedy “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.”

Now Brand must show he’s a stand-up comic to be reckoned with, and not just Kathy Griffin 2.0 with more eyeliner and tighter pants.

Christian Toto is a contributing reporter for The Washington Times, MovieMaker Magazine and boxoffice.com. He blogs about film at whatwouldtotowatch.com

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