Paul Mooney Concert Flick Shot at Strip Club

Paul Mooney: It’s The End of the World

Very Good (3 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 88 minutes
Studio: AMS Pictures
DVD Extras:

DVD Review by Kam Williams

For this hilarious concert flick, comedian Paul Mooney brought his irreverent standup act to The Lodge, a gentleman’s club located in Dallas, Texas. With so many scantily-clad strippers and waitresses walking around, this made for a very distracting backdrop to the goings-on onstage. In fact, the DVD includes a 10-minute featurette entitled "The Ladies of the Lodge" devoted to a parade of topless entertainers.

Black Is the New White Click to order via Amazon Hardcover: 272 pages Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment (November 3, 2009) Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches Most comedians tell jokes. Paul Mooney tells the truth. And for more than forty years — whether writing for Richard Pryor and Saturday Night Live, creating In Living Color's Homey D. Clown and Chappelle's Show's Negrodamus, or performing stand-up to sold-out crowds around the country — he's been provocative, incisive, and always absolutely hilarious.

But I digress. The real reason to check out this film is for Mooney’s unique brand of humor. While the content is funny, it often feels a little stale, since it was obviously taped a while ago. So, jokes about Hilary Clinton’s campaign antics, Janet Jackson’s bad breakup, Mel Gibson’s anti-Semitism and an explanation why Brad Pitt will never leave Angelina Jolie feel outdated.

Still, a lot of it works, when not addressing topical material. For example, general quips about pedophile schoolteachers and violent gangsta’ rappers are always in order. While I certainly laughed a lot, I’m not sure how heartily I ought to recommend a flick where the most memorable moments arrive when a naked woman serves the star a glass of water.

Watch an R-rated excerpt from Paul Mooney: It’s The End of the World: