Melee presents

Ralphie May: Just Correct (2003)

"I was up for the role of a fat guy in a movie, and they said I needed to lose weight. Can you believe that?"- Ralphie May

Stars: Ralphie May
Director: Michael Bloom

MPAA Rating: Not Rated for strong language
Run Time: 00h:54m:01s
Release Date: 2004-02-10
Genre: comedy

Style Grade	Substance Grade	Image Transfer Grade	Audio Transfer Grade	Extras Grade
B	A-	B-	B	C+

 

DVD Review

The saying goes that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This is true, I suppose, but shouldn't that also be said about comedy? More so than anything else, comedy is the most difficult area for a performer to excel—the need to keep the audience laughing is vital. The struggles of life as a comedian were handled nicely in the documentary Comedian by Jerry Seinfeld, in which we saw an inside glimpse of a comedy artist as he came up with a new act and bounced from city to city to work it out.

That said, and while I admire the difficult nature of being a stand-up comic, I'm not an easy target. The likes of Jon Stewart, Dave Chappelle, Seinfeld, George Carlin, and Chris Rock keep me in fits and now I can add someone else to the list, and that's Ralphie May. With a new DVD titled Just Correct out, it is clear that he is on his way to being a superstar.



"Did you see Bobby Brown sweating? He was sweating like R. Kelly at the Kids Choice Awards."

May came to national attention on the NBC reality series Last Comic Standing, where he came in as the runner-up, though he was clearly more talented that the first place comic. May has a sense of humor that, while potentially offensive, is fresh and very, very funny. May weighs in at over three hundred pounds, and rather than using it as a target for self-deprecation, his size rarely comes up, except in a handful of moments where it is used to segue into another joke.



"I live in the bad part of Los Angeles. Its called 'Los Angeles.'"

While his own weight is relegated to one-liners and offhand comments, there are several targets that May hits with unbridled power. These include living in a bad neighborhood in south central Los Angeles to the Kobe Bryant case, and even the Beltway sniper. It is safe to say that nothing is off limits here. There are moments where May seems to overstep his bounds and the jokes fall flat, but for the most part, he is right on target.

Rating for Style: B
Rating for Substance: A-

 

Image Transfer

	One
Aspect Ratio	1.33:1 - Full Frame
Original Aspect Ratio	yes
Anamorphic	no

Image Transfer Review: Presented in a full-frame 1.33:1 aspect ratio this DVD looks fine as sharpness and detail are done very well though I noticed some slight edge enhancement and compression flaws. Colors are handled well, though the only real color shown is the bright red of May's shirt and the blue and oranges of the backdrop. These are done well with no smearing.

Image Transfer Grade: B-
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
DS 2.0	English	yes

Audio Transfer Review: The soundtrack is Dolby Surround and it is largely anchored in the center speaker. Dialogue is mixed well with no distortion or dropouts. This is a nice sound mix.

Audio Transfer Grade: B 

Disc Extras

Full Motion menu with music
Scene Access with 19 cues
Subtitles/Captions in English with remote access
1 Deleted Scenes
1 Documentaries
Packaging: Amaray
Picture Disc
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: single

Extra Extras:

1. Photo Gallery

Extras Review: A small handful of extra features are offered including fifteen minutes of footage not included in the concert showcased on the DVD. Everything from Britney and Madonna to more about Siegfried and Roy is covered, and I see no reasons as to why these moments had to be cut.

A featurette showcasing Ralphie going to Iraq to entertain the troops is featured, as well as a gallery featuring photos from his trip.

Extras Grade: C+
 

Final Comments

Ralphie May is a funny new talent in comedy and this DVD showcases some of the best humor I have heard recently. It can be found for a low price at most stores and it comes highly recommended.

Kevin Clemons 2004-03-10