Comedy Central Home Video presents

Comedy Central Roast of Pamela Anderson (2005)

"Our next roaster is the only person who Courtney Love thinks has a problem."- Jimmy Kimmel

Stars: Pamela Anderson
Other Stars: Jimmy Kimmel, Tommy Lee, Adam Carolla, Eddie Griffin, Sarah Silverman, Jeffrey Ross, Nick DiPaolo, Andy Dick, Greg Giraldo, Bea Arthur, Elon Gold, Lisa Lampanelli, Lady Bunny, Courtney Love-Cobain
Director: Joel Gallen

MPAA Rating: Not Rated for (adult language and situations)
Run Time: 01h:21m:37s
Release Date: 2006-02-14
Genre: comedy

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

 

DVD Review

Oh, where to start when talking about Pamela Anderson? This buxom babe has been making men drool for well over a decade now. She busted (pun intended) onto the scene as Lisa the Tool Girl (after Ashley Judd passed on the role) on TV's Home Improvement, and has never looked back. Pam has dabbled in films (Scary Movie 3), and her TV career ranges beyond Tim Allen's show, as her career really got going during a stint on Baywatch. She also starred in V.I.P., the animated Stripperella, and is currently headlining the Fox show Stacked.

Comedy Central had to be chomping at the bit with the endless comedic possibilities that a Roast of Pamela Anderson brings to the table. Anyone who caught the special when it aired on the network knows that they took those possibilities and ran with them, producing the finest effort, by far, in this series of theirs. Now, thanks to the lack of censorship that the DVD format offers, fans can view it in all of its lewd, raunchy, and most importantly, uncut glory.

Just about every aspect of Pam's career is touched upon, from the obvious double-entendre of the title Stacked to the two books she's had published. Almost every roaster touches on the infamous Pam and Tommy Lee sex video, never missing an opportunity to talk about Mr. Lee's immense "body part." Many of these relatively obscure comedians (featured on Comedy Central, of course) take some great shots, but the best segment involves Bea Arthur doing a reading from one of Anderson's books. Her grizzled, (dare I say masculine?) voice delivers these passages with grace and wit, and how Arthur keeps a straight face during the proceedings is beyond me.

Jimmy Kimmel is the official host of the proceedings, but he soon takes a seat on a couch next to his girlfriend, comedian Sarah Silverman, and Adam Carolla, his ex-co-host fom The Man Show. Some of the best bits actually come at that trio's expense. Kimmel's low-rated talk show is ripped apart, and Silverman is harassed for being romantically involved with him. Shots are also taken at Carolla's part-Hispanic ethnicity, his large teeth, and near unibrow.

The amazing thing about this roast is that many, if not most of the roasters have no personal relationship with Anderson whatsoever. Sure, the guys might have a "personal" relationship with her videos and Playboy pictorials, but as far as actually knowing her, only a handful seem to. Pam takes all of the rips and pokes at her in glorious stride throughout, regardless of the graphic intensity of a specific joke. It's pretty clear that Courtney Love has a friendship with Anderson, and we all know about her history with Tommy Lee, but what the heck are Andy Dick, Eddie Griffin, and (yikes!) Lady Bunny doing there? Such odd participants are what make Comedy Central's roasts so appealing though, and after taking Pam Anderson, Drew Carey, and Hugh Hefner to task, I can't wait to see who's next.

Rating for Style: A-
Rating for Substance: A

 

Image Transfer

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

Image Transfer Review: The full-frame presentation is basically on par with how the show looked when it originally aired on Comedy Central. This is a good thing, complete with bright colors, solid black levels, and a near complete lack of grain and dirt.

Image Transfer Grade: A-
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
DS 2.0	English	no

Audio Transfer Review: The Dolby Digital 2.0 track also emulates the original broadcast audio, which is also a plus. Most of the sound stays up front, but the rear speakers are nicely utilized for crowd noise and other ambient sounds. The dialogue is always crisp and clear, without any hissing or other distortion.

Audio Transfer Grade: A- 

Disc Extras

Animated menu with music
Scene Access with 21 cues and remote access
Subtitles/Captions in English
4 Other Trailer(s) featuring South Park: The Complete Seventh Season, Mind of Mencia: Uncensored Season 1, Dave Attell's Insomniac Tour Uncensored, Ren & Stimpy: The Lost Episodes
Packaging: Keep Case
Picture Disc
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: dual

Extra Extras:

1. Courtney Love & Andy Dick Rehearsal
2. The Pee Break - Pre and post-show conversations with the roasters.
3. Red Carpet Interviews
4. Red Carpet Outtakes
5. Comedy Central Quickies - Clips from three Comedy Central shows.

Extras Review: A few entertaining bonus features can be found on the disc, including a trio of "Comedy Central Quickies", which are short clips from the shows Mind of Mencia, Reno 911!, and South Park.

Courtney Love & Andy Dick Rehearsal is a three-minute behind-the-scenes look at the preparation that took place before the show. Love is just as unhinged here as she is during the show; flying off the handle at the drop of a hat, and musing with Dick about the 12-step program.

The Pee Break is a one-minute bit showing the roast participants mingling before and after the show.

We also get Red Carpet Interviews and Outtakes. The interviews are over 21 minutes of outrageous discussions with many of the roast participants, including the never lucid Anna Nicole Smith, and even more Courtney Love madness. The outtakes are over two minutes of funny, candid quips that include Dennis Rodman asking Pam (via the video camera) what happened to their relationship, as well as others addressing the guest of honor.

Extras Grade: B
 

Final Comments

The recent Comedy Central roasts bring a time-honored event to television in the funniest way imaginable. The fun is all in who's being roasted, and Comedy Central Roast of Pamela Anderson chronicles the 2005 event that focused on everyone's favorite busty blonde. This is the latest of the network's roasts to make it to DVD, and this is a solid effort, with good audio and video quality, and a few extras that are worth a look.

Chuck Aliaga 2006-02-13