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Technical Information
Studio: Paramount
Home Entertainment
Year of Theatrical Release: 2002
Disc Format: 1
single-sided, Dual Layer
Image Format: Anamorphic
(16x9 enhanced)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Region Encoding: 1
Sound Format: Dolby
Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0 (pro logic)
Running Time: 113
minutes
Director: David
Raynr
Stars: Martin
Lawrence
MPAA Rating: R
Disc Supplements:
- Feature length commentary with director David
Raynr, producer Michael Hubbard and executive producer Robert
Lawrence
- Deleted scene, Boxing
- Featurette Backstage Pass - the making of Runteldat
- Theatrical trailer
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Martin Lawrence is a very funny man. Runteldat,
his latest comedy concert, however, is not very funny. That
isn't to say there aren't laughs to be had from this concert.
But this isn't so much a comedy concert as it is a confessional
for a man who has had some significant troubles in his life.
This is Lawrence's first big performance following
his troubles with the law, his marriage and his health. He uses
this opportunity to explain and rationalize his troubles. As
he says, this is his chance to give his take on his problems.
The concert opens with a montage of clips
from early in Lawrence's career. Cut in with these clips are
bits of "news" footage showcasing the comedian's troubles.
I put the word "news" in quotes because it's worth
noting that none of these clips are real. The film producers
couldn't get clearance to use real news clips, so they created
their own. They claim that the created clips faithful reproductions
of the real thing. Nevertheless, they have a manufactured feel
to them, which undermines Lawrence's lambasting of the news
and critics in his show.
When Lawrence finally does hit the stage,
he seems a bit awkward as he begins slamming his critics. The
irony in Lawrence's apparent hatred of critics is that much
of the material in his stand up comedy is, in fact, criticism
of the human condition.
Lawrence then begins commenting on the September
11th attacks, and still he seems to be in awkward territory.
At one point, he talks about getting on to a plane after September
11. He is really reaching for something funny here, and ultimately
failing. As he tries to force the joke about passengers being
suspicious of Middle Eastern passengers, you can see his anger
and pain. It's a very uncomfortable moment. Even the audience
in the film seems almost as though they are laughing because
they don't know how else to respond.
As the film progresses, Lawrence finds his
rhythm and the humor starts to pick up. He eases into more familiar
territory, talking about relationships and sex, spicing his
performance with his own hilarious characterizations.
Late in the concert, Lawrence begins to address
his recent problems. He wisely eases off a bit on the media
bashing and sticks more to poking fun at himself. Some of the
biggest laughs of the entire concert come in the last half hour.
It should be noted that this is in no way
a clean concert. The ratio of the F-word to every other word
he speaks is almost dead even. I personally don't find this
offensive, but it will put off some audiences.
Regarding the profanity, some of the jokes
that seem the least successful seem to be the ones most perforated
with swearing. To mention again the film's most awkward moment,
his failed joke about flying post September 11, it's almost
as though Lawrence realizes that the material isn't funny and
as a result, it contains nearly nonstop profanity. His method
almost seems to be to cover up inappropriate material with a
constant verbal assault.
Ultimately, this film fails a comedy concert.
There are many jokes that do work well, but the comedy just
isn't sustained. And yet, it has merit from the standpoint of
a man just trying to talk about what's on his mind.
:::back to
top |
This sort of film is a rather different creature
when it comes to evaluating the video and audio quality. It just
can't be held up to the same sort of standard as a normal feature
film.
Having said that, the video here looks pretty
decent. Lawrence on stage looks good enough, with accurate colors
and some nice saturation and contrasts. Black levels are very strong,
but there isn't much detail in the shadows. Shots of the audience
appear somewhat grainy and, at times, out of focus.
The image is spread out over two layers, so in
terms of the digital presentation, the film is pretty clean. I noticed
no artifacting and very little edge enhancement.
:::back to top |
The sound on this disc does the
job, but the fact is that during a comedy routine, there's just
very little for your speakers to do. The trick is to present the
ambience of an audience, but not let it overpower the performance.
You'll hear some activity in the surrounds from the audience, but
the bulk of the work will belong to your center channel speaker.
:::back to top |
I was rather surprised to learn that there would
be extras on this disc and yet we're actually given quite a few
for this sort of film.
Starting things off is the commentary track with
director David Raynr, producer Michael Hubbard and executive producer
Robert Lawrence. Now, I would have thought that there simply wouldn't
be enough to talk about in a comedy concert to justify a full length
commentary track.
As it turns out, I was right.
The trio does manage to give some interesting
insight into some of the technical difficulties of creating this
film, but they very quickly begin to repeat themselves. There's
only so many times you can hear them say, "here's where we
cut out some of Martin's routine," or "here's where we
had problems with the cameras" before it gets boring.
Next up is a behind the scenes feature called
the Backstage Pass. This isn't so much a look at the filming of
this particular performance, but more a look at the evolution of
his Runteldat tour. It features many clips of Lawrence trying out
the material in smaller comedy clubs and it's a shame there isn't
more of this. If the clips are any indication, a much more consistently
funny concert film could have been made from these early shows.
This feature, if for no other reason than the club clips, makes
the special features on the disc worthwhile.
In the commentary, the filmmakers allude to many
sections of the concert that were cut out of the film. One of these,
a piece on boxing and Mike Tyson, is included as a deleted scene.
This particular scene is no more or less funny than the rest of
the concert, but it's nice to have it anyway.
Finishing things up is the theatrical trailer.
:::back to top |
All in all, I found this film interesting and,
for what it is, not too bad. However, it's billed as a comedy concert
and in that light, the film isn't completely successful for the
simple reason that much is just isn't funny. If you're a huge Martin
Lawrence film, then you'll probably want this one. If you have any
doubts at all, then definitely rent it before you buy.
:::back to top |
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| In no way, shape or form
could this film be considered appropriate for younger audiences. Keep
the kids far, far away. |
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| -- By Robert Wurth. Copyright
© 2003. |
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