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George Carlin: Life Is Worth Losing

George Carlin: Life Is Worth Losing (2005)

November. 05,2005
|
8.2
| Comedy TV Movie

Carlin returns to the stage in his 13th live comedy stand-up special, performed at the Beacon Theatre in New York City for HBO®. His spot-on observations on the deterioration of human behavior include Americans’ obsession with their two favorite addictions - shopping and eating; his creative idea for The All-Suicide Channel, a new reality TV network; and the glorious rebirth of the planet to its original pristine condition - once the fires and floods destroy life as we know it.

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Reviews

Evengyny
2005/11/05

Thanks for the memories!

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ChanFamous
2005/11/06

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

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InformationRap
2005/11/07

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

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Adeel Hail
2005/11/08

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

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ametaphysicalshark
2005/11/09

At this point, I don't think a Carlin stand-up show needs to be non-stop hilarity. I think after so, so many years of making us laugh, Carlin should be allowed to express his opinions in the context of a pretty funny comedy show. Carlin is one of the greatest speakers of our time, and even if he has lost a bit of his incomparable delivery power with age, the man's edgy, brilliant wit and mastery of the English language is inspiring and still a complete joy to listen to."Life is Worth Losing" is certainly funny. Only George Carlin could make topics like suicide, genocide, and cannibalism as funny as he does here. This is because although the humor here might just be way too much for some people to take, Carlin is a remarkable writer and speaker and his material is astonishing in its strength. For instance, the 'Extreme Human Behavior' bit, while it is mostly just a rant, not a joke, George is no average human ranting- he is a genius when it comes to the usage of the English language."Human beings will do anything, anything. I am convinced. That's why when all those beheadings started in Iraq it didn't bother me. A lot of people here were horrified, "Whaaaa, beheadings!" What, are you fu*king surprised? Just one more form of extreme human behavior. Besides, who cares about some mercenary civilian contractor from Oklahoma who gets his head cut off? F*ck 'em. Hey Jack, you don't want to get your head cut off? Stay the f*ck in Oklahoma. They ain't cuttin' off heads in Oklahoma, far as I know. But I do know this: you strap on a gun and go struttin' around some other mens country you better be ready for some action Jack. People are touchy about that sort of thing. And let me ask you this... this is a morale question, not rhetorical, I am looking for the answer: what is the morale difference between cuttin' of one guys head, or two, or three, of five or ten - and dropping a big bomb on a hospital and killing a whole bunch of sick kids? Has anybody in authority given you an explanation of the difference? Now, in case you're wondering why I have a certain interest, or fascination lets call it, with torture and beheadings and all of those things I have mentioned, is because each of these items reminds me in life over and over again what beasts we human beings really are. When you get right down to it human beings are nothing more than ordinary jungle beasts. Savages. No different from the Cro Magnon people who lived twenty five thousand years ago. No different. Our DNA hasn't changed substantially in a hundred thousand years. We're still operating out of the lower brain. The reptilian brain.Fight of flight. Kill or be killed. We like to think we've evolved and advanced because we can build a computer, fly an airplane, travel underwater, we can write a sonnet, paint a painting, compose an opera. But you know something? We're barely out of the jungle on this planet. Barely out of the fu*king jungle. What we are, is semi-civilized beasts, with baseball caps and automatic weapons.It's not just about being funny at this point. Carlin has been there and done that. There is certainly place for a monologue like that in a stand-up show.8/10

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Margaret 9
2005/11/10

I saw Ralphie May at a show in Houston and he said the same thing. I didn't believe him and forked out the $120 bux for 2 tix and went to see him. I took my wife. I have always lived and breathed Carlin and have been known to spit out a Carlin line or 2 from years past, often...I was soooo incredibly disappointed. Last night I watched this HBO special since his road material is usually different when he does the big show. It was a carbon copy of the horrible act I saw here. I hope he can make a turnaround, but sadly, I do not think its going to happen. I guess he's going to just talk about the all suicide channel for another 5 years. What ever happened to the first stage (hippy) and second (sports and disasters) phases of his career? We'll miss ya George...

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MisterWhiplash
2005/11/11

I don't know what it was, maybe it was going through some of his own trials and tribulations (addiction and rehab), but George Carlin seems to be, well, different this time around. In a way I should've expected this- I remember reading a couple of years back when he was planning the special that it would be more based around language (if nothing else he is the single greatest linguist in the history of post-modern stand-up), and on that level the special isn't a disappointment. There are three things, however, that make the film not necessarily bad or over-wrought, but just, well, different, like a musician or band we all know through and through trying a little something new. This time, with Life is Worth Losing, there is a lot more philosophy in some ways, and also a little bit of loss in some of the timing for a few good laughs.The first thing is that his delivery is a little different; usually it'll seem like he'll go for his three topics (the little things in life 'Seinfeld' style, words and expressions, and the "big" world), but much of the special this time is with a delivery that doesn't (at least some of the time, maybe not for the most part maybe so) have that much of the same strange skepticism. The second thing is that he changes the structure around one base topic, suicide, and one wonders if this will be for the entire length or if there will be a switch to another topic or not. There's variations on the theme, sometimes it spreads out into the gripes of America, and it's always fascinating, but maybe not as hilarious as one might expect (sometimes it's more like ironic musings than full-our jokes). The third thing is that at times he is so into giving a lyrical, sometimes even poetic kind of rhythm to his bits and terms in his linguist way (the first five minutes of the special a great warm-up, is a keeper) that might throw people off. In a way he is even angrier than he was in what I think is one of his very best specials, You Are All Diseased, because this time his anger is loaded at present day subjects which are, quite frankly, infuriating.As some might come to think, I might be saying all this to shadow over thinking that the special just wasn't as funny as his best stuff. It's not necessarily that. At times I was in the same practically non-stop laughs at a few minutes a clip. As a Carlin fan all these rants that end up not leading to the same kinds of routines and such is in a way refreshing even as it is a little odd. At times I almost wondered if he was returning to a little of the spirit of his act back in the 70's mixed with his now usual brand of old-man brilliant wit and observance of all things in the world. He even seems to be going past just plain old cynicism. There is so much truth in the special at times it's kind of staggering. And to see that in such abundance and forming out into such tangents reminds me why I keep coming back to his best stuff. I'm just not sure after seeing this right off the bat that it's him at his total best, it's almost as if he's in a transition now into a totally new part of his career. Still, it's worth it to hear some of his classic takes of end of the world scenarios, the 'fat' situation in the US, and things involving suicide TV. And those last fifteen minutes are very poignant.

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Julie
2005/11/12

Brilliant. Edgier than ever. I hope someone has taken down his opening monologue and posts it in the Memorable Quotes area. Truly one of the supreme comic geniuses of our time. I particularly enjoyed the hypothesizing about "Suicide TV," and the skewering of America's obsession with all things sensationalized. Nobody is ever safe from Carlin's wit and command of the English language, and he wouldn't have it any other way. Interesting to see how he has elaborated on elements of his live stage act from two years ago. I also appreciated how there was much, much less time devoted to non sequiturs and more ramblings that were all connected, often in a very twisted and disturbing way. Here's hoping for more Carlin specials to come.

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