Topical humour, specifically political humour, has the risk of not aging well. I don’t know if Red, White, and Screwed will stand the test of time as a comedy classic, but it’s definitely worth a watch. I rented the dvd because I love Lewis Black, and although I have a few of his cds, I’ve never actually watched him perform. His hand gestures punctuate his ranting, and his facial expressions definitely add to the enjoyment of the routines, but the audio recordings are almost as funny without the visuals.

The dvd has some bits that are also on his latest cd, The Carnegie Hall Concert, and although I was mildly disappointed, it was interesting to see how the bits were performed differently in the context of the two different shows. Some of the bits were better here (New Orleans) and some weren’t (Congressional Correspondent’s Dinner), but even though I’d heard them before, they were still entertaining. Black held the crowd’s – and my – attention right from the beginning, and he blew through the 75 minutes with energy to spare. Definitely recommended, but it’ll be interesting to see how it holds up ten years from now.