David Cross: Let America Laugh (2003)

I like David Cross in his sketches and different programs, i.e. "Todd Margaret", "Arrested" etc. So with anticipation I rented this film documentary about one of his stand up tours in America. I hoped to gain some insight into Cross as a comedian doing stand up. The movie doesn't reveal anything really funny in his routine. In fact, he didn't really seem like a comedian, but a social commentator. There were several battles with hecklers, which took away from the stand up routine, and occupied much of the movie. I would have rather seen some of his material. There is some boring, repetitive content such as the extended street scenes of passers-by outside his show taken by a "replacement cameraman" who didn't understand his job. Then there is time wasted showing a CD signing event in Los Angeles that has no real purpose in being so long. (plus much of it is time-lapsed photography of the line at the event.) In short, this documentary movie might be important to Cross and his crew, but it doesn't really offer anything interesting, or humorous. Cross comes off as good-natured despite many drunk, obnoxious crowds, and this does demonstrate the ugly side of stand up comedy. Other than that, its just video of Cross and his crew and their observations of drunks and crowds. This documentary is like filming one of your own road trips with friends to another college campus------ Its interesting to you, but it has no real value to anyone else who isn't part of the crew.

David Cross' day job is interrupted by an urgent call to his bosses office. Once there he is confronted by a shocking DVD that his boss discovered under the bed of his youngest son. It is not, as Cross assumes, gay pornography or even just straight pornography but rather a DVD of Cross doing his other job – standup comedy. With his boss concerned about the material Cross does and the company he keeps, he uses clips from the DVD to illustrate his point.Like many others, I came to Cross from Arrested Development and was really happy with what I found with his stand-up material that I saw. So my desire to consume more of his material brought me to this film with the impression that it would be a stand-up show. So OK, initially my reservations with the film can be based on the fact that I expected something from it that it did not propose to be. After this I settled into the film as an "on the road" film of Cross on tour, with as much focus on the goings-on as on the action on the stage (if not more in fact) Meeting it on these terms the film is rarely more than "OK" because it appears to lack reason or structure beyond showing the many weird characters that Cross meets as he travels. Many of these are hecklers and others are just muppets who try and befriend him whether he wants them to or not. This is never interesting enough to carry as much of the film as is dedicated to it and I tired of it long before it finished.The stand-up stuff is likewise focused on people giving him trouble or things not going totally his way. Again this is not without value but is certainly not worth the amount of variations on it that we see. The rest of it (outside of the fictional work-place framing) is a mix of people babbling at the camera, joking around with David and so on – none of it particularly interesting. All of this is hindered further by the rather grainy film and often poor sound recording which, while part of the material being what it is, doesn't make for an easy experience when you're struggling to hear what is being said.For fans it is interesting enough to see Cross putting in work for his craft rather than living some remote form of stardom, but even they will find this film labouring that point without a lot else on offer. As others have said already, it is important that you don't judge David Cross by this film because his stand-up is much, much better than this film suggests. Let America Laugh would be an interest DVD extra if it was a lot shorter because, as a film in its own right, it doesn't do enough to justify the 90 minute running time.

Oh David it must have seemed like such a good idea for a DVD at the time...laughing at how ignorant everyone in (the southern region) of your country is.There is some funny on this DVD but from someone as brilliantly funny as mr. cross (mostly evident in his appearances on the Favreau w*nk-a-thon Dinner For Five and A.D.) I am sorry but this is just not good enough.NOT GOOD ENOUGH.this DVD is NOT not not good enough...and I don't think I would even recommend it for a "waste my life" late night double feature with say a curb your enthusiasm season 2 disc 1 or the office special.mr.'cross I'd rather hear more about your dysfunctional family life and your need to laugh and despise them publicly. The "laugh at how stupid my family is" material IS funny...digging a bit deeper would be even stronger...rather than just mentioning in passing how estranged and uncomfortable you are with your family.Janeane Garafalo did it with darkness and honesty (and humour!) one Monday at 'eating it' and it rocked and was completely raw and angry and funny as heck.keep your day job as TF, you rule that show...but make a better DVD next time.6/10

I was expecting much better from David Cross. I am indeed a fan, not so much now after watching this mediocre `on the road with' production.Two things that have drawn me to his work were his delivery and the continued speculation on my part of `what makes this guy tick?' I never could quite figure out what was brewing behind his hilarious sarcastic jabs that make up much of his stand-up and the creativity behind Mr. Show and his other works. I always have viewed him as an intelligent, stoner type who `got it' especially evident when his work revolves around topical issues. In `Let America Laugh' we get to see Cross interact with his traveling companions and often with a variety of typical drunken folks that you would see in Anysoutherntown, USA. These scenes are intertwined with footage of him performing his stand-up.I don't ask for much.If just *some* of the footage could have captured his delivery, I would have been satisfied with this video. Instead, almost all of the scenes were him talking above the crowd at various venues, they mumbling and generally being rude, often heckling. Because of the constant crowd noise, you don't get to witness what I feel he is best at, which is the excellent timing that makes up his delivery. If you intend to rent/buy this to see his stand-up act, you will not get it from this video. I was OK with that aspect of the video, I mention this because at about the halfway point, I was basically looking for ANYTHING that was entertaining. That just never happened.I never really got to see what was behind the man. It is hard to explain what I felt of Davis Cross `the person' after viewing this. I kind of felt disappointed. like in the case where, say you have always been dazzled by some extraordinary feat and then come to discover that what you have been witnessing was trickery and not really that spectacular once you see what is behind the feat.The video was just not funny, I honestly did not laugh once. The drunken fools were not funny, Cross wasn't especially funny, there just wasn't anything entertaining about it.it was dry, dull and empty.Was he just playing to the camera, I don't really know. He did not come across as the same person when I saw him on "Dinner for Five", granted he made just a few comments on that show. I'm left thinking "would the real David Cross please stand up"?