First off, I can’t believe how many reviews this has. Four?! Are you people insane? Actually I’m ashamed of myself for not reviewing it sooner – the idea just never came to me. Anyway, it’s time to rectify that mistake.

Years ago I watched a show on Comedy Central and saw a comic named Dane Cook. Now that same comic (who had been my favorite ever since then) is sweeping the nation, appearing on Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, and other places on television when you least expect it, doing things like kissing Charlize Theron’s *ss and everything.

“When you don’t have love, it’s like there’s a party going on, and everyone was invited except you. But then again once you’re in love it’s like you’re inside that party going, ‘Where’s my jacket, I wanna get out of here.’”

He’s crazy and uses the most ridiculous things from real life to fit into his routine that you just can’t help but laugh at. He thinks of things most people, and a lot of other comics, normally wouldn’t, creating words and acronyms to suit his fancy and they seem to be catching on (i.e. the title of this review, haha). Retaliation features two CDs of hilarious material and a DVD containing some of Dane’s work on Comedy Central with Shorties Watchin’ Shorties, his involvement with The Roast of Dennis Leary, and Crank Yankers.

“There are certain sounds in this world that for whatever reason when it hits you, it makes you want to punch a baby.”

The first time I heard these CDs I was worried my neighbor was going to knock on my door and ask me to shut up. I about died laughing. Not only are his main points hilarious, but in a lot of them there are tiny digressions about something that are just as funny. At one point in time he’ll be talking about getting a sandwich (“A chicken sangwich.”) and somehow slip into car repairs. Once you’re done laughing at that, he’ll go right back into the story without missing a beat.

“ ‘Also there was a tiny unicorn in your exhaust and he was jumping and poking holes in your exhaust…’ Wow, thank you very much. I did not know there was a tiny mythological animal jumping around in there.”

It’s all new from his last CD Harmful if Swallowed, and the great thing is that he will make allusions to past jokes, such as his Burger King experiences and his obsession with car crashes. The crowd goes crazy because they remember and it still makes them laugh even if he doesn’t go through with the whole joke.

“And you all know my stance on shoes.”

If you don’t know any of his older material, that’s fine because the allusions are small and it isn’t as though they’re littered throughout the CD. So you can listen and thoroughly enjoy all he has to offer. The only sad thing is that because this is all on a CD you can’t see any of the actions Dane does along with his words. This isn’t so bad, but he’s so active on the stage it just adds to the humor of everything. But don’t worry, it doesn’t take away from the CD.

“And let’s be honest, we’ve all been in the one night situations. …We’ve all been with a lagoon creature, if I may. …And that’s awful when you’re doing it and Skeletor is lookin’ up at you.”

If you don’t like your comics to swear during their routine and don’t feel like trying it, then Dane Cook isn’t for you. He doesn’t have a problem with swearing and vulgar language at any point in time, which is why this CD has “Explicit” slapped on it. I don’t have any problem with it and do a fair share myself so it’s cool with me. Sometimes it adds to the routine because of the emphasis it plays, other times it doesn’t matter, but I don’t feel that it takes away from the performance. There are those that out there that feel swearing makes things more tasteless, and that might be their stance here, but if you don’t care, go for it. Just don’t hand it out to your 13 year old kids, haha.

“I’m gonna name a group of my kids after my favorite cartoon, I’m gonna name a bunch of them after transformers. Just to be like, ‘Optimus Prime come here for a second I wanna talk to you.’ ”

As for the DVD, well, it’s nothing special. I’ve seen all his Shorties Watchin’ Shorties stuff, and though it is pretty funny to see his skits animated, it’s not a big deal. The roast wasn’t all that and a bag of chips, and the Crank Yankers never impressed me. The DVD is really just extra goofy stuff, but it’s nothing you’re going to want to watch over and over. The CDs though…you’ll be listening to them for a while. Hahaha.

So go on. Hop over to Amazon.com and get it for around $13 and listen to stories about people getting hit by cars, putting the kabbash on things, and more. His lines work in any time too – I used one once and a girl I didn’t even know looked and me, laughed, and said, “Yes! Dane Cook! He’s awesome in any situation!”

Track Listings for Disc 1
1. Intro/Riot – 2:01
2. Struck By A Vehicle – 3:35
3. Superbleeder – 0:40
4. Legacy – 1:16
5. Someone Sh*t On The Coats - 1:35
6. Abducted – 2:54
7. Punkass/Are You Out Of Your F*ckin’ Mind?! – 1:14
8. Driveway Intruder – 1:16
9. Car Alarm – 3:42
10. Heist/Monkey – 4:40
11. Bamf – 2:21
12. Dream House – 3:59
13. At The Wall – 10:45
14. Chicken Sangwich – 12:03

Track Listings for Disc 2
1. Intro/The Dane Train – 0:55
2. Itchy *sshole – 0:46
3. Superpowers – 2:01
4. Friend Nobody Likes – 2:24
5. Obby – 3:06
6. Creepy Guy At Work – 3:26
7. L-O-V-E – 2:02
8. Turn On's Slash Turn Off's – 1:48
9. Exaggerating GF/Bachelor – 2:06
10. Nothing Fight – 6:06
11. Making Up – 6:00
12. My Son Optimus Prime – 1:54
13. One Night Stand – 10:03
14. Where's The Handle? – 3:49
15. Let's Do This, I'm A Cashew – 4:11

NT


If you like, you can read about my absolutely ridiculous Dane Cook Live at Illinois State University experience:
The Dane Cook Story – Part 1
The Dane Cook Story – Part 2

If you'd like to try before you buy, go to his website at www.danecook.com and you can listen to a few snippets of his routine right there at the site.

“Let’s do this; I’m a cashew.”

Dunno if you can handle a comic that has good times swearing and talking about questionable material? Then why not check out Brian Regan?

Recommended: Yes