Rating: 
Summary: Brilliantly subversive and hysterically funny
Review: In "I'm the One That I Want" Margaret Cho combined her raunchy humor with an empowering reminiscence of her failed sitcom, subsequent breakdown and journey back to mental health. In "Notorious C.H.O.", she mostly ventures completely into adult territory, graphically, and hilariously, discussing a variety of her sexual experiences. Some topics include insensitive male partners, sensitive gay male friends, her period, her venturing into the BDSM scene, and sexual experiences with women. The result is not just raunchy fun (although it is that), but also political, honest, and empowering. Margaret Cho is such an important performer because she speaks for so many minorities who rarely really have their voices heard: female, asian, gay, etc. And she has the guts to put herself out there in such an uncensored and often unflattering way, that it's no wonder her fans feel such a connection with her.
Rating: 
Summary: DID I MISS IT ALL, OR IS SHE JUST NOT FUNNY TO BEGIN WITH?
Review: I had high expectations from this DVD that was given to me as a gift, along with a rave review of a Korean damsel trying to do the black comedy jig. In hindsight, I am glad I didnt shell out for this egregiously uninspired performance, to say the least.Ms. Cho can break all the sexual taboos she wants (quite frankly most of them have already been smashed many times over) but a very, very fundamental tenet they perhaps teach in Stand-up 101 is to have some decent jokes up your sleeve, and ideally, not to pause for an eternity between them. Cliched punchlines followed by drawn out and thus piquing stops make for a painfully tedious viewing. If you have a sense of humor even mildly above average, skip this tripe regardless of whatever minority rave you are exposed to.
Rating: 
Summary: Just call me totally out of it
Review: I really like Margaret Cho, her politics and passion but I wish I had read some reviews before I bought this DVD. Was I surprised!! Call me Ms. Pruddy-Two-Shoes from the mid-west but personally it was too graphic for me. On the plus side I learned about some sexual practices I have never heard of, which as an observer of the human condition, wss pretty interesting (didn't it hurt - or was that the point?). If you are an over 50 woman not into raunchiness and graphic descriptions of alternative sex, be forwarned. For the more adventurous sort, Margaret Cho is still very funny. I would love to hear her discuss non-XXX rated subjects
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining but crass at times
Review: I found this show very entertaining. I think I would have liked it more, however, with slightly less foul language and fewer graphic references to her sexual encounters. It's not that I get offended, rather it's just not my cup of tea. Fortunately most of it was funny enough that I can easily overlook the gross jokes.
Rating:
Summary: hysterical! laughed til i cried!
Review: even my totally homophobic roommate liked it! i intend to purchase this for future veiwing. some of the language can be a bit much, it surprised my mom, but she got over that and if you are bothered by it then you'll love it, like i did.
Rating:
Summary: The manifesto of the Cho revolution
Review: It is an oft-quoted saw that all humour comes out of pain. Watching this concert performance, you can sense the emotional anguish Margaret Cho experienced while growing up as an overweight Asian "girl" in the land of dreams. Her triumph is that she has turned that pain into raw material for her comedy routine (as have so many great comics), but she is accomplishing much more than just personal catharsis. She is a woman on a mission to incite social change, as evidenced by her closing monologue. The closing litany of people for whom her message has particular relevance stands as her manifesto for the marginalized. As she makes it abundantly clear, a person of intellect IS in a minority in the USA today. Some would say she's preaching to the choir, that midwest trailer trash likely wouldn't be among her audience, but having her concert performances available on VHS and DVD certainly broadcasts her message to a wider audience. The language on the DVD is salty, to say the least. Margaret Cho has said that even Phyllis Diller sprinkles profanities liberally throughout her shows (on meeting Ms. Diller, Cho told her audience in Provincetown in 2002: "I was afraid I'd snag a thread and her whole head would come off"). The language is certainly secondary to the message converyed by that language, that is is more than "okay" to not conform to the norm, and it is necessary to resist the whittling-off of the margins in society. It makes her Valley-girl characterizations that much more hilarious, as in the "I totally ate Carla" routine. Her material is full of little nods and winks to the gay community, who have long comprised her core audience. Margaret Cho doesn't set out to offend anyone except the prim and proper, the self-righteous, the moral paragons of society--the rest of us can just sit back and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Not Quite the Cho we Know and Love...
Review: I wanted to laugh. Really, I did. I enjoyed "I'm the One that I Want" for its sheer honesty and bravery in the face of a thankless world. I hoped to identify with Margaret Cho, and waited for her to make that same universal connection with the audience that occurs when a performer transcends race, gender, and sexual orientation and digs deep into her soul. That happened more than a few times in "I'm the One That I Want", but rarely occured in "Notorious C.H.O." For her kind of confessional comedy, establishing this connection is essential, otherwise it seems like the performer is speaking a foreign language. I felt that her "message", instead of interwoven into the fabric of the performance like the previous film, was tacked on at the end as more of a footnote than a summation, a way to justify the raunch of the previous hour and a half. Cho is a niche performer, catering to a very specific demographic. This the gay and lesbian communtiy. Sure, there are representatives of other various groups at the performance, including asians, college kids, and a few open-minded elderly people. But that's like pointing out the few black people at the Republican Convention as a sign of diversity. They are the exception, not the rule. For the most part, Cho's audience is composed of the gay and lesbian community. They are her biggest fans and supporters. She has become sort of an "honorary member" of that part of society, and has championed their style and effort. She tailors her show to that effect, with in jokes and references that are layered and complex if you're part of that demographic, but confusing or humorous only on a general or abstract level if you're not. Often it was like if an Eskimo comic was joking to a group from Anchorage using references only they would get. Sure, I might pick up on a few things here or there, but the universality of the message would more often than not be lost. As far as the raunchiness of her show, comparisons to performers like Richard Pryor abound, and are somewhat justified. But where Richard Pryor did talk extremely personal things that some (read white) audiences wouldn't have experienced themselves, he tailored his performance to include them by bringing out the humanity in the proceedings. Cho did this intuitively in her last film, but this one is more fluff and less substance, and as a result strays away from the humanity. She didn't convince me that much of what she said in this film was relevant to me at all. I don't mind if a performer makes me slightly uncomfortable talking about controversial or personal things, but Cho sometiems veered into territory that I just didn't care to know about her, nor did she convince me there was an underlying purpose to that path. I did laugh a few times; the only time that I felt she was speaking towards something I could identify with was her bit about men having periods. Cho uses mugging to wild effect. Sometimes a performer will mug, hoping that the mugging itself will illicit laughter. Cho does illicit laughter but the mugging is interwoven into the story she's telling; it isn't played simply for laughs, but also for effect. I like Margaret Cho as a performer, but wish she would have ended her one-woman confessional film career with "I'm the One That I Want". Often I felt like this show was made up of material that didn't make it into that film, like it was leftovers rather than a new feast. It's time for her to grow as an artist and try something new and different where she can expand on her themes instead of diluting them or rehashing them as she has done in this film. I think Cho might be afraid to venture beyond her one-woman show because the niche audience she's developed might not join her for the ride. She should risk it anyway. Cho fans are already accustomed to her style, and so "Notorious" is preaching to the converted. But if you aren't familiar with Margaret Cho, her brand of comedy, or if you aren't a member of the gay and lesbian community, this isn't the best introduction to her work. Instead, read her book, see her other film first, and you might develop a better context for this one.
Rating:
Summary: Rock on funny!
Review: Damn! This is funny! Well worth the money. GET IT!
Rating:
Summary: Laughed hard and loud!
Review: I just want to say that Margaret Cho is one of the funniest people I've ever seen.
Notorious C.H.O. was filmed in Seattle and the show was just fantastic! She's raunchy and sexy and isn't afraid to talk about ANYTHING!
The best was the midget lesbian... oh so funny! People should really check her out!
Rating:
Summary: Notorious C.H.O. Rocks!
Review: Margaret Cho is a comedy goddess. This is one of the funniest stand-up comedies I've ever seen. It's a perfect follow-up to "I'm the One That I Want." The opening animation is so funny it blows south park away! :)
|
