Then one night, I caught his HBO special, "Dressed to Kill," and laughed so hard it hurt. Eddie has an amazing skill of blending history, religion and his own personal experiences into a hillarious two-hour stream-of-consciousness. I have watched the special several times (I got smart enough to tape it) and each time I catch a new joke or bit that I missed last time. He is one of the funniest stand up comics I've ever seen and his observations are always dead on. I especially liked his observations on Hitler, and how we'll tolerate dictators who kill their own people; it's only after they start killing people in other countries that we object.

If you haven't seen the phenomenon that is Eddie Izzard, then get either a copy of this special or "Glorious," the only other Eddie Izzard special on video. And be prepared to laugh. A lot.


Do you have a flag?   August 15, 2000
 124 out of 126 found this review helpful

Jeezee Chreezee...I initially passed on the HBO special, as the thought of a "Transvestite Comedian" didn't interest me. However, now that I know he's an "Executive Transvestite" who fancies girls, everything is better.

Eddie's humor is NOT for the hard of thinking, nor for those who flunked world history..."Hitler wound up in a ditch, covered in petrol, on fire...and it was his wedding night as well! Double trouble!" His brilliant style of mixing humor with incredible body language makes him a treat to watch. His manipulation of the audience is brilliant, and the fact that he even laughs at the crowds reactions to things makes him even funnier!

I have loaned my copy of DTK out to so many people, that the tape is almost worn out. However, I have converted everyone who's seen it into immediate fans. We as a group went to the "Circle" show in Seattle, and were incredibly entertained by his blend of history and humor.

Dress to Kill is a must, and will certainly convert even the most apprehensive viewer. He sets up the last 20 minutes of his show, which is performed mostly in French, so you have to pay attention...and make sure you have something to wipe your eyes with, because it's hysterical! "Le Sange et sur la branche"

Please make sure you let Amazon know you'd like this available in the States. I want all his work available on DVD sometime this millenium!


The Best   March 10, 2003
 118 out of 122 found this review helpful

It's hard to describe Eddie Izzard to people who've never seen him before. I was flipping channels once and came across an English transvestite (excuse me, "executive transvestite") doing a comedy routine in Alcatraz prison. I stopped flipping channels, and, for the next two hours, almost died laughing. Izzard's humor is unique and it works on many levels. A lot of comedians target a particular demographic. Their humor can be too trite or too low-brow or too high-brow for some. Not Eddie. On the one hand, he's clearly intelligent and educated and his comedy contains much that will tickle even the most intellectual of viewers. But he combines this with good old-fashioned silliness and dead-on impressions that he will have the most slack-jawed luddite in stitches.

Even as I type this, I'm laughing to myself thinking about several of his routines ("Cake or death?") and will probably go home and watch it again. And that's the reason why I recommend the DVD. A lot of standup humor is funny the first time, but loses its edge. Eddie's improves. I laughed *more* the second time I saw it.

Buy it. You'll love it. I can't wait until his next performance.


"What is it Sebastian? I'm arranging matches"   October 24, 2002
 22 out of 23 found this review helpful

Watch Dress to Kill and you'll know what the title for my review means

There are actually 5 Eddie Izzard stand up concerts out on the old video cassettes (in UK). Dress To Kill, his San Francisco gig, is the only one available on DVD so far. This openly transvestite man is arguably the best British stand up comic today. His material is very Monty Python-ish. If you like the Pythons, you'll like Eddie. If you don't like the Pythons, try Eddie anyway. You'll end up with stomach cramps from all the laughing. I did.

By the way, the 5 videos of his concerts are: Live at the Ambassador's, Unrepeatable, Definite Article, Glorious and Dress to Kill. They're all great. I hope they all come out in DVD soon.


Almost as Funny as Carrot Top!   October 26, 2002
 21 out of 313 found this review helpful

I caught this particular show a few years back on HBO whilst switchin' channels, and decided to stay tuned in just to see what this Eddie Izzard guy was all about. Sadly, it wasn't all about him being funny. Except for his observation that most Star Wars villains are British (which in itself wasn't all that amusing), I found the man's act a an veritable bomberoo. I endured this pathetically unfunny piece of tripe from beginning to end without uttering so much as a soft chuckle. I found myself slowly slipping into a catatonic state of utter boredom as he doled out his insipid and pointless ramblings about Scooby-Doo, his lame spiel about coming up with an original sin, his "cake or death" bit that went nowhere fast, and his nodding-and-shaking-his-head dealy that he milked for some REALLY cheap laughs for about two minutes to punctuate some other pitiful bit of his.

In fact, the only laughing I heard was from the audience, and most likely polite laughter at that. You know, the kinda guffaws that come about when the audience doesn't actually think the man's jokes were funny, but they don't wanna bring him down? Yeah, now you know what I mean! I know if I were an audience member watching this coma-inducing roll of wall-to-wall lameness, I'd've stormed the box office threatening to sue if I didn't get a full refund!

The only time I had even an inkle of emotional reaction to this travesty was when I sighed in relief as the closing credits rolled. A few minutes later, however, I became depressed when I realized I just wasted an hour of my life watching this heapin' load o' dreck! I'd've had a better time listening to the recitation of the minutes from the British Parliament's last session than watching this loser!

Then there's the whole dressing in drag thing, which is pretty much cliche nowadays. Personally, I think it's his way of kissing up to the original British comedy drag-sters, Monty Python's Flying Circus (of course, his claim will be that his cross-dressing is a `tribute' to the Pythons, but I see right through that ploy!). If you doubt it, take a look at his little walk-on with MPFC's five surviving members at the beginning of the `Life of Python' interview special. C'mon, now, Edward; stop licking the boots of those has-beens! Just because the late Graham Chapman is funnier deceased than you will ever be while you're alive doesn't mean you shouldn't try to be your own man(?)!

`Late

UPDATE 3/20/2005:

Now I know what some of you are thinking after reading my little rant: you see me as some sorta anti-intellectual rube who just doesn't "get" most of Mr. Izzard's material, don'cha? You probably think that most of his references and allegedly humorous takes on significant events in European history (i.e. the Crusades) sailed right over my pointy little pin-head, don'cha? It probably didn't even remotely occur to you that perhaps I did grok just about every last bit of this man's so-called "humor"... which I did, BTW... and I just didn't think it was funny? I know this is a tough revelation to wrap your brain around, but just try it. Don't be scared, now...

Then there are a few of you who're saying to yourselves, "Ahh, he's just some disgruntled Yank who's biased against British comedy!" Sorry to disappoint you, but I consider Are You Being Served? to be one of the funniest sitcoms ever made, and I rather enjoy the weirdness of Monty Python's Flying Circus, Fawlty Towers, and The Black Adder. The late Benny Hill had his moments as well! And to top things off: "Danger Mouse" was one of my all-time fave cartoon shows when I was but a wee 'Norch!

Others of you are thinking, "Ahhh, the guy's just jealous of Izzard's success." True, I must admit I am rather envious of this no-talent yutz who has managed to break into show biz and has been modestly successful at it... well, if you consider small parts in Mystery Men and the cinematic adaptation of The Avengers to be a couple of sturdy rungs up the ladder to the big time... while being completely unfunny. Going by that logic, I am also very jealous of Paulie Shore!

Finally, there're those of you who are saying to yourselves: "Sheesh, this guy's a real scumbag!"

My reply to this: your point being...?

`Later