Sam Kinison: Back From Hell

The line between sinner and saint is mighty slim, it would seem. At least, if you’re taking your cues from Sam Kinison. The notorious stand-up comic, famous for his guttural yell and his perverse take on everything from women and sex to faith and gays, started out his professional career as a preacher. And not the nice, come-to-Jesus kind. Not surprisingly, he was cut from the hellfire and damnation cloth. So the switch to shock comedian was probably not that tough of a transition for Kinison, especially since he used a lot of the same delivery tools to hold sway over his audiences.

This DVD release is a tribute that Comedy Central put together to honor Kinison. It’s a mix of live footage of Kinison, interview segments from fellow comedians and then live clips from a night honoring Kinison at a live club. All in all, it flows fairly well, giving Kinison noobs (like yours truly) and others a nice overview of his work and his life. Given his material, this is obviously not for kids or those with weak constitutions. He’s hilarious to be sure, but uncomfortably caustic and profane. It’s like being slapped on the back by a long lost good friend who’s wearing a cheese grater on his hang. It might be good to see him, but it really hurts.

Beyond the footage featuring Kinison himself, the best stuff here features current comedians sharing their memories. It was especially interesting to hear from Chris Rock and Lewis Black (two comedians who I like) and to see how Kinison influenced them and their work. There’s also a ton of bonus features on this DVD, so if you’re a Kinison fan and you don’t have any of his material already, this wouldn’t be a bad place to start. That said, viewer be warned. There’s some really raw stuff on here. If you’re easily offended, find something else.

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