Neil Hamburger: The World's Funnyman

Overview

Neil Hamburger, clearly has a larger following in Australia, where these performances were taped, than he does in America. In Los Angeles, small, dingy nightclubs host Hamburger, the nervous, nerdy comedian who clumsily delivers one-liners about rock musicians ranging from Britney Spears to Madonna to Michael Jackson to Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain. But The World's Funnyman boasts footage of Hamburger cracking jokes at a huge music festival, and footage of his main act reveals a near-stadium-sized Sydney club packed with fans. This DVD contains two "concerts," a short, fictionalized performance in which Hamburger takes on a Malaysian crowd, some music video clips, and a Canadian documentary analyzing Hamburger's genius. Hamburger, part Jerry Lewis, and part Andy Kaufman, has a fiercely commanding stage presence despite his cultivated meek demeanor, making his talent apparent. Sometimes funny, sometimes too weird for words, Neil Hamburger is definitely a character.

Brendan Walls