So what is the most evil thing to ever grace the universe? Osama Bin Laden? Adolf Hitler? Wal-mart? Spam “meat”? They all have their bad points but there’s so much more that’s wrong with human history that cranky comedian Lewis Black is ready to play the judge in Comedy Central’s funny but ultimately tiresome Root of All Evil.
A spoof of sorts of The People’s Court by way of Celebrity Death Match, each episode of Root of All Evil pits two somewhat related “evils” against each other. For example, on the topic of worship you’ve got the Catholic Church taking on Oprah Winfrey. In another episode it’s YouTube versus porn. Beer takes on pot, American Idol faces high school and so forth. The lawyers are comedians who plead the case of their side, arguing why they’re the greater of two evils.
Individually, episodes are amusing in their own right. Strung together on back-to-back viewings on DVD, the format becomes repetitive and increasingly unfunny. Although the “lawyers” often come up with arguments that are witty and spot-on the tone of each is much the same. Another part of the problem is the fact that although the lawyers appear in multiple episodes, the subjects overpower their characters. It would have been nice to see the comedians develop a better sense of their lawyer personas and that there’d be more carryover of their “characters” from one episode to another. This would have created a better connection for the viewer as they’d be able to root for their favorite lawyer as they take on a villain of sorts.
If you’re familiar with the work o Lewis Black – perhaps most notably for his editorials on The Daily Show, you’ll know his angry takes on the world. He comes off like a bitter guy that finds good in nothing and laments on everything that’s wrong. Yet when you listen to go off on something, as pissed off and grouchy as he sounds, he preaches a lot of truth. This makes me you want to listen. However, as the judge and host of the show, Black’s signature rants are largely missing. He’s a moderator here rather than a screaming street-corner lunatic who’s come in from the cold.
Root of All Evil has its moments of hilarity. However, it’s a show best watched sporadically or even as clips online. Given a chance to develop better, the comedic lawyers may have helped break up the familiar patterns the show’s format falls into.
Lewis Black’s Root of All Evil – Uncensored DVD Review
The Root of All Evil – Uncensored DVD comes with eight episodes spread over two discs. Each are shown in their original full screen format with Dolby English stereo audio. Bonus features include extended post-case comments from the “lawyers” and Black much like you see on The People’s Court. “Your Day in Court” is a nostalgic-looking three-minute video with Black offering his sarcastic tips for putting together a winning case. Both Black and the lawyers are interviewed to give some additional background and insight into the show. Finally, Black provides some political observations and soundbites. Like every Comedy Central DVD I’ve seen, there’s also several DVD previews for recently released and upcoming shows.
