I can’t help but wonder what went in to the compiling and editing of this collection, so much so that it’s been keeping me up at night. My first theory is that due to a combination of rights issues, and famous people ego’s, and needing specific names to sell a DVD, a little common sense got left out when they put this sucker together. My other theory is that they smoked crack.

The Greatest and Latest: Comic Relief is an effort to distill twenty or so years of comedy and fundraising into a two disc set. The first disc takes snippets from the first eight Comic Reliefs, which raised money for the homeless, and blends them into one show. The second disc is all taken from Comic Relief 2006, which was a benefit for Hurricane Katrina victims. Starring Whoopi Goldberg, Billy Crystal, and Robin Williams, this smorgasbord of funny also features appearances by everyone and their mother. Not really, but there are more comedians featured here than I have the patience to type out. I was going to list them roast style and mock them each in turn, but it turns out that I’m not very funny, so I’ll spare you. While I could riff on this DVD forever (and I will riff for at least a page or so), the bottom line is that if you are a fan of stand up, you should buy it.

Where to begin? Okay, the hair-do’s on the first disc alone are worth the price of this DVD. Granted these people want us to laugh, but I think they thought these were serious hair cuts back in the late 80’s and early 90’s. It’s also a pleasure to see the people that appear in both discs. To see how much they did or didn’t change in the twenty or so years that this collection spans is priceless. It’s also great to watch comedy without a laugh track. Sarah Silverman is particularly awesome in how much the audience doesn’t laugh at her offensive humor. Oh yes, I should definitely mention that if you are easily offended, you should watch something else. Race, sexuality, gender, political affiliation, nothing is out of bounds in this DVD. Dave Chapelle jokes about how black people make bad hostages (cause no one cares if they die) and Robin Williams mimes Jon Bobbit’s dick jumping into a police officers mouth.

As I said, the first disc is very uneven. Some people are hilarious, and some are very not. I can’t figure out what the editors were thinking. It’s more than worth it because the funny parts are very funny, but I couldn’t help scratching my head in wonder. The second disc is much more consistently funny. This may be because the more topical elements are fresh enough that they’re still relevant, and therefore still funny. It might also be due to the fact that the 2nd disc is much closer to the actually broadcast version. If it’s directed well, a night of theatre has a good flow to it, the various potions help each other out and the whole ends up being better than the sum of its parts. Perhaps it’s the lack of flow that makes the first disc so clunky.

The picture quality is not great at times- especially on the older snippets. I think this has less to do with the transfer, and more to do with the quality of some of the original recordings. The sound is good, if not great. Lacking explosions or a lot of music, you just need to hear the jokes, and they come across clearly.

The extras are all excised chunks from the 2006 show, and most of them were cut for a reason. Several are short tear-jerkers, aimed at encouraging the audience to give money. A short improv “rap” from Wayne Brady is pretty lackluster. There is one really great piece from Billy Crystal, but its more drama than comedy. Crystal performs as an old jazz musician (very Louis Armstrong) detailing his life in the biz and the tragedy of watching his city destruct. If I were still an acting student I would steal it and perform it as a short one person show.

Overall, a good buy worth your time. Plus if you aren’t trying to review it, you can skip the unfunny parts.