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Denis Leary No Cure For Cancer cast: Denis Leary, with Chris Phillips and Adam Roth director: Ted Demme 60 minutes (18) 1992 BMG DVD Regions 2 + 4 retail RATING: 8/10 reviewed by Rob Marshall |
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Born in Boston in the late 1950s, Leary's brand of macho stand-up grew out of his fast-talking and acidic performances at college. Later, he appeared on MTV with similarly unrestrained monologues, but also did tame adverts for sportswear items. This popular one-man show (a West End and Broadway hit) was written while Leary lived in London for a year. He says: "I'm gonna get a tracheotomy, so I can smoke two cigarettes at the same time... I'll be Tracheotomy Man!" (I recall they actually used that idea in a horror movie, I think it was one of the Hellraiser films.)
Vegetarians, non-smokers, hypocrites, joggers and French-Canadians, beware! Fitness freaks - go and hide your Stairmaster. Leary spouts angry, beer-supping, meat-eating, unfiltered outrage at everything from male sensitivity to capitalism. Ten years on, Leary's still a great act... After a few false starts, such as his cameos in Demolition Man, where he aggressively rips through a key expository scene to the bemused Stallone, and National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1 (both 1993), his film career moved up a level with roles in the political satire, Wag The Dog (1997), and animated feature A Bug's Life (1998). You know you've made it in Hollywood when they'll cast you for your voice alone.
DVD extras: just an index with 11 scenes. Not even a biography or interview. At least the raspy guitars on two songs (I'm an Asshole, and Everything is Horrible), that open and close the show, sound better in Dolby digital than they do on video.