1997 Directed by Peter Richardson
Eddie Izzard's routine has a loose trajectory from the beginning of the Old Testament and the creation of the world in seven days to Revelations. Along the way, we learn of the search for a career, bad giraffes, Prince Philip's gaffes, toilets in French campsites, the mysteries of hopscotch, becoming one's Dad and tranny bashing.
Eddie Izzard - Glorious (1997)
USA
USA
I really really wanted to like this special by Eddie Izzard based on how much I love both Definite Article and Dressed to Kill, but it all just fell so flat for me.
Filmed in New York City, it's a bit odd to watch a special by such an idiosyncratic British comic in from of an American audience who clearly wants to laugh and is on the performer's side, but far too much of it all flies over their heads, leaving a lot of awkward silence and failed punchlines.
It also feels that this special is trying too hard to replicate the awesomeness of Definite Article. Izzard works double time to achieve that same magic by delivering very similar beats…
I started choking on my wine laughing during the lawnmower bit. Eddie will be the death of me.
I recently finished listening to Eddie read his autobiography. The book itself is surprisingly lackluster, but Eddie’s reading contained many asides/digressions, random historical facts, and all that stuff that you’re accustomed to him talking about in his act, and it made me miss him. His shows aren’t available online (legally) right now, so I went to the local used video place and bought up my four favorite Izzards and now I’m happy. This is isn’t really a review of the show, but maybe it’ll remind you of how much you love (especially 90s) Eddie, too.
watching Eddie Izzard perform while drinking literally anything is quite possibly the most dangerous thing a person could do
Crystal clear memory of seeing this for the first time, age 13, and sweating from laughing so hard. And then going on to talk with his cadence for probably the next 7 years of my life. Glorious isn’t what made me insufferable, but it for sure didn’t help!
Movie #128 of 2018. Don’t know if a standup special technically counts as a movie, but I found this vhs in my collection that I got for free and I watched it and it was very funny so I’m counting it. Very funny, did I mention that?
"Smash it with a hammer!"
Plenty of self-aware mime and surreal tangents make this a very enjoyable show. Observational, stream-of-consciousness style stand-up filled with meta back-references and the deconstruction of vivid if chaotic images (i.e. not using a tap but holding a mouse, not sawing wood but punching a baboon) makes it all the more compelling to try and keep up - eventually you will speak Eddie's language too. The encore about computers, though slightly dated now, is also very strong.
That suit is nothing if not shiny.
It's crazy to think that this was 1997 and Eddie is talking about the queen being old and she will just keeping going. And she wouldn't pass for another 25 years.
Also: thanks Letterboxd for embracing the pronoun change.
I would watch a 5 hours show of her exclusively imitating animals and various appliances
