Too much of everything

the audience applauded

Just perfect...

An absolute waste of money

George Carlin: Life Is Worth Losing (2005) *** 1/2 (out of 4)George Carlin's thirteenth special for HBO ranks as one of his best but, then again, was he ever not great? This time out he tackles humans and how ugly and stupid they really are. This includes suicide, torture, sleeping with dead things and in one of the funniest bits he goes off on seeing obese people together.It's funny watching this eleven years after it was released and seeing just how brilliant Carlin was. The legend would die three years after this was released so he didn't get to see the current human nature and there's a priceless joke here about PC liberals that is just so more truer today then when he said it. Not to mention the obesity rates in America.Carlin comes out on fire with one of the fastest monologues that you're ever going to hear. It's amazing to see how rapid-fire Carlin is saying this stuff yet he is never off note or missing a step. The show itself is full of one great joke after another. I've always thought Carlin's humor worked so best because it was a thinking man's show. In other words, Carlin gets humor out of his deep thoughts on his subjects and he fully exploits that here.I'm not going to ruin any of the jokes because you should go into the show not knowing them but there are many classics here.

At this point, I don't think a Carlin stand-up show needs to be non-stop hilarity. I think after so, so many years of making us laugh, Carlin should be allowed to express his opinions in the context of a pretty funny comedy show. Carlin is one of the greatest speakers of our time, and even if he has lost a bit of his incomparable delivery power with age, the man's edgy, brilliant wit and mastery of the English language is inspiring and still a complete joy to listen to."Life is Worth Losing" is certainly funny. Only George Carlin could make topics like suicide, genocide, and cannibalism as funny as he does here. This is because although the humor here might just be way too much for some people to take, Carlin is a remarkable writer and speaker and his material is astonishing in its strength. For instance, the 'Extreme Human Behavior' bit, while it is mostly just a rant, not a joke, George is no average human ranting- he is a genius when it comes to the usage of the English language."Human beings will do anything, anything. I am convinced. That's why when all those beheadings started in Iraq it didn't bother me. A lot of people here were horrified, "Whaaaa, beheadings!" What, are you fu*king surprised? Just one more form of extreme human behavior. Besides, who cares about some mercenary civilian contractor from Oklahoma who gets his head cut off? F*ck 'em. Hey Jack, you don't want to get your head cut off? Stay the f*ck in Oklahoma. They ain't cuttin' off heads in Oklahoma, far as I know. But I do know this: you strap on a gun and go struttin' around some other mens country you better be ready for some action Jack. People are touchy about that sort of thing. And let me ask you this... this is a morale question, not rhetorical, I am looking for the answer: what is the morale difference between cuttin' of one guys head, or two, or three, of five or ten - and dropping a big bomb on a hospital and killing a whole bunch of sick kids? Has anybody in authority given you an explanation of the difference? Now, in case you're wondering why I have a certain interest, or fascination lets call it, with torture and beheadings and all of those things I have mentioned, is because each of these items reminds me in life over and over again what beasts we human beings really are. When you get right down to it human beings are nothing more than ordinary jungle beasts. Savages. No different from the Cro Magnon people who lived twenty five thousand years ago. No different. Our DNA hasn't changed substantially in a hundred thousand years. We're still operating out of the lower brain. The reptilian brain.Fight of flight. Kill or be killed. We like to think we've evolved and advanced because we can build a computer, fly an airplane, travel underwater, we can write a sonnet, paint a painting, compose an opera. But you know something? We're barely out of the jungle on this planet. Barely out of the fu*king jungle. What we are, is semi-civilized beasts, with baseball caps and automatic weapons.It's not just about being funny at this point. Carlin has been there and done that. There is certainly place for a monologue like that in a stand-up show.8/10

This was no unlucky 13. It was just as good as the previous 12. Although the comedy wasn't as intense as in previous years, people have been going to not only see George the comedian, but also George the storyteller. Carlin has been around for a long time and has seen a lot of things. He likes to express his feelings and bring up things that most people take for granted. Essentially people listen to Carlin to laugh and also to learn something. So if you feel that this wasn't good because it wasn't as comedic, then i think you completely missed the purpose. George may not have been as quick as he used to be because his age and drug use has taken its toll. Overall I rate this a 7.

I saw Ralphie May at a show in Houston and he said the same thing. I didn't believe him and forked out the $120 bux for 2 tix and went to see him. I took my wife. I have always lived and breathed Carlin and have been known to spit out a Carlin line or 2 from years past, often...I was soooo incredibly disappointed. Last night I watched this HBO special since his road material is usually different when he does the big show. It was a carbon copy of the horrible act I saw here. I hope he can make a turnaround, but sadly, I do not think its going to happen. I guess he's going to just talk about the all suicide channel for another 5 years. What ever happened to the first stage (hippy) and second (sports and disasters) phases of his career? We'll miss ya George...