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Dennis Miller

HBO · 2003 · 59 min

Dennis Miller's transition into hawkish, post-9/11 political commentary.

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Dennis Miller takes the stage with a noticeable pivot in his perspective, shifting from the detached, highbrow cynicism of his late-night hosting years to an earnest, post-9/11 neoconservatism. Filmed at the Vic Theatre in Chicago shortly before its April 2003 broadcast on HBO, the hour captures a specific inflection point in the comedian’s career. Coming off the end of his talk show, Dennis Miller Live, in 2002, he devotes much of his time to foreign policy, national security, and full-throated defense of the Bush administration’s military actions.

His trademark rapid-fire similes remain, but the targets have changed. He focuses his frustration on the United Nations, global warming advocates, and the French refusal to support the coalition forces in Iraq. The performance features his characteristic reference-heavy writing, but the tone is marked by an aggressive patriotism that alienated many of his old fans while endearing him to a conservative talk-radio audience. Critics of the era, including Salon, observed that his once-intellectual skepticism had hardened into a simpler, hawkish combativeness, particularly during his prolonged segment on the war in Iraq.

The set list

6 bits

  1. California energy crisis

    Summarizes the state's severe energy crisis by remarking that California is buying energy at minibar prices.

  2. The war in Iraq

    Boasts about overwhelming American firepower, stating that heat and sand make glass and Iraq will end up looking like Superman's father's apartment on Krypton.

  3. Dealing with al-Qaida

    Advocates extreme retaliation, declaring that the U.S. needs to go 'Sling Blade' on them.

  4. Disdain for the French

    Quips that calling the French 'scumbags' would be an unfair disservice to actual bags filled with scum.

  5. Depersonalizing modern technology

    Recalls realizing how isolating technology has become while playing a Nintendo 64 video game of a father and son playing catch with his own son.

  6. Origins of the Palm Pilot

    Nostalgically remarks coming from a simpler era when 'Palm Pilot' was merely a nickname given to a boy entering puberty.

How it plays

Tone
Vitriolic, smug, aggressive, topical, and biting.
On stage
Highbrow, hyper-literate ranter blended with juvenile macho aggression and self-congratulatory swagger.
Pace
Rapid-fire and labyrinthine, leaping abruptly from topic to topic with blunt transitional segues.
About
War in Iraq and terrorism, Foreign policy, Politics, Pop culture and celebrities, Technology

What the critics said

Sharply divided; while conservative outlets praised his devastating wit, mainstream reviewers such as Salon and PopMatters criticized the set as an off-putting, simplistic, and vitriolic right-wing rant.

In the room: A packed house at the Vic Theatre listening intently to his rapid-fire monologue.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: themoviedb.org, tv.apple.com, hbomax.com, catalog.pcpls.org, salon.com, rottentomatoes.com, upcomingdiscs.com, bullmurph.com, imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org.

Backstory

Filmed around the start of the 2003 War in Iraq, amid heightened post-9/11 foreign policy tensions and domestic political polarization.

Details

Released
Taped
The Vic Theatre, Chicago
Runtime
59 min
Where
HBO
Director
Jim Yukich
Topics
Before
I Rant, Therefore I Am (2000)
After
Fake News, Real Jokes (2018)

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