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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy

Lock 'n Load

Denis Leary

HBO · 1997 · 65 min

A fast-talking, chain-smoking hour of complaints about daily life.

Watch it free on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Denis Leary takes the stage chain-smoking, pacing, and demanding a regular cup of coffee. Following the massive success of his breakthrough No Cure for Cancer, Lock ‘n Load delivers more of the rapid-fire rants that defined his nineties persona. The centerpiece is a widely quoted diatribe about the sudden proliferation of Starbucks and the impossibility of ordering coffee-flavored coffee without navigating a menu of mochaccinos.

Directed by frequent collaborator Ted Demme, the special was filmed over three nights at the Angel Orensanz Foundation in New York City. Though he was steadily booking film roles by this point, Leary returned to HBO to prove his stage act was intact. He applies his trademark aggression to the Catholic Church, animal rights activists, and the sheer exhausting reality of raising kids. While the companion audio release was padded with musical interludes and fake radio sketches, the television broadcast keeps the focus tight. It prioritizes the actual stand-up, letting Leary burn through his material and his cigarettes at the exact same pace.

The set list

5 bits

  1. My Kids

    Leary opens up his own life to the audience with personal scorn, exploring noise-making toys, surprises shoved inside the VCR, and children answering 'I don't know.'

  2. Coffee

    A rapid-fire, hysterical rant ridiculing Starbucks and modern coffee culture.

  3. Fuck the Pope / Lock 'n Load

    Bitterly funny and sharp satirical routine targeting the Catholic Church and the Pope.

  4. Save This

    A satirical musical track mocking organizations dedicated to protecting animals.

  5. A Reading from the Book of Apple

    Ridicules Fiona Apple's rambling acceptance speech on MTV.

How it plays

Tone
Profane, bitterly funny, aggressive, dark, and satirical.
On stage
Pissed-off, profane, intolerant of basic human stupidity, and armed with sharp satirical wit.
Pace
Relentless, rapid-fire rants with intense anger and ridicule.
About
family life and parenting, coffee and Starbucks, religion and the Catholic Church, beer and microbrews, celebrity and pop music, politics

What the critics said

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic highlighted that it captured Leary the comedian at his best with viciously clever satirical wit and accurate social commentary. Christopher Thelen of Daily Vault praised the rapid-fire standup bits as proving Leary was only getting better, though he noted that the inclusion of goofy songs and skits interrupted the momentum.

In the room: Energetic live crowd responding to his furious, rapid-fire comedic ridicule.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: imdb.com, allmovie.com, allmusic.com, holyelvis.com, dailyvault.com, en.wikipedia.org.

Backstory

Filmed in October 1997 for an HBO television special and companion comedy album, mixing live theater standup with studio sketches and songs.

Details

Released
Taped
Angel Orensanz Foundation Center for the Arts, New York
Runtime
65 min
Where
HBO
Director
Ted Demme
Topics
Before
No Cure for Cancer (1993)

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