Jim Gaffigan - King Baby DVD Review

Jim Gaffigan's seventh stand-up album/special, King Baby, find the comic in a very comfortable place: riffing on topics like food and laziness with a combination of deadpan simplicity and meta-commentary from himself as the audience. It's a funny special that's sure to please fans of the comedian, and could also serve as an accessible gateway for any new fans. It may not seem like Gaffigan's doing anything that original, but there's no other comic quite like him. The King Baby DVD also includes some fun extra features, giving the audience more Gaffigan for their money.

Jim Gaffigan is one the best critics of American excess, but he rarely gets credit for it. Unlike angrier, edgier comedians like George Carlin or David Cross who stand outside society and point fingers at everything the country is doing wrong, Gaffigan puts himself right in the middle of it. He's one of us -- actually, he's the worst of us. He is the lazy, overeating everyman of suburban America (disregarding that he actually lives in New York City and isn't overweight).

On his latest stand-up DVD/album, King Baby, Gaffigan continues his running critique of indulgence with very funny routines on camping (why do people do it?), bacon (it's the best), fast food and more. Though there are a few dips throughout (it runs over an hour, so that's likely to happen), it's another solid special from the prolific Gaffigan, who's able to make some very smart social commentary by playing dumb.

The DVD for King Baby features a handful of amusing extras, including several "Pale Force" animated shorts that Gaffigan created for Late Night with Conan O'Brien and some nature film parodies called "Our Massive Planet." A "never aired" British interview is actually a goof, and much of it is recycled for the "Friday Night Stand-up" bumpers Gaffigan recorded for Comedy Central, which are also included here.

The best extra feature is a nearly half-hour interview Gaffigan taped for SIRIUS/XM Satellite Radio. Though he does crack a few jokes, Gaffigan is, for the most part, pretty serious and forthcoming about his career and how he got his start in stand-up. I'm always interested in comics talking about their careers in a semi-serious way (save for maybe Dane Cook, who is way too businesslike), so I found the interview pretty compelling.