Written by El Puerquito Magnifico
In August of 2007, friends, fans, and well-wishers gathered to pay tribute to former Public Enemy hype man and current reality show star Flavor Flav in the form of a roast. As the old saying goes, “With friends like these, who needs enemies?”
It’s safe to say that the man born as William Drayton is fair game for roasting. Whether working with a politically conscious hip-hop group, getting arrested for narcotics possession, or starring in several reality-based dating programs, everything Flavor Flav has done in his life and career has been done with a very unique (perhaps a better word might be “ridiculous”) style. I guess what I’m getting at is that even if you’re not a professional comedian, it’s not too hard to come up with a joke or two about a guy who wears a big clock around his neck and a Viking helmet on his head.
Luckily, Flavor Flav has a thick skin, because the jokes in this roast get pretty raunchy. Hosted by Katt Williams, the roasters included Ice-T, Jimmy Kimmel, Snoop Dogg, Greg Giraldo, Patton Oswalt, Lisa Lampanelli, Jeffery Ross, Carrot Top, Sommore, and Flav’s ex-girlfriend and “Strange Love” co-star, Brigitte Nielsen. With the exception of Sommore and Nielsen, every one of the roasters delivers side-splitting laughter. Even Carrot Top is pretty funny. Yes, Carrot Top! I’ve watched this roast several times myself, and it doesn’t lose its luster with repeated viewings. This is some really good stuff.
It is not, however, for the easily offended. This DVD release is uncut and uncensored, so if you fall into the ultra-politically correct crowd, you might want to just go ahead and skip this one, and all of the Comedy Central Roasts, for that matter. Better yet, maybe you should watch them because you might learn a thing or two about not taking yourself so seriously. If there is a racist, sexist, or stereotypical joke out there, you can almost guarantee someone at one of these roasts will say it. But it’s all in good fun, and every joke is told in an ironic fashion. Make no mistake, these folks aren’t endorsing bigotry or stereotypes; they’re mocking them.
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