GEORGE LOPEZ: IT'S NOT ME, IT'S YOU - DVD review

From the opening credits where Low Rider starts playing as George Lopez is driving a nearly rusted out car through Latino areas of L.A. you can get a sense of where his comedy is geared towards.  "George Lopez: It's Not Me, It's You" is a largely ethnocentric and uncensored comedy routine originally appearing and produced by HBO at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles.  The material itself is not family friendly as there are F-bombs yelled throughout the routine.  They are not used in a sexual manner but more emphatically to amplify the "funniness" of his joke.  And swearing is always a comedic crowd pleaser. There are many stereotypes played up for jokes, especially when he starts joking about his grandmother remembering what groceries she needs by seeing ethnically diverse people at the store.  This is perhaps his most risqué material but it works without being too offensive.

For those unfamiliar with his type of material, here are some examples. He talks about how white kids needs pills to behave where Latinos use slapping as a way to get the same result, with the child kept in line.  There are funny bits talking about how Latino's differ from white people when it comes to home and car safety for their children.  In fact, most of his routine revolves around the cultural differences in parenting. Stereotypes seem to be the driving force in his comedy, mostly revolving around how white people do things, how black people do things and how Latinos do things.  He seems to be a one-trick pony in that his comparisons always end up with Latino's doing things the right way, the tough-love way. However, it works nicely as a look into the Latino living in America experience.  George also regularly switches back and forth between Spanish and English.  It helps him create that bond with the Latino audience members but it does cause a disconnect to anyone else can't tell what he is saying.  Much of the time there is no after-explanation for clarity.

George also gets the crowd to participate by having them repeat what he says.  It's fun and the audience seems to always be on board.  Another one of his strengths are his good facial expressions. He can mimic a variety of them from wide-eyed kids amazed at something to disgruntled grandmothers yelling at deadbeats to get out of her house.  He does have a lot of Latino pride which is a good thing.  Latinos are not usually represented much in the comedic world outside of Cheech and Chong. He is energetic and comes across as likable, giving a nice sense of being a blue collar every-man.

Video:
The video is perfectly serviceable for this type of fare.  There's really no concern needed for accurate color reproduction and detail. Those come naturally anyways while filming with hi-def cameras.  There are no major glitches or anomalies that create any sort of distractions.

Audio:
My thoughts for the video are similar for the Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo mix.  It does exactly what it needs to do naturally. Every word Lopez says is clear and nicely defined.  It's nicely balanced and never an issue.  "Low Rider" bookends the production and sounds just fine.

Extras:
This is mostly a showcase for the man George Lopez, talking about him with high praise.  It does not delve into the production at all which would have been nice to see how much work goes into putting on a seemingly simple show like this.

Bottom Line:
"George Lopez: It's Not Me, It's You" clocks in at just under an hour.  Even though his jokes can start to become repetitive, the show never outstays it's welcome.  There is an ethnocentrism to his comedy but it is material that anyone can find funny.  The video and audio and perfectly fine and the one extra is okay but lacks depth. Watching this DVD is a fun way to spend an hour of your time.