Absolutely Fantastic

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

The first must-see film of the year.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Comedienne Margaret Cho's most verbally-explicit filmed concert, a non-stop comedic barrage of oral, vaginal, and anal sex comparisons which isn't for the faint of heart. Taped in 2008 before a live audience in Long Beach, CA, just prior to the Obama-McCain Presidential election, Cho's political musings (and internet jokes) sounded surprisingly dated once the special finally arrived on the Showtime network in the summer of 2009; however, her tales of sexual conquest (not with whom but with what) are predictably funny, as is the X-rated ballad which closes the show. A self-described 'queer' who loves getting down and dirty with both men and women, Cho drops a small bombshell early on by admitting she's been married for several years--and is a former Sunday School teacher whose grandfather was a minister! Looking lovely with a feathered mane of brunette hair and bare, inked shoulders, Cho often gets her biggest laughs by pausing in the correct places during a joke, and her facial expressions in the midst of a story can be priceless. Unfortunately, the political slings and arrows seem to leave the movie audience non-plussed--they are a low-energy lot, anyway--and brief stories about Cho's world travels and a reality show merely serve as set-ups for gags on other topics. Margaret's ultimate message of self-love (for herself and everybody else) never skirts narcissism or camp; she believes what she's telling you. But in retrospect, what with a reportedly conservative marriage happening behind-the-scenes, Cho's bedtime stories come off as slightly gruesome. One wonders how much of a put-on this Cho-version actually is. ** from ****