Jim Gaffigan: Obsessed Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

Jim Gaffigan: Obsessed Blu-ray Movie Review

No empty calories.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 22, 2014

So, what's the consensus favorite food on Blu-ray.com? Steak and potatoes? A gooey Chicago Pizza? A juicy hamburger? Lobster? Maybe it's a good salad (try to avoid spoiled lettuce, though; the results aren't at all pretty) or, on the entire other end of the spectrum, a stack of warm pancakes topped with melted butter, maple syrup, and sides of hash browns and bacon. Favorite food is sort of like a favorite movie; there's no right or wrong answer (uh, unless, that is, the answers are "peas" and "The Love Guru") and so long as it satisfies both the core nutritional requirements (hey, even a heaping bowl of ice cream must have one or two good things in it) and the mental and emotional aspects of consumption (which are sometimes more important to one's well-being than raw calories, carbs, fats, proteins, and other nutrients), then, by all means, eat away (wow, that was a lot of parentheses). And eat Jim Gaffigan does. Profusely. The stand-up comedian builds his show around yummy foods and other anecdotes from around the grazing trough, finding the humor in heavy calories and the horrors in healthy eating as only he so eloquently can.

Foodie.

In Obsessed, a stand-up special featuring Comedian Jim Gaffigan performing in front of a Boston, Massachusetts crowd on January 18th, 2014, there's a lot of talk about food. Gaffigan presents a cornucopia of mostly nutritious humor, admitting his eating disorder and weight (he's not really that fat!) while piling on a lot of verbiage surrounding gourmet donuts, deep-fried delicacies, food trends and prices based on what's considered "healthy," and even alcohol consumption (people go to a bar to drink? What?!?). Occasionally, discussions evolve into other topics, including the modern wedding ceremony and its ancient roots as well as anecdotes revolving around showers versus baths and general personal hygiene.

It's Jim Gaffigan. It's jokes about food and a few other random things. With stand-up comedy being such a personal preference, and with Gaffigan's show so focused and the presentation so one-dimensional (in that Gaffigan basically stands on stage and delivers his lines), there's not a lot of room for critical insight and lengthy, lyrical exposition, so this review won't even try. What it will do, however, is praise Gaffigan's likability and effortless delivery. His brand of humor may not hit quite so hard and penetrate right to the funny bone as some of his other Comedy Central compatriots, but for anyone who's a foodie or struggled with his or her weight (ahem), the show will certainly hit home and those audiences will find a good bit to enjoy in this routine. Gaffigan carries the show with ease, critical when considering the lack of visual variety. At just 70 minutes in length, it never wears out its welcome and satisfies a basic craving for sugary sweet comedy.

And, just for fun, a make-believe list of a few of Jim Gaffigan's favorite things:

• Favorite Movie: Mystic Pizza.
• Favorite Song: Cherry Pie by Warrant.
• Favorite Liquor: Beefeater Gin.
• Favorite Sports Team: Denver (Chicken) Nuggets.
• Favorite Board Game: Hungry Hungry Hippos.

Jim Gaffigan: Obsessed Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Jim Gaffigan: Obsessed arrives on Blu-ray with a sturdy, basic 1080p image. There's very little to it. Gaffigan stands in front of a dark backdrop with a few diagonal blue lines behind. His attire, too, is rather dark -- a black shirt and jeans -- but he does wear red sneakers, which provide the only real, loud color in the show. Details are crisp and nicely defined, whether the comedian's facial hair or his clothing textures. Blacks are a little sloppy. After the first few rows in audience shots, blacks devour the crowd. In close-ups, they go rather purply and pale. Scattered noise is evident in those shots as well, with less appearing behind Gaffigan.

Jim Gaffigan: Obsessed Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Jim Gaffigan: Obsessed features a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. It's dialogue heavy, as one might expect. Gaffigan's delivery comes through clearly and robustly, with good center-focused presence and effortless room-filling volume. Crowd ambience is loud, particularly the heavy applause that opens the show. It's very filling and energized, not so natural as to be mistaken for the real thing but nicely immersive nonetheless. More scattered laughs prove a touch more balanced, doing a better job of placing the home theater viewer in the middle of the crowd.

Jim Gaffigan: Obsessed Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Jim Gaffigan: Obsessed contains no bonus content.

Jim Gaffigan: Obsessed Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Everyone loves food, most everyone loves junk food, and therefore most everyone should love Jim Gaffigan: Obsessed. OK, so that's a gross oversimplification, but the Comedy Central comedian carries his show well, even without a ton of variety at his disposal. From a purely subjective perspective, his comedy is rather light, the kind that leaves one with a constant smile on the face, not a busted gut. He exposes plenty of humor about food and the process of consuming it, and there are a few foods one may never look at the same way again without thinking of Gaffigan's take on them. Paramount/Comedy Central's Blu-ray release of Jim Gaffigan: Obsessed features serviceable video and audio. No extras are included. Recommended.