Comedy

Commentator Laurie Stone reviews Home Box Office's "Comedy Channel." The channel is the brainchild of Eddie Gorodetsky.

Critic at large Laurie Stone reviews comic Billy Crystal's new HBO special, "Midnight Train to Moscow." The premise is that Crystal has been invited to be the first American stand-up artist to perform in the Soviet Union. In addition to his act, there are cameo appearances by a flock of Crystal characters.

Critic-at-Large Laurie Stone reviews the work of four black women comics who recently shared the bill at New York City's New Professional Theater. They are: P.J. Jones, Kim Coles, Robin Montague, and Beverly Mickens.

Whoopi Goldberg's one-woman show leans heavily on celebrity impersonations and a character named Fontaine -- a black man who expounds on various social issues affecting the African American community. But these monologues are often divorced from narrative context, and lose their power. Critic Laurie Stone says she's more impressed by Goldberg's action movie roles, and what her presence in movie does for black actors.

Critic-at-large Laurie Stone reviews a performance of the frequent Tonight Show guest host. She says that Leno's stand-up has some social consciousness, but avoids addressing specific policies or politicians. Leno also sidesteps sexuality; when the topic does come up, Stone says Leno is lewd and misguided.

Critic-at-large Laurie Stone recently saw the actor and comedian's latest routine, which was notable for avoiding the issue of race entirely. The jokes instead relied heavily on jokes about domestic life, many of which, Stone says, were unfunny and repetitive.

Rock critic Ken Tucker says the recent crop of comedy albums has the chaotic, aggressive spirit of rock music. They don't have the same structure and allure as LPs from the 60s and 70s, but new CDs from Sam Kinison, Will Durst, and Dennis Miller are worth checking out at least once.

Critic-at-large Laurie Stone reviews Joan Rivers' new standup act. Stone says the performance loses steam midway through, when Rivers resorts to attacking the women in her audience. Rivers has grown more confident, accomplished and glamorous over the years; Stone hopes her comedy will one day reflect those changes.

Film Critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Coming to America," the new Eddie Murphy film that co-stars one-time TV talk show host Arsenio Hall. The movie is a comic fable about a pampered African prince who travels to the slums of New York to find the perfect woman.

Critic-at-Large Laurie Stone discusses the Off-Broadway one-woman show of comic Sandra Bernhard. Bernhard is best known for her appearances on "Late Night With David Letterman" and in the Martin Scorsese film "The King of Comedy." Her new show is titled "Without You I'm Nothing." It's part stand-up comedy, part satire on the "women of rock and roll."