Shit. Piss. Fuck. Cunt. Cocksucker. Motherfucker. Tits.

You're not going to hear those seven words in that specific order in Doin' It Again, a DVD release of George Carlin's 7th HBO stand-up performance, but you will hear them. Those seven, and a whole helluva lot more.

“Don't you think it's just a little bit strange that Ronald Reagan had an operation on his asshole, and George Bush had an operation on his middle finger?”

George Carlin is, of course, a living legend; a stand-up icon known for his ability to skewer how people live their lives – and often in the crudest way possible. His “Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television” bit (the seven words open this review) is one of the best known in comedy, and over the years he's built on the foundation created by Seven Words with bit after bit of profanity-laden, astonishingly insightful social commentary.

The Carlin we see in Doin' It Again is an older, more confident version of the hippy comedian who first drew attention in the ‘60s and ‘70s. First broadcast in 1990 on HBO, the performance is raw, funny, and heavy on the social politics. His observations on language cut to the point by using thekind of coarse words and phrases that make some people cringe, bolstering a point he makes again and again in this performance – that we get offended way too easily. Carlin’s bits on embarrassing social situations ring true, if over the top, and his rant on political correctness is a total home run. He knows no limits, making jokes about rape, cancer and racial epitaphs, all the while urging you to stop taking this stuff so seriously. He wants you to be outraged, because then he can mock your outrage, using it to make the point that people need to get over themselves.

“Did you ever meet somebody, and you go to shake the guy's hand, and you suddenly realize he doesn't have a complete hand? And you gotta make believe it feels great! Right? You can't go 'Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!' You can't do that! It's not even an option!”

If you know Carlin's stand-up work, you already know if you love him or hate him. If you haven't seen his stand-up work, ask yourself these questions: Do you like your language raw? Do you like a healthy dose of politics in your comedy? Do you like to see someone piss on sacred ground?

If you said yes to any of those questions, you'll want to see George Carlin in action. Fuck yeah, you certainly fucking do.

“Want to piss off a feminist? Call her cum-catcher, that'll get her attention” aka: All About The Fucking DVD.

George Carlin: Doin' It Again is as bare bones a DVD as bones can be bare. What you have here is the 60-minute main feature, optional English subtitles, and the ability to select scenes. And that's it. But really, the DVD doesn't suffer for it. Sure, a Carlin retrospective or some such thing would have been nice, but this is a release of a TV performance, no more, no less, and it gets that job done in workmanlike fashion.

The picture quality is as expected – TV quality – and the audio is always clear, with Carlin's dialog easy to understand. No flash and bang here, and none needed. Again, very minimal, but minimal is all that is needed.

The only thing you get with your DVD, that is not a DVD, is the 2005 MPI Home Video catalog ... which is surprisingly a very good catalog; for what it's worth, much better than the easy-to-lose fliers in so many DVD releases.

So don't expect anything beyond what is advertised – Carlin's 7th HBO special, that's it, and that's just fine.

“I can PROVE to you that rape is funny. Picture Porky Pig raping Elmer Fudd!” aka: Rape Is Funny. So Is This DVD.
Carlin is among the most recognized and popular stand-up comedians out there, sustaining a career, going on 40 years, that has had its share of controversy, ups, downs and, most importantly, laughs. This DVD represents but a small slice of that career.

The bottom line is simple: If you like George Carlin, you're likely to enjoy this release. It's not his best performance, but Carlin on an off night (and this isn't) can rape the ass of most other comedians. And you heard that right fucking here, you cunt.