The O'Franken Factor Factor: The Very Best of The O'Franken Factor

Comment: These skits and music poke fun at the right wing, current politics and the Iraq war and some of these topics are not pretty. I find that the presentation makes them more palatable so I can consider them longer before my brain shuts out the insanity of today's political situation.

Al Franken isn't limiting his work to comedy these days, his Air America show is full of information that NPR sometimes picks up a week or two later, or never. Unlike Rush and O'Reilly, he and his staff are careful about checking their facts and being accurate.

I enjoy the show and like having these excerpts.

Comment: I actually watched "The O'Franken Factor" when it was on the Sundance Channel during the election season.

Most of it was liberal grunting. The humor was strained (Madelynn Murray O'Hair had a greater delivery to her grumpy zingers).

Franken actually reminded me of the Bruno Kirby character from GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM, the lame stand-in who replaced Robin Williams for a couple of excruciating scenes.
Ugh.

Comment: "Al Franken should be put in jail for hating America. After 9/11, this moron still thinks it is okay to criticize our government and president. The guys who wrote the PATRIOT ACT (GO USA!) should kick in his front door, and drag him away to prison forever. No trial for traitors!" - from a reviewer

So, apparently, this guy likes a Saddam-like government, where opposition to the ruler is punishable by jail or death. That's a fairly UN-American sentiment. That individual is in the wrong country and has the wrong concept of democracy.

This show answers to the liar Limbaugh who only robotically repeats talking points from Rove. Independent thinking is what made this country great, and what makes the country strong. Being obedient to one ideology weakens a democracy. This is funny, supported by government documentation, and O'Franken isn't an oxycoton junkie.

Comment: I make it my business to get all comedy cds that come through the cd store in which I work. I was very excited when the Al Franken cd came through. I never listen to the radio, but was aware of Air America. Maybe it's because I listened to this post-re-election, but it just doesn't seem inventive. Since I don't listen to Air America, I can't honestly say whether it accurately reflects the show. I can only judge it as a stand-alone disc. It is tired and predictable. I can see bits and punchlines coming from a mile away. It's really unfortunate- I voted for Kerry, and can't see how ANYONE could vote for Bush, but this cd doesn't help in the least. It probably wasn't intended to sway people for the election ('cause if it was, it failed miserably). We don't need an "answer" to right-wing media. A far-left skewering of the right doesn't do anything- it's preaching to the converted. The only way you get through to people who have any doubts is through original, clever humor. This cd does not have that. I have been a big fan of Al Franken for quite a long time, and this is definitely the most trite output of his I've ever witnessed. If you're a lefty looking for a reiteration of what you believe, you might enjoy this cd. If you're a free-thinker, I think you will be disappointed.

Comment: Like M.E. Reeves said, the slow pacing of these bits ruin whatever comedic impact they might have had. Like most reviewers, I agree that "Flippity-Floppity" and Bebe Neurwith as Ann Coulter are the disc's highlights.

But I'll go a step further -- and get LOTS OF "UNHELPFUL" VOTES ON MY REVIEW BY ANGRY FANS -- and add that these comedy bits could only be moderately funny in the first place. GO AHEAD, ASSUME I'M A CONSERVATIVE AND HIT THAT "NO" BUTTON NOW. You'll feel better.

Now, Franken is funny. "LateLine" and "Stuart Saves His Family" and ALL his books are funny and brilliant. But in many ways, this CD misses the mark. I suspect I'm missing out on much better moments during the broadcast, and that I'll appreciate the show when I get satellite radio -- oh, but you don't really believe me, do you?

UPDATE: Air America was picked up in my area, and now I understand: The Al Franken Show works well at interviewing interesting guests, but it is NOT a particularly funny show. (If you think "The Oy-Yoi-Yoi Show" is a gut-buster, we just aren't speaking the same language!) Summary: Good for politics. Bad for comedy. I can't imagine what you're thinking when you add another "unhelpful" vote. I'm just trying to tell you, it's not FUNNY. It has a good "point" (the NeoCons are insane liars, yes) but comedically, it fails. That's all.

Do you think you're "fighting the good fight" if you vote No on my review?