Dane Cook returns with his latest comedy DVD “ISolated INcident”. Ranchy, raw, blunt, hilarious and real! If you are a fan and want to see a side of Dane Cook that you never saw before, “ISolated INcident” is definitely a comedy DVD worth checking out.
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TITLE: Dane Cook – ISolated INcident
DURATION: 55 Minutes
DVD INFORMATION: Dolby Digital
COMPANY: Comedy Central/Paramount
RATED: NOT RATED (Contains Coarse Language, Not Recommended for Children)
RELEASED: November 17, 2009
Starring
Dane Cook
After his last two highly rated specials and multi-platinum selling albums, Dane reinvented his act and took it to the stage in front of 400 people at the Laugh Factory in Hollywood. This intimate show was performed in a nightclub atmosphere where Dane shared the audience’s energy in a real-time performance, without a safety net. Here, he showcases a darker and more personal set with cutting edge material that pushes the envelope.
Dane Cook has been one of the most visible comedians that have emerged from Comedy Central’s “Premium Blend” and “Comedy Central Presents”.
Cook has had tremendous success with his comedy album and DVD releases, has hosted “Saturday Night Live” and appeared on films such as “Good Luck Chuck”, “Dan in Real Life”, “Employee of the Month” and “My Best Friend’s Girl” include roles where he played the lead character.
Known for his “observational humor” style of comedy, Dane Cook returns with “ISolated INcident” featuring a performance at The Laugh Factory in Hollywood. The routine is more intimate with a club-like setting and Cook wanted the special to be natural and reel, so if he messes up…then he messes up. From the moment he walks into the venue and the moment he walks out, he keeps it live and real. Even the comedian himself says that he felt good about his performance that he doesn’t even need to watch the special.
Dane Cook’s comedy routine for “ISolated INcident” features a first half that showcases his observational humor but also a personal-style in which Cook talks about President Obama and him being social media savvy, his parents (who both passed away) and his haters but the second half then gets extremely raunchy as Cook talks about having sex, revealing his fetishes and more.
For the most part, if you are familiar with Cook’s comedy, he has a casual but blunt style of delivery.  His routine discusses of although supporting African-Americans, Caucasians having that little racism in them to asking the female audience about their version of “cock blockers” and giving them the name “twat swatters”, to a more personal but comedy take on having to take care of his father who is dying and seeing his deceased mother’s cell phone # and wanting to give her a call but afraid that she may pick up. And of course, wanting to adopt a Black child. You have the more observational humor style of his comedy through the first half of his routine and then it changes to become a more raunchier act about him having sex with women and learning about the kinkier side of the comedian.
What is most impressive of this DVD are the special features because you get to see footage of Dane Cook during 30 live performances via “30 Premeditated Acts” which shows the comedian at his best and his absolutely worst (the worst features him in a negative moment not even doing a routine but making fun of the audience and definitely seems like he’s in an uber-cranky mood) which the director calls it a “cringe moment”. According to Cook, he says that he does in order to release his negative energy before a major performance a few times a year. Yikes!
Also, included is “Isolated Interview” in which you learn how on the making of “ISolated INcident”, days before recording for the DVD, everything that can go wrong…went wrong.   And for the most part, viewers of this DVD watching both bonus features will be surprised about what took place behind-the-scenes (in one case, a group of a talkative female group that was a bit unnerving to Cook definitely caught the attention of a person not in the mood for their banter and the lady according to Cook, was punched).
Needless to say, “ISolated INcident” is an interesting comedy DVD as Cook is performing in a more intimate club setting but special features that really give the viewer a chance to see how he really is as a person and what goes on his mind during those good and bad days as a comedian.
The track listing for “ISolated INcident” are as follows:
- Intro
- Obama
- Self Assassination
- Vernacular
- Pissed Off
- Twat Swatters
- Banter #1
- Mom and Pops
- Haters
- Adoption
- Syncing Feeling
- W.W.Y.D.I.??
- Interracial Tail
- Remote Location
- Push and Pray
- Big Shot
- Rigmarole
- Role Play
- Hidden Gems
- Peanut Butter Smack
VIDEO & AUDIO:
“Dane Cook – ISolated INcident” is featured in widescreen and is shot at The Laugh Factory in Hollywood. Dane Cook wanted a club-setting and thus, instead of a large and wide theater, you get a more personal performance as we see Dane performing in front of 400 people. Light is well done but the stage is quite small with the audience very close to him during the performance. We see mostly full body shot and closeup of Dane Cook and a direct light shining on him. When Cook is talking to the audience, we see a picture-in-picture like display on the front of the audience, so it was interesting to see that perspective for a comedy DVD.
Unlike the typical comedy DVD’s with constant editing for various angles, there is a single camera right on Dane Cook since there are not many cameras in the tight space around the club. But for the most part, the single camera shot for this venue works perfectly.
Audio is featured in Dolby Digital. Audience can be heard laughing quite well but most of all, Dane Cook’s dialogue and delivery is clear and front channel driven. I preferred to set my receiver with stereo on all channels for a more immersive soundtrack.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Dane Cook – ISolated INcident” comes with the following special features:
- 30 Premeditated Acts: (58:43) Definitely the most interesting special feature I have seen in a Comedy Central release (especially the longest). In this feature, Dane Cook talks to people who filmed his special and they discuss the various 30 acts shot on film and the filmmaker showing Dane Cook the various jokes. You get to see how Dane Cook has his different days depending on his mood and the positive and negative side to the comedian. You also get to see the good and the bad of his audience interaction during his routine and even interviews with the audience.  You usually don’t see these type of special features on Comedy Central DVD’s, so this was pretty awesome to see.
- Isolated Interview: Never-Before-Seen Interview with Dane: (27:21) An interview with Dane Cook as he talks about the filming of “ISolated INcident” but also learning about the problems that happened behind-the-scenes and the worst things that could happened…happened. Very interesting and surprising details of what happened during the filming of this special.
Dane Cook is definitely one of the more popular and well-know comedians to emerge from Comedy Central’s specials. Not many are able to release a DVD and then get featured on major films as a lead, so it goes to show how far he has come since his appearing on the network back in 1998 for Comedy Central’s “Premium Blend”.
With that being said, Dane Cook is definitely one of those comedian’s that you either love the guy’s comedy or you hate it. Needless to say, he has his share of haters and in fact, for “ISolated INcident”, the comedian goes into that in his comedy routine and even goes into the one hater who wrote him and told him that his parents died to get away from him (obviously, something he uses for his jokes but what a messed up thing to say), granted karma came back when Cook reiterates a similar joke when the hater apologizes and writes about his father dying. Which Dane says that it’s good to go down the low road once in awhile.
From him reading the negative comments or websites made about him and how it screws his mind up at times to also discussing the loss of his mother and father. And once you feel bad for him, he manages to know how to push you away and literally make a joke out of it. It’s what Dane Cook does well. His observational and casual style of comedy is blunt and at times, it can be in-your-face. Although the more darker side of Dane Cook can be seen in his “30 Premeditated Acts” special feature, you do get to see that hilarious and fun side to his routine as he gets the audience involved in his special. Where it seems his conversational comedy with the audience members can lead to problematic situations, Dane Cook manages to make it all work out for the best in his special (it’s not always like that, again referring to what you will see in the special feature “30 Premeditated Acts”).
His comedy routine is a mix bag of sorts especially if you heard his comedy albums or his specials before. Â I’ve found myself laughing to a lot of jokes and just saying “man, that is so wrong!” but its his style that has made him popular with a lot of his fans.
For “ISolated INcident”, audience reaction for the most part was good but it depends how one reacts to comedy that centers around racism, rape, sex and the death of his parents.  There are subjects that may seem a bit taboo for some but it works for Dane Cook and that’s why you have audiences and even comedians who split down the middle of those who support his comedy and those who trash it. So, for those who are familiar with his comedy will definitely enjoy this release while those not too familiar with it, I recommend checking out YouTube and other video sites to see if his comedy suits your taste.
But what I found quite interesting and also pretty cool were the two special features included on the “ISolated INcident” DVD. Both features are something that you will never see on a comedy DVD from Comedy Central. Most comedians have deleted scenes from a special performance to highlights from other acts but in this case, “30 Premeditated Acts” is watching Dane Cook for 30 performances…the good and the bad. When he’s good, he feels great but when he’s feeling bad, if you’re in the audience, good chance that he will pick you out in the audience and have fun with you. Sometimes it’s hilarious but sometimes that negative energy which he said he is trying to “purge” can be a bit callous and rude. But that was the intention of showing how various acts differ and how things change with his comedy routine.
For “Isolated Interview”, it was good to hear from Dane Cook talking about the positives and the negatives of shooting “ISolated INcident”. It appears there was quite a bit of mishaps that happened during the filming of the special and things went wrong. But how he was able to turn a negative experience and just turn out a positive performance was pretty awesome.
Dane Cook’s “ISolated INcident” is a fun and hilarious comedy DVD. A DVD featuring newer comedy material that will definitely surprise you but depending on your taste in comedy, it’s either going to make you laugh or make you think “man, that is so messed up!”. As mentioned, the two special features are something you just don’t see on Comedy Central-related DVD’s, so for the most part, it was a good glimpse to see all the challenges that took place during each filming of his act and how different they truly were and how different he was on those days.
Overall, If you are a fan of Dane Cook, “ISolated INcident” is a solid DVD worth checking out!