Frankie Boyle Live 2: If I Could Reach Out Through Your TV And Strangle You, I Would Review

• 11th Nov 2010

Frankie Boyle needs little introduction. The scot is fast overtaking Jimmy Carr as the acceptable face of the unacceptable; a shock jock who hits a new taboo with each caustic one-liner. With this reputation behind him, there’s no reason to expect any radical change of direction from his second DVD, and with a title like this he’s liable to offend a few people before they even open the box.

No sooner has Boyle taken the stage than he’s systematically picked on a good half a dozen of the foolhardy punters in the front row. Few comedians are better at singling out punters and his merciless putdowns are well-received. It gets darker from there as he works through a strong set of new material that riffs on topical matters, inasmuch as it shamelessly eviscerates just about every celebrity that’s been in the news over the last 12 months, from evergreen targets like Kerry Katona and Heather Mills, to the inevitably riskier likes of Jade Goody and Michael Jackson. Sometimes Boyle’s attacks actually have something approaching a poetic quality, like his description of Amanda Holden (‘a face like haunted tupperware’).

Boyle never flags in upwards of an hour of his trademark style, and there’s a lot to be said for an act that can remain an oddly warm and engaging presence while saying things that might otherwise make you believe they’re possibly the worst person in the world.

Adam Richardson

This release is out 15th November