Stephen Colbert hosts a tongue-in-cheek Christmas special, complete with a lot of appearances by well-known singers.

CRITIQUE

A Colbert Christmas was an hour-long Comedy Central special (totaling 44 minutes on DVD) that is trying to satirize the usual type of network-TV Christmas special that trots out a bunch of celebrity singers to perform; here the songs all have comic spins on them.  The result is a little uneven, and it helps to be a fan of Colbert, though ultimately there are enough things here to like to merit it a look if you are in the mood.

The set-up here has Colbert planning to go to Manhattan to host a Christmas show, when he is trapped in his cabin by a bear.  Colbert then gets a series of visits by performers, who sing a song then leave. 

Colbert opens with a song about writing new Christmas songs, so he can collect residuals on them.  Toby Keith sings about battling those who are fighting against Christmas. Willie Nelson sings about bringing marijuana to the baby Jesus.  Jon Stewart sings a song about Hanukkah.  John Legend sings a suggestive song about nutmeg.  Feist appears as an angel, singing about prayers being delayed, and then everyone teams up with Elvis Costello to sing his “What’s So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding”.

The result has its moments, though most of the songs really only have one joke to them.  Still, Colbert keeps it all amiable enough, while the despite the laughs the show is always pro-Christmas and never really sacrilegious.  The result is solid enough to be worth consideration, though never really solid enough to be a Christmas classic.

THE VIDEO

A Colbert Christmas is presented in fullscreen.  The picture quality is generally good.

THE AUDIO

A Colbert Christmas is presented in English Dolby Digital.  Dialogue, music and sound effects come through clear.  There are English, Spanish and French subtitles.

THE EXTRAS

There is the option to play the show with a Laugh Track.

There is an 18-minute Video Yule Log of Burning Books, which starts out with logs burning and then has more and more books dumped on it.

Stephen’s 25-Day Video Advent Calendar is made up of 25 sometimes-amusing short video snippets, totaling about 15 minutes, which are supposed to be played one a day beginning on December 1.

There are three Shocking Alternate Endings, totaling about 2 minutes total.

There is a 4-minite clip of Colbert singing the amusing song “Cold Cold Christmas”.

FINAL THOUGHT

Amusing at times, though fans of Colbert will likely enjoy it more than non-fans.