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Mean jokes and laughs aplenty in the this comedy concert by the “Roastmaster General”.

We’ve all seen Jeffery Ross. He’s the head the Friar Club’s roasts of such icons as William Shatner, Pam Anderson, Flava Flav, and Bob Saget.  Most of us have seen him dispense unabashed, raw wit in his specials (or at least bits of them) on Comedy Central.  And with the new season of “Dancing With the Stars”  - which features Ross teamed with Polish beauty Edyta Sliwinska – we’ll get to see if his footwork is as fast as his barbed tongue.  What none of us have ever seen though, is Ross performing in his home state of New Jersey as a headliner.  That is, until the release of Jeffery Ross: No Offense.

In No Offense, the comedian’s comedian tears into Jersey, audience members, and family members with equal vim and vigor.  Pollution, a guy in flip-flops, and Ross’s late 104 year old aunt are a few highlights in the ranting/winking mean comedy Ross has become famous for.  While all this is enjoyable, Ross takes about 13 minutes before hitting his stride; transforming from experienced pro to the effortless jocularity-master he is destined to be remembered as.

The only jokes in the first half of the show that, while funny, seemed out of place were the political ones.  It just seems to me that if you are going to make a concert DVD that will probably follow you for the rest of your career, current election gags may fall flat in the years to come when the show is discovered by our great grandchildren.  Maybe I’m wrong, and like I stated earlier, they are funny jokes.

The best part of the show is my favorite thing about Jeffery Ross: the poems.  For No Offense, Ross and director Jay Karas put a baby grand piano on the stage.  Ross invites a couple of audience members up to play background mood music as he recites his odd brand of poetical humor.  The first (a woman named Sherry), does well and banters with Ross, getting a few laughs.  The second (a large man named Larry), does even better and stays for several poems, helping Ross close the show out.  In fact, Larry plays something on the piano that gets the biggest laugh of the night, much to Ross’s chagrin.

Ross gives a sweet tribute to his sister Robyn as the audience gives him a standing ovation.  During the credits, we are shown after-the-show footage in Ross’s Green Room with friends and family.  There is so much hugging and Mazol toving that I had flashbacks to almost every Jewish family event I’d ever been to.  I wondered how many of the people Ross hugged he recognized, but had no idea who they were.  Maybe I’m just projecting my own short comings on someone else, but I digress.

On the commentary track – featuring Ross and Karas together – the two reveal that piano playing audience member Larry is actually a plant named Steve Glickman.  Much of the repartee between comic and “audience participant” is scripted, but came off very natural.  When I watched the show before I’d head the commentary track, I was 50/50 on whether I thought Larry was a plant or not.  And since I’m naturally skeptical about things like that in live performances, getting me halfway there is quite an accomplishment.

The other bonus feature is a featurette that can be watched on it’s own or as an intro to the concert called The Roastmaster Comes Home.  Reuniting with family at the airport, the family business, and his parents grave is followed by a tour of Ross’s high school and a fundraiser warm-up show in the school auditorium.  This segment is very funny and sweet at the same time, having the effect of showing Ross to be just another guy, and a likable one at that.

Definitely worth owning, this show will join concerts by comedy greats like Pryor, Carlin, Murphy, King, Berle, etc.  So if you like laughing over and over again (or theme songs called “Pussy & Coke”), go out and snatch up Jeffery Ross: No Offense today!

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