Charlie Sheen’s publicist deserves a raise. The Comedy Central Roast of Charlie Sheen looked to be just another exploitation of Sheen’s mental and physical unraveling. But, surprisingly, he comes across as serene and normal in comparison to some of the trainwrecks featured on the program, which premiered last night but will be re-broadcast numerous times.
I can only hope Mike Tyson was drunk. Otherwise he’s more pitiful than previously imagined.
Tyson kept blurting out unfunny responses to jokes, which gave comedians more ammunition to bomb him with. He got roasted worse than Sheen.
Tyson was almost undecipherable at the podium. The best joke of the night might have been host Seth McFarlane saying that former boxing champ has “beaten every opponent he has gone up against except the letter S.”
Jackass maniac Steve-O was almost as bad — and he’s been rehabbed for several years now. In a pre-show interview, he said stand-up comedy was a way to make money without hurting himself. He looked healthy and more grounded than in his manic past. But his jokes bombed and his delivery was horrible. So Steve-O did what he does best — he resorted to self-torture. To give himself a black eye, he threw his face into Tyson’s outstretched fist. But the shtick didn’t look particularly painful or funny. He looked sheepish as he returned to his seat.
At the end of the show, Steve-O tried running into Tyson’s fist again — and successfully managed to break his nose. Then he stood grinning with blood running down his face while the credits rolled. Click here to see Steve-O with a broken nose and blackened eyes after ramming his face into Tyson’s fist.
Don’t get me wrong, this wreck of a roast was funny. Comedy Central roasts are typically hilarious. Last night’s wasn’t among the funniest but it includes numerous laugh-out-loud moments. Whether you think this is funny or crass depends on how you feel about seeing people figuratively disemboweled.
Personally, I love watching B-list celebrities slice and dice.
Where else are you going to see William Shatner giving career advice to Sheen by saying, “Don’t stick yourself in some unfunny piece of shit that’s never going to amount to anything. I am, of course, talking about Amy Shumer [another presenter].”
Shumer had plenty of her own zingers.
Comedian Jeffrey Ross stole the show with his piercing jokes, and said afterward that the Sheen roast differs from previous episodes because “this one was real — very, very honest, brutally honest.”
Comedian Patrice O’Neal seemed stunned during the program, and shell-shocked afterward, telling the Huffington Post: “I just didn’t expect how mean everybody was.”
That’s entertainment!
