Something happened to Lee Evans between 2003-2004. He matured incredibly as an on-stage comic, toning down his often immature sets into a highly polished show which the audience would find themselves being able to associate with the jokes he told as opposed to just enjoying his madcap antics.
When he released 2005's "XL" he rose to a level he'd never previously experienced, a truly remarkable show peppered with great gags and revealing a lovable warm side which was previously buried underneath his nonstop action mannerisms. It was fair to say few expected he'd be able to top that with a follow-up show but, to my surprise, he did it and he did it well. "Big" is Evans' finest show to date.
We still get a couple of sections we could do without (such as the over-long Date sketch to close out act one, but these sketches are part & parcel of Evans' longterm show) but once he gets into gear he lands some cracking jokes. This has to be among my favourite comedy shows and is one I can happily watch time and time again with my partner.
Longterm fans will note that Evans usually features his best material in the 2nd half of his show, and "Big" follows suit. In fact, the moment Evans begins talking about the male/female relationship we know we're in for a great act two, for this is one area of his comedy he has really nailed over the last few years. Anyone in a couple will find themselves in stitches of laughter as he plods through the oddities of marital life and the sheer lack of understanding that men have for how women think.
I wrote this review after reading one on here which said he found the show too predictable.... and it made me wonder if they had seen a Lee Evans show before or not. Anyone who watches Evans knows he's a fan of the old-style comedy, classics and slapstick, if it's unpredictable jokes which wind on for years which take twists and turns that you're after, you are not going to get that from a Lee Evans concert but, quite honestly, you never were, and he's never made any attempts to be anything other than what he wants to be.
Lee Evans was already a very good comic, with "XL" he elevated himself onto the big stage, and with "Big" he cemented himself as a GREAT comic by delivering another great show. The older he gets, the more middle-age takes hold of him, the more long-term marriage gets him down, Lee Evans gets better and better as a stand-up. What was once a young, action-packed slapstick comic without any real direction, is now becoming a 'grumpy old man' who feels left behind by the technological world and it suits him perfectly as a stand-up. I for one cannot wait for his 2011 show, we're not a couple for going to comedy shows but a testament to how funny this DVD is (particularly act two) could be said that we are actually going to buy tickets for his next gig when the time comes around.
