Eddie Izzard: Force Majeure Live

I have been an Izzard fan since Unrepeatable, having seen 3 of his shows live (Circle/Sexy/Stripped) and even meeting him - I was really looking forward to catching this latest live show -- alas only on DVD.

How disappointed I was.

The major issue for me is that the "laughter" seems to have been edited VERY badly - they seem so forced, it really distracts from what Izzard is trying to say. This is very evident throughout the show it just ruins it.

Izzard himself seems to be a little reserved - I know he is older but in past shows he has a higher level of energy where as here it seems a little laboured. His material is as usual surreal, historical mix which does work to a certain extent, but think his reliance on historical "stories" misses a beat, and with so much happening in the world he could have utilised much more.

Alas this is not a show I will revisit (unlike Glorious & Dressed to Kill) I hope if he is to come back with another show he goes back to basics.

This show is a little hit and miss with a weak start but thankfully a stronger second half.

Eddie's material can be a little like this.

What he does have is an undeniable stage presence. His humour is intelligent and sometimes quite subtle, which makes a nice change from other stand up stars.

His content in Force Majeure will probably not work for most but will find a niche audience :)

I am a really big fan of Eddie Izzard (ever since I discovered him in "Cake or Death") and I have seen all of his major shows at least 10 times. I was a tad worried after the show at Madison Garden, since I had the feeling that it was going downhill from now on. Jokes were recycled and the whole flow of the show felt wrong. So I was somewhat reluctant to watch his "Force Majeure" performance, but I am glad to be proved wrong. Eddie Izzard is back and better than he has been for a long time. He is bringing in a lot of incredible new stories and laughs and, best of all, he is returning to one of his old haunts, the Cantina of the "Death star". What I love most about his shows (this one included) is that you get the feeling that he makes up things on the spot. I know that he rehearses himself to death, but when he comes on stage you still get the impression that he plays everything by ears. Job well done, watch "Force Majeure", you will definitely not regret it.

Like all other negative reviews, I start this by highlighting how much I enjoy Eddie Izzard, and can remember how much of an event his shows were way back in the days where he didn't appear on TV. This familiarity is important because part of the issue with this show is that it constantly reminds us of other shows, and then follows that up by then being a very much lesser show. I will not overdo the criticism of it, but it certainly was disappointing. It is not just that it is mostly not funny (but it is), the issue for me was that it lacked a real spark of wit or freshness. Doing call-backs is one thing, but a call-back to an entire style is not the same – and that is what is happening here.

Flights of fancy go on too long and are not fanciful; and material too often feels like it is aiming for such a place, rather than being a joy in the moment – hard to describe but it is obvious Izzard is leading to such moments, whereas at his best he convinced us that they just occurred to him off the back of something else. The huge venue does not help him – he comments on it very early on, and it does seem odd to see him so disconnected from the audience. This is backed up by the laughter from the audience; I assume it is badly edited because it seems forced and out of sync with the performance – and I found it a constant distraction.

A very weak show; usually one would say "only for fans" of such a show, but in this case the opposite is true – it will hurt fans much more to see this.