Maddy-6 Review of An All-Star Toast to the Improv

An All-Star Toast to the Improv (1988 TV Special)

Comedy that watches like a hockey brawl...

[28 January 1999]

There is no stage in the world large enough for six comedians to share. Imagine how crowded Budd Friedman's famous nightclub, The Improvisation, was on the night when six great comedy talents (and egos) all gathered to pay homage to its proprietor. The show is a roast for Friedman with frequent jabs at his tight-fisted reputation. Robert Klein is the host and de facto zookeeper, as the remaining comedians take turns at making great comedy at Friedman's expense. Billy Crystal and Robin Williams join forces throughout the show to disrupt the other's bits with their own material. Klein shows great frustration in trying to keep Williams' free-form schtick in check. The sharp incisive Klein, a comedy marksman, is no match against Williams, a comedy grenade. Martin Mull, our best sit-down comedian, makes the best effort to put the stream-of- consciousness comic in his place. Richard Lewis and Paul Rodriguez do their level best not to get washed off the stage by the old guard of Klein, Williams, Crystal, and Mull, but only provide incidental amusement to the main event. This is comedy that watches like a hockey brawl. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll rewind it, you'll play it again.