Lisa Lampanelli’s ‘Equal Opportunity Offender’

Lisa Lampanelli is a bitch. Plain and simple. However, unlike other obnoxious women I’ve listened to (i.e. sorority girls, my mother) that’s the exact reason why I love her. Political correctness has become such a pain in the ass these days that cracking a joke in any sort of social setting is like playing verbal Russian roulette. Lisa doesn’t play this game. Instead, she just aims and shoots with pinpoint accuracy that would make even Lee Harvey Oswald say, “wow…nice shot.”

When offered the opportunity to write a review for her newest CD release, Equal Opportunity Offender, I eagerly accepted, because truth be told, I wasn’t well versed in her work. I mean, I’ve seen her kill countless times on the Comedy Central roasts but I had never really indulged in her solo stand-up records. I was tired of judging her solely on her roast performances because I hate when that’s all a comedian is known for. Perfect example; Anthony Jeselnik. Ask anyone who he is and 9 times out of 10 someone will say “oh yeah he was hilarious on the roast.” Fuck you. Not to say he wasn’t brilliant on the Roast of Donald Trump but his CD is overwhelmingly more enjoyable.

This is the mentality that inspired me to dip into Equal Opportunity Offender. And I’m glad I did. Because while we live in a world full of “you can’t say that!” Lampanelli takes no prisoners. I mean for Christ sake the first track on the CD is entitled “The Fag Whisperer.” In the CD’s 60 minute entirety she manages to offend damn near every race, ethnicity and sexual orientation while still maintaining a sense of ‘it’s all in good fun.’ That’s what makes her a true master of her craft. While she spews some of the most vulgar offensive material I have ever heard it is so obvious that it comes from a good place. That’s something that is almost impossible to do, even for a stand-up comedian.

Equal Opportunity Offender is also a compilation CD that provides the listener with an hour of Lampanelli’s greatest hits over an illustrious 20-year career. I normally hate stand-up compilation CD’s because they are  poorly recorded and disjointed. However, the way in which Lisa structures her jokes makes this particular CD very easy to listen to. Her material is short, sweet and to the point unlike most popular stand-ups whose sets contain over arching ideas and elaborate set-ups. Not to say that’s a bad thing, it is just a different style of comedy that the “Queen of Mean” wields with perfection.

Equal Opportunity Offender will please anyone who is a fan of laughing and has a thick skin. The fact that it is a compilation album will appeal to every serial Lampanelli fan. If you’re looking for some good ol’ light hearted, family laughs go buy a Jeff Foxworthy CD that you and your youth group can enjoy on the bus ride to your next mission trip. But if you are looking for raunchy, crude “holy shit I can’t believe she just said that” humor, then look no further. Equal Opportunity Offender is available for download on iTunes now (like I really needed to say that.)

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