The concept of a celebrity roast is a noble one. The idea of an established figure in the entertainment industry being showered with adoring insults from his/her longtime friends and colleagues is meant to serve as tribute to someone who's had a major impact on them and the public.
However, roasts are most effective when delivered by the friends of the roast victim - the people that would know the subject best. This is exactly where Comedy Central's most recent roast, of Pamela Anderson, falls short. While the choice of her former husband and assailant Tommy Lee was obvious and appropriate, as was the inclusion of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, the addition of people who have no professional or personal connection to Anderson was a grave error. Most of the roaster roster was devoted to comedians with ties to Comedy Central and not to Anderson.
That's not to say the roast is without funny moments. Granted, the material focuses on things that are most associated with Anderson: her vagina, her massive fake breasts, her love of rock stars and sex in general. With regard to jokes about the other roasters - which are in no way in short supply - they are once again predictable: that they are all B-level celebrities at best, that Tommy Lee has a massive, um, "drumstick," and that Courtney Love is a drugged-out whore. Once again: funny, yet predictable.
First up to bat is Greg Giraldo, who made among the funniest jokes of the night: "You're environmentally conscious, but you've caused more seed to be spilled than the Department of Agriculture," in addition to mentioning her record number of cover appearances on Playboy, and - surprise - her breasts. The most unfortunate aspect of the night is the criminally short contribution from the man most responsible for her success: Hugh Hefner.
Easily one of the most outrageous moments of the night, Bea Arthur's roast of Anderson centers around three passages from Anderson's novel, "Star Struck," all of which are sexually graphic. The humor comes less from the material being read and more from the fact it's being read by Bea Arthur. Or, perhaps it was the dumbed-down writing style and absurd content of Anderson's novel. Either explanation works. While not necessarily worth spending money on, it's a gas to hear Bea ask, "How do you fuck up the ass?"
Andy Dick gropes Anderson's breasts; jokes are made about Courtney Love's drug use; Tommy Lee's penis is subject to discussion; Courtney Love shows her vagina on camera; and Lee further drags his name through the mud with his horribly lame musical performance.
Tommy Lee and Lisa Lampanelli are the cleanup hitters and both provide rousing roasts. The most truthful event of the night, however, comes at the end of Anderson's speech, when she says she wouldn't be anywhere without her "two dear friends, Poncho and Lefty," as she played with each of her breasts. And it's true.
It's not the funniest roast ever aired on Comedy Central, but it's not completely inane. If viewers have seen it on its original airing, there is no reason to buy it. The extras are really not that funny. The "uncensored and extended" version of the roast does not add much to it. There is a whole world of real porn out there to masturbate to, so a network television tribute to Pamela Anderson serves no purpose.
