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Video Review: Jeff Allen Live - Happy Wife, Happy Life™ Revisited
By Marc | January 6, 2008
A few months ago, we provided a link to a Jeff Allen bit about his Volkswagen. That was one of about maybe three clips that we had seen at all of him. I may have seen him on TV before he cleaned up his act (unintentional double entendre there), but he may have been like so many of them I’d seen.
So, when I was given a gift card to Family Christian for Christmas, I spent an awful long time in the store making sure I got the bestest things. It’s kind of a challenge that I love, like packing a car. “How can I make the most of this?” So I’m looking around and it hit me: Jeff Allen! See if they have a video!
This is what I found and it was a very wise purchase: Jeff Allen Live - Happy Wife, Happy Life™…Revisited.
Jeff is a Christian, having found Christ in 1997 according to his testimony on the DVD, but his act on this disk was something I think anyone would enjoy. Often times, especially before I became a Christian, I would hear “Christian Comedian” and have visions of lame church jokes or bible humor, such as “If Joshua was a Wendy’s Employee at the drive-thru, I think it would go something like this…” or “Leviticus 3:6? I thought you said Deuteronomy 3:6!” or “…and the worship leader misread his prescription, so he started going…” You know - stuff 75% of people wouldn’t get and 98% wouldn’t find funny. Fortunately, I have only heard one or two comedians make church jokes as their whole repertoire, so it’s not as bad as my nightmares and stereotypes led me to believe. Christian comedy is primarily regular stand-up comedy that is very clean and pro-family.
This performance (like most of his stuff) is mainly about married life and having kids. We laughed ourselves silly at his anecdotes about his three-year-old running around the house naked trailing poop and his gradual ability to translate his wife’s subtle hints. Usually, a comedian’s job is to point out the everyday funny and he does it very well. We saw things in our own marriage and ourselves that let us know we aren’t crazy, just typical.
The DVD has two features: the performance and Jeff’s testimony, filmed after the act. The stand-up is well worth the money, but the testimony is far more than just an added bonus. Although I didn’t go through the addiction, turmoil, or the same marital issues he went through, I saw a bit of myself in him. Part of his story was a search for meaning and happiness, by reading all sorts of self-help and philosophy books. But at his lowest when everything was either taken away or on the verge of it, a sermon on the book of Ecclesiastes brought life back to him. The idea that “everything is meaningless without God” made him see what should be important to him. Also, “if happiness was an act of human will, we would all be happy.”
Overall, I heard things in this DVD that made me laugh hysterically as well as relate to as a man, husband, and father. I highly recommend it, even for those who aren’t Christians (and have no interest in being one).
Here is Jeff Allen’s websitea> (with a sample of his act on the main page). And here’s his blog.
Topics: Reviews |