Lucybespro It is a performances centric movie

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Kidskycom It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Kansas-5 Contrary to the review above, Lenny did not co-write and co-direct this film, unless he somehow managed to do so five years after his death. If anyone could do that, it would be Lenny.Bruce's stream-of-consciousness comedic riffing, his ridiculing of homophobia and the denigration of Native Americans, his doing all the voices of the various characters, epitomize his genius, accomplished while he encountered endless formidable adversaries, the direct descendants of fanatical Comstockery. What torment he endured was a product in no small part of religious fanaticism, the same sort of social control that required the Supreme Court to decide against the forces of theocracy in Griswold v. Connecticut, Roe v. Wade, and Lawrence v. Texas. Commentators here have complained about the quality of the film, but in 1971, lacking both the budget of a Disney studio and the current state of technology that allows for instance, for South Park, it captured the essence of the man and the quality of his work. Without Lenny, we couldn't have had Richard Pryor.

ultramatt2000-1 Usually most (controversial) cartoons are done in Hollywood and they are made by such as Disney, Warner Brothers, MGM, Universal and Paramount and the make fun of Japanese and black people. This one is an independent film and it makes fun of homosexuals. This short subject is the earliest form of "Stanimation" (basically it is a cartoon, in which the soundtrack is nothing but a stand-up comedy act) before Comedy Central's "Shorties watching Shorties". If I am making a Top 11 list of controversial cartoons, this would be number one. The rest will be all Hollywood-made. Be surprised who made this cartoon. Could you guess? Jeff Hale. Now what's he known for, apart from playing Auggie Ben Doggie in "Hardware Wars" (1977)? Give up? He is known for doing the Ringmaster segments, the Typewriter guy skits and the Pinball Machine sequences from "Sesame Street". I bet you are all surprised now by the time you are done reading this comment.Bottom line: Not suitable for children.Not rated: but a PG-13 would do fine due to all the language and sexual references going on.

MisterWhiplash Thank You Mask Man is featured as a bonus on the DVD of the Lenny Bruce performance film, and I was very glad I watched it. It reminded me of what I saw once in a Carlin special from the 80s where he put in little animated bits that all visualized his bits. That this comes more than a few years before that is impressive, but more so that it actually works to fit the riff-style comedy that Bruce excelled at. This is basically drawn like, well, basics- the comic-strip characters could've been taken out of any newspaper or other, and it's all crude to the point of not having to focus as much on it. Perhaps most of the strengths, aside from the curious, off-kilter nature of the drawings, do spring out of the material, as a story of a bunch of people having to deal with a 'masked man' on a horse. It happens to be a good Bruce bit on its own, but then the curious thing does happen that towards the end of the film- when the townspeople then all taunt Masked Man to be gay- the comedy and the look of the film do totally gel somehow. That Bruce is also behind a good part of the style of the picture himself probably explains how some of the same inspired dementia in this story in particular (one with an absurdity to it but also some truth sprinkled around) merges with simplistically weird animation. It's probably not one of my favorites ever, to be sure, but I had a lot of fun watching it, as a crazy little anecdote given life and still kicking more than forty years later.

ibuck-2 Easily the best thing about the Lenny Bruce: Performance Film video. While the performance portion is one of Bruce's worst, this short shows him at his satirical best. The riff on homophobia isn't even the best part...the commentary on accepting thank-yous and the resultant egotism and self-aggrandizement are priceless, especially when the Mask Man goes to his mailbox only to discover that the Messiah has returned, and society has no need for him once evil has been eliminated.