Pork Chops Partially Well Done

Laughter is indeed a medicine that can cure any sadness.  However, with great laughter comes greater chances of readers being offended by the humor which George Carlin displays in “When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?”  The title and cover art alone, which shows a Carlin with a fork and knife in hand at the Last Supper, lets the reader know that Carlin is going to speak what is on his mind, and by doing so there are going to be many things that will be disagreed on when it comes to religion, politics and life itself.

Carlin, a comic legend, has written other works such as “Brain Droppings” and “Napalm and Silly Putty,” but in this particular book, Carlin focuses on his examination of language, which includes euphemisms, catchphrases and obscenities.

Carlin’s humor is offensive through out this book, but at the same time, if you shake off the insults, there is plenty of laughter which can come out of them if you have a very good sense of humor and continue to read on.

A few funny parts in this book are when Carlin breaks down the Ten Commandments to only two in a clever way. When you read his reasons for doing so, you’ll understand the humor behind it and see the methods to his madness. Another funny part of the book is his dislike for John Wayne, in which he describes him as being annoying because in every movie, he always has to be the center of attention and steal the spotlight from the other cowboys in the movies, including Charles Bronson.

With all the laughter that’s involved in the first half of the book, the laughs die the rest of the way.  Carlin tries to be political, which is not to his strength.  His take on how Americans are stupid and the problems that this country encounters tends to turn the book into a bitter read. Over time, it gets boring listening to the same talk about how the U.S. has its flaws.

Carlin then goes into several rants in which he creates characters and develops his own skits, which most of the time don’t create any laughs.  It’s like Carlin ran out of steam and he wants to fill up pages to meet the requirements of a finished piece of work.

With that said, “When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?” is an up-and-down work that will either make you laugh, cry or go out and punch walls because of the anger Carlin’s humor creates.

Being offended is a common thing nowadays, especially in America, and Carlin is the master of pissing people off with his raw comedy and opinions.

Carlin’s work shows that he is a comic genius, and if there was anyone in the comedy business to put a book together and make it stick, Carlin is the man.  With good however, there is also bad.

Let the sin begin – Carlin is still waiting on those pork chops even from up above, below or maybe even sideways.  You decide.