Steve Martin and Martin Short: An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life

Short is indefatigable and bursts with panicked absurdity and a simmering malevolence. Martin is very funny at points but seems distracted until he pulls out that fucking banjo. (A mercifully short interlude.) Martin's weird quest to be taken seriously slightly hampers an otherwise belly-laugh inducing display. Nearly all those laughs are for Short because, unlike Martin, he remains willing to extend himself into ridiculous areas, and so he shines much brighter here than his partner.

To some extent, it is the considerable extra-comedic talents of the performers that keep this interesting. Most of the jokes are weak, and Steve Martin seems to have lost something in delivery over the years, but in other respects both Martin and Short have kept up their abilities and the latter, in particular, his willingness to work hard for a smile.

Saw them live, it was fantastically entertaining!

From straightforward stand-up to interview-style musings and from musical numbers to sketches, this special from the two comedy veterans displays variety and is therefore pretty entertaining throughout. Despite that, it starts to run out of steam towards the end and a lot of it is probably rather forgetful indeed. What stands out is the interplay between Steve Martin and Martin Short, who are both at their best when roasting each other.

good