Lenny Bruce Without Tears Movie Review

This very rough documentary, produced way back in 1972, is only finally available on DVD, and Lenny Bruce fans will find plenty to like. Filled with archival video and audio of the infamous comedian, Lenny Bruce Without Tears captures Bruce at nearly every stage in his career -- from his tepid early years to raunchy mid-career stuff to the seldom seen drugged-out zombie he'd become in the years leading up to his death by overdose. All the usual highlights of the Lenny Bruce story -- namely covering his trouble with the law -- are covered with due expedience.

Looking back, even the raunchy comedy is pretty tame by today's standards, and Bruce's early-career comedy is close to god-awful. The real revelation comes from seeing Bruce as we've become used to seeing any number of other doomed celebrities: Lost in a haze of drugs and paranoid self-obsession. It's a sad and frightening coda to what remains an enigmatic and lost career. Without tears? Sure.