User Reviews

I'm going to guess that, since this was only showing once, a lot of reviews I saw posted here before the movie started are from people who didn't see it. As someone who did, I had a great time! My theater's turnout wasn't huge, but everyone was laughing throughout - I thought that this was one of Kathy's best standup specials in years. She goes through everything from politics to the Kardashians and strings it all together better than the wide majority of standup specials out there. I do wish that the opening documentary section gave a better view of what was happening behind the scenes after the media fallout. It can feel a little tacked on at spots and could have gone more into "the wood chipper," but it seems like Kathy really wanted to focus on the comedy. As it is, I hope people 1) see this before they rate it and 2) see this because it seems like Kathy Griffin is coming back better than ever!

As one who's always liked Kathy and her humor all these years and gave her special my honest rating, I'm guessing exactly zero percent of the trolls actually watched the movie to skew the graph to a 5 with the least number of votes even being a 5.. lol, trolls.

It's crazy to watch this assault of the 1st amendment be laid out in front of you during the documentary. Truly an affront to our nation. Kathy puts on a truly emotional performance detailing the Trump administration's thin-skinned attack on the freedom of expression. I completely respect her spirit in fighting for her reputation, life, and lively hood. Her on-stage performance was informative and hilarious to boot. Somewhere, I believe, Lenny Bruce is proud of Kathy Griffin.

She's back and the gold shines brighter than ever!

She chronicles her fall fueled by the Trump sycophants and her climb back into the lime light - and it's a fascinating story!! Bravo to her!

AC should be ashamed of himself.

There were 8 reviews and the show had a rating of 3.8 on here 2 hours before the show even played, so that gives you an idea of the authenticity of the negative reviews. Kathy does such a great job letting you know the hell she went through while still being able to make you laugh at the same time. I saw her Laugh Your Head Off tour, and this movie. Nobody was walking out of the show. Everyone was laughing. Everyone stayed through the live portion at the end. I was only a moderate fan before the infamous photo, but I'd seen her live once. After the photo , I am a die-hard fan, and I vow to see her every time she tours for the rest of my life.

Just a self absorbed rant to justify her behavior. Not funny, just desperate attempt to justify her very poor judgement. Not funny

As one of the few reviewers on this site who's actually seen the movie, I'll share that Kathy Griffin is one of the most honest, intelligent, perceptive, tenacious and hilariously funny comedians out there. All of that is on full display in the film and I enjoyed it immensely. It was great to see her on tour. The film had all the best parts of her standup, along with a peek into what the past two years have been like for her. Folks can troll her all they want. They'll just end up in her act!

I bought this on DVD and paid international shipping. It's now sitting in my shelf next to ALL her previous DVDs, aswell as both her books, all her CDs and her mom's book, that should give you an idea of how much I used to love her and her comedy.

Unfortunately, Kathy's comedy has been slowing getting worse and worse and this is no exception. I actually saw the "laugh your head off" show live (in toronto) and was shocked to see some of the materials she used in this comedy special, but she left out 90% of the ACTUAL JOKES. THE FUNNIER STUFF. And only kept the part about telling her story post-mask photo scandal and the aftermath. We get it, what happened to her is awful and shouldn't have happened and the president has it out for her (they have history) but this is suppose to be a COMEDY. SPECIAL. There's almost not a single joke in this entire show. She's not telling a funny story, she's not making it funny, it's also a story she's been telling for years now. It's not entertaining, it's not saddening anymore, and it didn't make for a good special. The movie begins with a +/- 20mins. documentary-style video of her travelling the world during her tour. It's handheld cellphone videos (of reasonable quality) and some extended videos of stuff she's posted on youtube. This was actually interesting to watch and made for good storytelling. She could have ditched the whole comedy show and made an entire movie of those moments, this would have been an actual documentary and 100x better (and those parts ate the only reason I gave this 3 stars instead of 0) I would advise you to save your money and not watch this. I used to adore her but she really needs a break and think about going back to her funny light stories that made her so popular (her mom, her sexual encounters, the celebrities being ridiculous) her shows are tired now and it's just sad to watch.

Really funny special, and Kathy was so brave to do it after everything she went through with that ridiculous 'scandal'. Glad people like her have the courage to stick up for what they believe in.

I can't stand Trump, but i think i cant stand Kathy Griffith more. Why? Because i expect stupidity and vitriol from Trump. Kathy Griffith gives everyone who opposes Trump a bad name. Shes the Kelly Anne Conway of the left. She has no credibility, tact, intelligence or wit.

I've seen this at the festivals and I also have seen the "Laugh your head off" tour live on stage last year. Wow, what a gutsy movie. Kathy Griffin went to hell and and she tells all about it. Not only interesting but also laugh out loud funny, absolutely relevant and very revealing. Do yourself a favor and watch it.

Don't feed the Trump maggots. Kathy is a fantastic stand-up comedian that everyone may not agree with, but any true American should support her right to speak out as she pleases- especially when she shares a photo that most of America wishes would come true.

Saw this last night. It was, as usual, pure Kathy Griffin, and I find her very funny. However this is not a standard stand-up comedy show. She recounts the truly awful experience she had recovering from the abuse she received from both the conservative public, and the President of the United States, who don't seem to care for Freedom of Speech. It was a hard road back, and scary for her and, remember, if they can do this to her, they can do this to you. The first 25% of this is a mini documentary detailing her struggles, and the rest of it is an edited version of her touring show. My wife saw the show live, and last night she said it really captured all the best moments.

If you like Kathy Griffin, this, to me, expands her comedy out into new areas, but it is all Kathy al the time. Enjoy.

Now she's just another Hollywood "elite" trying to tell you how to think. Wasted 90 minutes if time on this trash.

Kathy Griffin is genius, yes she does hate Trump... because she's actually sane and has more than 2 brain cells. Relax, have a few laughs! :))

She did a very sick thing with that picture.imagine Obama 's head!! would anyone take offense at that!! of course!! so she goes on tour in Europe where all the anti Trump ,anti Americans? can laugh at all her anti Trump comments. after 40 min it was just too boring and i gave up. boy, is she real ugly!!

This film is historic, honest, hilarious and shocking. What the Trump administration and the evil white supremacist, misogynistic Trump supporters did to Kathy Griffin is shocking and shameful. The president abused the powers of his office and the vulgar violent Trump supporters sent so many death threats all because of a very stupid photo. She knew Trump for years before taking an ironic photo of a Trump Halloween mask with ketchup on it. This film is so well done and well edited. I cried and laughed. Kathy Griffin is a brilliant talent and very funny lady who has been emotionally wounded but has emerged stronger, more beautiful and FUNNY than ever.

I'll start by saying that I've always enjoyed Kathy' sarcastic brand of comedy and respect the fact that she managed to carve out her own niche by creating the whole D-list persona. She's not an easy comedian and it does take a driven person to do something like that.

And so to this video, which is part video diary and part stand-up routine based on the fallout of her controversial decision to post an image of her holding a ketchup-covered mask of Donald trump online and the subsequent backlash.

She must have REALLY copped it because the video-diary stuff is a hard watch. She seems like she's about to crack any second and there's something distinctly uncomfortable about seeing that on film. Funnily enough, the stand-up routine itself is a hard watch too, but for completely different reasons.

For starters, it's just not that funny. Not terrible, but far too much like a rant with a laugh track cued to play after any swear word. She was undoubtedly unfairly treated but I think the main problem is that Kathy is so used to pushing boundaries and got quite a shock when the boundaries pushed back. It's almost as if there was a buildup of animosity towards her and the Trump photo released it from both left and right sides of the political spectrum.

Hers is an interesting story but after a while I felt like I was at a dinner party sitting next to someone who kept telling the same story, rather loudly, from different angles.

Stream it when it releases on 8/13!! This should not be missed! Ignore all the tRump trolls.

I've always been a fan of Kathy Griffin and was saddened to see her career endangered after the Trump head scandal. People like Rush Limbaugh and Alex Jones have said things far far more incendiary with no repercussions, but Kathy got death threats and was in the no-fly list as well as Interpol's list. She was detained at airports wherever she went. How ridiculous and stupid to so harshly target her! Anyway, the movie was at turns laugh-out-loud hilarious and heartbreakingly sad. I'm very glad she's back and stronger than ever. Keep up the good work, Kathy!

Regardless of your political leaning, this story should terrify you and your rights as an American Citizen. Kathy's movie is inspiring, she's been through the ringer like no AMERICAN should have to endure.

A mask and ketchup are not a threat to anyone or inciting violence. A Hell of a Story tells her story quite personally, shows grit, determination, and humor in a situation where anyone else would have caved under pressure.

Kathy is standing up for everyone's rights. Loved her before but now she holds my sincere gratitude.

The ratings and reviews of this show are divided and extreme. Go figure.

So before I say anything else:

1. I'm not an American 2. I have always liked Kathy Griffin as a comedian 3. I have always loathed Donald Trump as, well, anything

That said, watching this discordant mess was painful. It failed on every level, as comedy, as political commentary, as documentary. Pitiful to see how badly Kathy was treated, and equally as sad to see how she reacted.

I've been Team Kathy since at least 2004, when my friend and I watched her stand-up special "Allegedly" at least 5 times one weekend in Chicago, cackling and guffawing the entire time, and I saw her live twice in SF. I'm a huge fan, and I think she got unfairly caught up in the Trump maelstrom and didn't deserve any of the opprobrium heaped on her by right-wing nattering nabobs who clutched their pearls so tightly they almost asphyxiated themselves. But this is more than just a hilarious stand-up; she gets personal about what really happened during the bloody head photo incident and how it affected her. I bought it on iTunes to support her, and if you're at all a fan, it's well worth checking out.

I'm not a diehard KG fan. I do enjoy her comedy and the way she weaves funny stories. I've even been to one of her shows when she happened to be in Hollywood, Florida (I was living in Orlando at the time). It was a terrific performance. Like any excellent comic, Kathy takes risks. Unfortunately she really went too far with President Trump and has/is payed/paying the price. The lashback is as disgusting as what she did. But the demise truly was avoidable had she kept her extreme political stance separate from her comedy. Sure, a comedian can joke etc. about politics. But Kathy's anti-Trump stance is grossly personal and she does not appear to have learned that lesson as evidenced in this documentary. Kathy's whole business model and income demand controversy. I get it. A true documentary allows the viewer to draw their own conclusion -- does not lean to either side of a controversy. IMHO this is a true documentary. Draw your own conclusions. As a stable human, I do not wish any ill will on Kathy - despite my own political preferences. I hope that she bounces back and actually learns the separation of deep personal beliefs and comedy that is actually funny. Would I go see her perform again? No. Will I watch Kathy for free on Amazon Prime? Yes.

She is an accomplished performer. She lets you in and shows true emotion, but knows how to interject moments of sadness with absolute hilarity. Like the death threats that come with return addresses on them. She's brave, undaunted, and she is incredibly funny.