Bill Cosby: Himself

Nearly all of Cosby's routine depicted in this movie concerns the trials and tribulations of parenting, frequently illustrated with anecdotes involving his own family. Occasionally, he compares these with stories from his childhood. Other themes include grandparents, going to the dentist (in which monologue he uses his "Mushmouth" speech pattern to imitate a dental patient anesthetized by Novocaine) and people who drink too much or take drugs.

Written, directed, and produced, by Bill Cosby, Himself is a live comedy performance film.[5] It was made from the highlights of four shows at Hamilton Place Performing Arts Center, Ontario in May 1981.[6]

On Rotten Tomatoes the show has an approval rating of 80% based on reviews from 6 critics.[7]

Vincent Canby of The New York Times called it a "low-keyed and occasionally funny ramble through the star's life". Canby was critical of "a certain on-screen monotony" but puts it down to it being a recorded rather than a real live performance and "the interference of cinema technology."[5]

Bill Cassel of All Music Guide reviewed the album recording of the show argued that the audio only version brought "his total mastery of his art comes into sharper focus" and wrote that it was "a professional comedian at the top of his game, toying with structure, timing, and tone, holding his audience with absolute confidence." Cassel did note that "times have changed" and also that with hindsight the tragic death of Cosby's son Ennis changes the tone of some moments.[3]

In 2004 critic David Nusair gave it 2 out of 4. He said it was "overlong" and he found many of the anecdotes were not interesting. Nusair found Cosby's physical comedy to be an unnecessary distraction, from his excellent storytelling. He concludes that the show "would probably be best enjoyed by those who are already fans of Cosby's unique style of comedy, as the movie isn't always accessible to newcomers."[8]

Rob Gonsalves of eFilmCritic.com reviewed the show in 2015 and gave it 3 out of 5 over but was critical of Cosby for his judgmental style "Too much of the film is Cosby passing judgment, as if comedy weren't good enough anymore; he also has to tell us a thing or two." He notes that by that point Cosby's reputation had been irrevocably damaged but "Face it, he was always a dick."[9] Josiah Hesse of Vulture.com reviewed the film in 2015 with the intention of trying to appreciate the work on its own terms, but despite calling it "one of the greatest specials of all time" and "the nucleus of modern standup" found it impossible to separate the work from the man and appreciate it objectively.[10]

Rolling Stone listed it at #7 in its list of the 25 Best Stand-Up Specials.[11]

The film also saw success a success on home video, and by 1989 had already sold 350,000 units and was the number #1 best seller according to trade journal Home Video Publisher. It was priced at $19.99 compared to $30-40 price range of video cassettes in the years before when home video releases for comedy were less common.[12]

• Bill Cosby 77

• Official Bill Cosby Site
• Bill Cosby: Himself at IMDb