Roseanne Barr is the most successful controversial comedian of our time. There are probably a lot controversial comics, but they didn’t come close to the success she had over the course of her career that included her hit TV show appropriately called Roseanne. The series lasted nine seasons and knocked The Cosby Show off the top of the ratings. She even had success rebooting the series in 2018. But her ability to upset people caught up with her. She was removed from the show and it became The Conners. Roseanne Barr Is America allows her to sit down in front of a camera and talk about her life, her struggles and her controversies.
Her childhood was a bit unusual since she was part of a Jewish family living in Salt Lake City. She gives a weird story about the time she had to check to see if a tenant was still alive. Her gift of comedy came out of a way to keep her father from punishing her. Making him laugh kept him happy. She gets into a horrific car accident that put her in the hospital and being a single mother at a time when it wasn’t approved. Eventually she took the stage to perform stand up while living in Denver. She based her comedy on “funny womaness.” Instead of random jokes and observations, she focuses her sets on being the Domestic Goddess. She catches on with the local audiences. The national comics that come to town, tell her she needs to go out to Los Angeles to perform at the Comedy Store run by Mitzi Shore (Pauly Shore’s mother). Barr and her husband made the journey to L.A. After performing a single short set in a side room, Mitzi came up to her and told her to go perform in the big room. This had never happened before. Proving she was ready for the big time, she was spotted by talent scouts from The Tonight Show within the week. Johnny Carson was introducing her in a few days. She quickly found herself racing up the comedy ladder. Even Rodney Dangerfield had her play his wife on an comedy Special. After a few HBO specials, she found herself offered a sitcom deal. While the first part of her career sound creatively great, she gets into the battles it took to make her sitcom her own show. Somehow the Ivy League writers don’t think she can write her own jokes. While her TV career was going up, one of the show’s producers invited her to sing the National Anthem at the San Diego Padres game. What could go wrong? If you were around, you’ll remember the explosion from her off key performance and crotch grabbing. Barr walks us through the entire incident. The nicest part of the documentary is she demonstrates at a kids’ baseball game that she can sing the song properly. This Padres game would be her first brush with cancel culture. A lot of conservatives demanded her show be taken off the air. However the ratings went up for Roseanne. After the show went off the air, Roseanne kept busy with other projects. She gets into the time she ran for president for a third party in 2012. While she lost, we get a sense that a certain candidate used her comic techniques and insults to win the White House in 2016. She did have a major win when ABC brought her back in the Roseanne revival in 2018. However during the first season, she had another cancel culture moment. Roseanne gives her side of how things ended up with her fired while the show went on without her.
Roseanne Barr Is America is her getting to frame her life. There’s lots of home movies and photos from her youth. We see videotape of her early performances. They even pull out behind the scenes tapes from Roseanne to let us know that even at the height of its success, she had to struggle to get things done within the “creative” system. It is also interesting to hear her side of what happened that led the rebooted Roseanne to turn into The Conners. If you’re a casual fan of Roseanne, this interview will give you a sense of where she came from and how the show came about. You also get a sense of her reaction to the Pandemic. Roseanne Barr Is America shows she still has her comic wit and remains controversial.
The Video is 1.78:1 anamorphic. This was shot on digital video. The Audio is Dolby Digital 2.0. It’s mostly Roseanne talking. There are no subtitles.
No bonus features.
Highway 61 Entertainment presents Roseanne Barr Is America. Directed by Joel Gilbert. Starring Roseanne Barr. Running Time: 92 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: June 10, 2025.
