Dennis Leary: No Cure for Cancer.

• Author: Rothenberg, Robert S.

Paramount Home Video / 60 minutes /$12.95

Comedians used to provide audiences with relaxing moments to forget their cares and laugh at jokes ranging from silly to gently satirical. Nowadays, though, it frequently is an exhausting encounter with in-your-face challenges laced with heavy doses of no-holds-barred profanity. Dennis Leary is definitely in the forefront of the movement, leading the charge at society's bastions.

Watching Leary prowl the stage in a state of constant mania, spewing decidedly non-politically correct invectives, and chain-smoking defiantly until he is almost totally enveloped in smoke can be a daunting experience. Whether carrying on about drugs (both narcotic and over-the-counter brands that can provide their own high); rhapsodizing over the joys of smoking, drinking, and consuming red meat; or bemoaning the fact that rock 'n' roll stars like John...