DVD Review: Compilation is short on Lewis’ anxious comedy, Bundle of Nerves

This release from comedian Richard Lewis is like a video scrapbook of odds and ends from his previously not-on-DVD works. Lewis is probably most widely known for the sitcom “Anything But Love,” in which he costarred with Jamie Lee Curtis for three seasons. While not nearly his best work, it seems to have made him permanently financially secure.

The first disc starts with the 1979 “Diary of a Young Comic,” a broadly autobiographical story of a comic finding his voice. Lewis plays Billy Gondola, who moves to L.A. to be a comic. Among the supporting players (some portraying themselves) are Dom DeLuise, George Jessel, Stacy Keach, Bill Macy and Nina van Pallandt (“The Long Goodbye”). Directed by Gary Weis (who made many short films for the first couple seasons of “Saturday Night Live”), it’s technically very raw, perhaps because it was made as a one-off special to run in SNL’s time slot.

Then we get the 1997 HBO concert special “Magical Misery Tour,” which, while not Lewis’ best such show, is the only part of the collection truly representative of the mainstream of his work.

The second disc opens with the 1995 “Drunks,” in which Lewis plays it straight as an alcoholic who runs off from an A.A. meeting and falls heavily off the wagon. Director Peter Cohn — working from Gary Lennon’s adaptation of his own stage play — intercuts Lewis’s character with the A.A. meeting. Everybody has a story, and the roster of actors delivering them is remarkable: Sam Rockwell, Amanda Plummer, Kevin Corrigan, Parker Posey, Dianne Wiest, Faye Dunaway, LisaGay Hamilton, Calista Flockhart and Howard E. Rollins Jr.

Finally we get “House of a Lifetime,” a recently shot video scrapbook, with Lewis going through his soon-to-be-vacated Laurel Canyon home, showing his collection of memorabilia and autographed celebrity photos, and explaining their places in his life. Even within an oddball compilation, it stands out as an oddball presentation.

Most of the set will prove interesting to Lewis’ fans, but it doesn’t make a great introduction to those unfamiliar with Lewis’ comedy. It’s a shame it doesn’t include Lewis’ legendary unaired appearance on Bob Costas’ interview show or at least the follow-up show, which contains a lot of excerpts from its predecessor.

Richard Lewis: Bundle of Nerves (Video Services Corp., DVD, 2 discs, $29.98)

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ANDY KLEIN is the film critic for Marquee. He can also be heard on “FilmWeek” on KPCC-FM (89.3).