Sheen a wash in NY, but winning anyway

Well, that was interesting. And also bizarre, dumb, talky, vulgar and occasionally even (yes) funny. Guess no one can say Charlie Sheen didn't give people their money's worth Friday night at Radio City Music Hall. Or give them something.

"My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat is not an Option" show blew through New York on Friday in the first stop of a two-night engagement, trailed by a thick haze of bluster, bravado, Sheenisms and cigarette smoke. New York State law was not about to deprive him of his most reliable prop.

Mixed into all this were a lot of stories and a few lubricated fans deluded into thinking his raspy babble approached wit.

In fact, occasionally -- if rarely -- it did. The show started late, then curtains parted, and Sheen, in Yankees cap and T-shirt, strode onto the stage.

The format was essentially "An Evening with Charlie Sheen."

There were celebrity stories, details about his fascination with crack, hookers, tiger blood, booze and bad movies (most of which he was in). No one walked out on him Friday night -- partly because it was over almost before it started (the show lasted a little over an hour). Hecklers? There were a few of those too, despite signs all over the theater warning that troublemakers would be tossed out.

"I love all of you too," Sheen said to a fan. "Even the guy yelling at me all night."

Kristen Lynn Smith, a Commack native who attended the show, said afterward "prior to this I thought he'd do something amazing in New York, and couldn't have been be more disappointed."

Quality entertainment this was not -- but quality entertainment wasn't expected, or shouldn't have been. This was about a fallen celebrity who's trying to keep his face in the spotlight and make a buck in the process.

Mission accomplished. Duh.