May 27, 2009
Review: John Oliver's (Apparently Unnamed) Standup Tour
"John Oliver Loves America"?
I wasn't sure what to expect from John Oliver live, since I hadn't managed to catch his standup special on TV. But his "Daily Show" delivery is impeccable, so I figured the show was a good bet.
It was worth every penny. John Oliver killed. In fact, I'm at a loss to reproduce most of the funniest moments, which is a good sign that you've had a transcendental standup experience. Nevertheless. . .
The small venue (which he referred to as a "shed") allowed an intimate interaction between the audience and the comic. Oliver played the audience like a pro, confidently addressing the Southern "woo-hoos" and gun owners. After a few test jokes to determine which way the political wind was blowing, Oliver decided that the audience was ready to hear some home truths about what America looks like to an outsider.
The running theme of the show was how much John Oliver loved America, because "you're fucking idiots." But this was said with a genuine affection that it's impossible to reproduce in writing. You get the feeling that he really means it when he says falling in love with America three years ago (when he first arrived) was like falling in love with a pretty girl while she's puking her guts out.
He spoke with admiration about Oreo pizzas, pasta bread bowls, and Guinness world record holders. He warned us to prepare for our empire falling, and suggested that in fifty years we would be playing a squirrel in Chinese insurance commercials, for the same reasons the British have been reduced to playing the Geico gecko.
Oliver also recounted real-life anecdotes lovingly collected from his own life, including chance encounters on planes and in the street. We heard about Rob Riggle forcing Oliver to shoot a gun in Las Vegas, simply because Riggle wanted to see the look on Oliver's face; the childhood sports/nudity incident that led to Oliver's becoming a comedian; and a morbidly touching story about a friend's plan to cheer Oliver up when he moved away. It involves a customized teddy bear that says something a bit unexpected, and I fear the joke would not be as funny without Oliver delivering it. Indeed, he proved himself an expert storyteller, leaving the audience hanging on his every word.
Nor was the John Oliver we knew from "The Daily Show" entirely absent. There were a few jokes mining politics (Cheney as "He Who Shall Not Be Named", for example) and history (the Revolutionary War, Galileo). But mostly, we got Oliver's unique view of life in America.
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