Review:
Comedian Paul Frisbie

A Comedian for All the People

By C.S. Jacobs
July 17, 2008

Over the last few decades it seems that our standup comedians have become as partisan and polarized as everyone else.  In the '90s, for example, when young Chelsea Clinton was making the awkward transition from little girl to graceful young lady, I was horrified to see how many late-night comedians made fun of her physical appearance.  What kind of hack makes fun of a child at such a vulnerable and self-conscious stage in life, no matter who her parents may be?  In the early Bush years I watched comics pontificate about French "surrender monkeys," revealing to all and sundry that they'd never heard of Napoleon, Louis XIV, Verdun, or the Battle of the Virginia Capes. For loud, uninformed and unintelligent opinion, our standup comics are usually right up there with our talk radio hosts. In many cases you'd rather they shared your toothbrush than their political opinions.  Last night I saw Chicago comedian Paul Frisbie again, and -- as always -- he was a breath of fresh air.  Frisbie doesn't talk politics and he doesn't take sides.  He just holds up a mirror and shows us what we are.  The results are hysterical.

Some reviewers might say that Frisbie's act is completely apolitical.  His topics range from standard relationship fare to a description of Christmas with his beer-drinking Irish grandmother.  On the surface he's just talking about ordinary life, and there isn't so much as a whiff of political opinion in the air.  Yet somehow there's always a subtext. Frisbie's routine on drunk driving legislation should be taught in Political Science 101.  I saw it as a lesson on how voters let emotion overpower rational thought, and on how our politicians pander to it. I mentioned that to Frisbie after the show and he just grinned at me.  "You're reading too much into this," he assured me.  "I'm not here to make people think; I'm here to make them laugh.  That's what they paid for."

And Frisbie certainly does make people laugh.  He is enormously likeable on stage, and he projects a vibrant, wacky energy that recalls Rodney Dangerfield, perhaps, or Michael Keaton. He's fast on his feet, and it's definitely a lot of fun when he responds to interruptions from the audience. But he's at his absolute best if you just leave him alone and let him do his thing.

[MORE]