Needing a few more cuts

Fine cut: All out comedy
SBS TV
Monday, February 28, 11.15 p.m. (10.45 Adelaide)
Reviewed by Lou Stanley

Being gay doesn't mean that you're happy or for that matter funny. All out comedy is a reminder that being homosexual is no guarantee that we automatically are politically aware or have overcome the hurdles of racism or sexism.

Shot live at Josie's Cabaret and Juice Joint in San Francisco, this is a low-budget video produced and directed by Bohdan Zachary, with a simple interview followed by stand-up routine format. The four performers, Karen Ripley, Scott Capurro, Marilyn Pittman and Tom Ammiano, vary in their material and their ability to find the funny bones of the audience.

They offer very little that is new in the way of style or content and seem to blame their apparent lack of fame and fortune on the fact they are gay. One of the performers goes as far as to draw a parallel between blacks in the entertainment industry and gays performing only to gay audiences. Not a good look, I say.

Pittman and Capurro rely on lesbian moralism and high camp bitchiness respectively to fill their spots. This is probably when you could go to the kitchen and make a cuppa or maybe the toilet could provide you with a few more chuckles. On the other hand, Ripley and Ammiano were not only funnier but added a little meaning, relevance and timing to their material and deliveries.

It's probably best to catch some live comedy during Mardi Gras and leave All out comedy to those who believe we'll watch anything just because it's gay or lesbian.

This article was posted on the Green Left Weekly Home Page.
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