I only had my fair share of improv comedy while in college. Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood came to perform in town during fall of my senior year. I found them sidesplittingly hilarious more than they ever did on Whose Line Is It, Anyway? Studying in a small Michigan town meant that my sole access to entertainment during the weekends was Comedy Central. My Sunday afternoons, in particular, were filled with a good dose of humor from the likes of Jim Gaffigan, Dave Chapelle and Eddie Murphy (in my all-time favorites Raw and Delirious) among others. Some were funny, some were just OK but there were plenty who cracked jokes that I found too “American.” I didn’t fully get them, to be honest. You could say it was a sad case of lost in translation.
Then there was Russell Peters. He was fresh-faced on television and I remember appreciating his humor from the get go. It was easy to see how promising Peters was as a new comic. His brand of comic was focused on the hilarity of Asian immigrants, choppy accents, Tiger parents and the disparity between the East and West. I was a foreign student in a promising land so I found his standup fairly relatable. His jokes made me feel less alien. Peters became more mainstream soon after, and while he’d certainly lost steam with some of his racial gags of recent, I’d always remember the day I laughed out loud to the phrase, “Somebody gonna get hurt really bad.”
And here’s what I’ve learned so far. Standups are great simply because there’s enough room to laugh collectively. Jokes that are half-funny on television are possibly funnier when heard in an auditorium filled with the rest who are in a giggly mood. Laughter is infectious, hands down. Having said so, N and I actually took a comedy break on a rainy Saturday to watch the guy on his Almost Famous tour. N is a much bigger fan and never fails to quote most of Peters’ catchphrases after watching way too many of his standup Youtube clips.
Naturally, we had the best laughs on the night of his performance. Our funny bones were tickled throughout until we were breathless. Most of his fans got roasted as expected and I particularly love the fact that Peters was quick on his feet to come up with witty observations on Malaysians and their quirks. There were times when it felt as if his materials were rough on stereotypes but he did try his best to highlight one or two very apt things about us who live on this part of the earth.
Russell Peters was just what we needed— a funny guy for a good weekend pick-me-up.
