John Kerry's Boffo New Comedy Act
Just when we think John Kerry's political comedy cannot possibly get any funnier, it does. The man is a master, soon to be recognized in France with the same awed appreciation heretofore reserved only for Jerry Lewis.
Based on the Seinfeld principle of comedy about nothing, Kerry's routines ooze with influences of Samuel Beckett, Ingmar Bergman, Terry Southern and Albert Camus, delivered in a blend of Three Stooges sophistication with Steve Martin post-Tut obviosity. Kerry's comedic construct is unequaled for its originality even by the first-stiff-out standards of Last Comic Standing.
Kerry's new act, which he has been opening soft for the past few weeks, is called "Cut and Run." Following on the heels of his under-appreciated, naturalistic "Flip Flop Man,"
"Cut and Run" plumbs the depths of mock seriousness, not professionally attempted on the Big Stage since British appeasement-school comedian Neville Chamberlain was subjected to the withering reviews of critic Winston Churchill last century.
Kerry's amazing, breathtaking sense of timing, long recognized as the sine qua non of any successful stand-down comic, is a focus of the new act. Defying the long-held rule that timing should be invisible in an effortless delivery, Kerry dramatically goes all-in to one-up the rest of his Senate Liberal ensemble cast, left only to screech off-key behind him, a kind of early-Disney jackal chorus baying at a cardboard moon. That is star quality not witnessed since Andrew Dice Clay went off the low board or Richard Pryor set himself ablaze.
Kerry's set-up is deceptively simple, based on establishing an absolute, iron-clad, date certain for U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq. His patter is delivered in stentorian tones, dogmatic and unwavering, bringing the audience to the edge of their CSPAN seats.
You could hear an earmark drop, everyone is so transfixed. Then straight man Mitch McConnell enters from stage right. Looking like an avuncular cherub, he quietly says, let's vote. Kerry's body goes rigid. Only his eyes move, slightly. The vote is 93-6 against Kerry's proposal. The lights dim; the curtain begins a slow descent.
Then Kerry says, "Okay, how about another date?" The crowd goes wild.
Kerry's comedic genius and stage courage are now unquestionable. "Cut and Run" is an instant classic that will rank alongside Abbott and Costello's "Who's on First?" and Bill Cosby's "Fat Albert."
One can only hope that Kerry will soon realize that the lesser talents of the U.S. Senate are holding him back and he will strike out on his own for a comedy club near you. He's that funny. He really is. |
