Eddie Izzard is some sort of mad genius. For those of you who haven't heard of him, I suggest you check out his comedy.
He does jokes in both French and English, folks! It has been said that you know you've truly mastered a language when you can tell a joke in that language. I think whomever wrote that neglected to include "culture" in the definition. There are many American-specific jokes that you can tell to a Brit crowd (i.e. same language), but that joke won't seem funny to that Brit crowd because it's missing that cultural tie-in. So I believe culture should be emphasized as well. And if you don't take my word for it, well you watch Mr. Izzard's take on it, right here.
And that means all the better for Mr. Izzard. (The French are a cynical bunch anyway. I mean they're the ones who popularized Existentialism--bitter b-st-rds!) ---I say this with much love. (I studied French for 8 years and lived there for a semester.)...He's the David Bowie of comedy!...
Oh, by the way, did I tell you that Eddie does all of this IN DRAG!?!? Yeah! He's the David Bowie of comedy! I can't say enough about this guy.
Plus, Mr. Izzard has taken his comedy skills and morphed into a fine actor. FX cast him in the main role, Wayne Malloy, in the TV show, The Riches as father of a family of traveling conartists trying to start a life anew. Izzard works alongside another British actress (by way of Barbados), Minnie Driver.
Haven't seen his stand-up have you?
Here's a non-US website called Videocaffe that seems to debut all the best clips from "Eddie Izzard: Dressed to Kill". I don't know how long it'll be up. But if the link or website evaporates, please drop me an email [ standup101 AT GMAIL DOT com ] and I'll replace the link.
Eddie Izzard [Official Site | Wikipedia | Int'l Movie Database ]
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21 comments:
I agree. I recently discovered Eddie Izzard and I have yet to find something that I don't think is absolutely hilarious.
He's canny and becoming a world class actor as well.
I finally got around to checking out your blog, Lucy. Nice digs!
Hear, hear.
Eddie Izzard is great.
He is amazingly funny! Great great great! Kind of handsome too...ina weird way!
I've seen him but never watched his act. [beating my head against the wall ] Now how could I have gone this long without watching a big ol' drag queen doing stand up?!
nice blog.
the line between satire/comedy and reinforcing the stereotype/racism is a scarry tight rope. i remember watching chappelle with an aquaintance once thinking to myself, "why is this funny to her--she doesn't really get it!" i think it is the same with margaret cho. people should have a good amount of cultural literacy to watch. unfortunately, we can't set rules.
sorry, this is a random comment.
Since when has a European comedian ever been able to get a laugh wearing drag?
There's something very unconfrontational about Eddie's persona that really engages people too - it always feels so intimateand friendly.
Thanks for stopping by my blog Lucy. I'll have to check Eddie out!
He's my favorite. And for some reason, way hotter in drag than not most of the time.
...For example....
At church, I hold the door open and let folks in and greet them with a big smile and a "HI! How ya doin'?"
and the usual response is, "fine. How are you?"
"Well, since you asked, last night I dreamed I was a car muffler."
"A car muffler," they would reply questionly.
"Yeah. It wasn't bad, but, I woke up exhausted."
OK, that doesn't even "read" in Scotland, because I think they don't call it a muffler, and for whatever reason, the exhausted part escapes them, too.
So, even simple, ol;d jokes need to be refined for presentation to folks from other lands, even IF they speak english.
"Course, everyone around the church wishes I would get a new joke book, and, indeed, that's where I found out about Judy Carter's book.
And it HAS improved my "jokes" quite a bit.
For example, I STILL dream about being a car muffler, but, now I dream about being a CADILLAC car muffler.
And, sure, I still wake exhausted,...but
WHAT A RIDE!
Thanks for visiting! EL is fantastic!
Eddie is fantastic!
yes I love eddie, but he only has to say "French, France or Frog!" to a Brit crowd and they are on the floor laughing.
Jokes like, "why were there trees along the Champs-Elysees?" "To give the Naziz shade!."
I totally agree with you. I have seen Eddie Izzard live on a number of occasions, in his stand-up shows and when he has been in serious dramas in London's West End theatres. He is intelligent and extremely cultured - and he has this great philosophy that men should be allowed to wear makeup and dresses, in the same way that women are allowed to wear trousers.
The other thing that appeals to me about Izzard is that he adds variety to each night of his stand-up shows... the theme follows a standard flow, but he interchanges his jokes, dropping some and adding others. He also has this great knack of wandering away and digressing, then somehow wandering back... Amazing.
By the way, you have a fantastic blog with great posts :))) I'm going to enjoy reading more.
Best wishes ~ Graham
I've heard his stuff on the satellite radio, but never saw him.
There's some good stuff there, but sometimes the beats between the jokes drag on a bit much for me.
I always loved Eddie Izzard. My fav show, when it was on was The Riches as I am a consummate scam artist... retired. But I had absolutely no idea, that they were the same person. It blew my mind. He's so versatile. Love it.
I never liked Eddie Izzard until my girlfriend played Dressed To Kill for me... Eddie is brilliant! A total space case, but still brilliant.
Cool blog! I'll definitely be back, as I want to read the series posted above this link.
PS Thanks for popping by my blog. Its nice to "meet" you! :-)
For some reason I am drawn to Eddie Izzard...it could be the z's in his last name, it could be the fact that he is one of my people (Aquarius - his b'day is one day before mine). I have never seen his stand-up routines but I loved him on "The Riches". Can't wait until the show comes back on - thank god "Nip/Tuck" will be on to keep me entertained!
Eddie's a brilliant comedian and I had the pleasure of seeing him live a few years back. He was pretty dazzling. My friend saw him at the airport the next day but he was busy on his cell or just avoiding my friend.
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