
We look forward to the TBS Just for Laughs Festival every year to get a week long dose of great comedy from dynamite Chicago locals and some of the best headliners in the business.
So when it was cancelled this year, we figured it might be nice to catch the one group of TBS comics on tour from the critically bashed TV show Sullivan and Son, where the whole gang was performing at Improv in Schaumburg. Atwww.BuzzNews.netwe are always hoping to show our support and possibly feature individual comics who might be talented but underutilized on their current project.
Unfortunately, it was a huge waste of a night. The entire set was nearly identical to last year’s Park West set at The TBS Festival. Right down to the closing "skit" where a female audience member gets a lap dance from the comics and some hapless audience members. Come on guys, how many huge and potentially comedic topical events have occurred in the last year? Yet, not one of you had written anything new, not one.
The normally smooth, funny and pleasant Steve Byrne had some awful aggressive rant in his material about his wife. Roy Woody Jr. went on and on about getting a "blowjob from a woman in a Walgreens' parking lot" until even his fellow cast members onstage were telling him to move on. Ahmed Ahmed gave his little bit of covert sexism to the night by apparently stealing one of John Leguizamo's funny transvestite voices AGAIN to portray women in his life who refuse to pick up the check.
Owen Benjamin, whom I can only describe as the "Master of Mediocrity" was so completely forgettable and bland that I couldn't roll my eyes hard enough to express the "blech" feeling his tired routine was causing. Benjamin proudly calls his vanilla brand of comedy "broad". Bill Cosby was broad, the late great Robin Williams was "broad", and unfortunately Owen Benjamin's comedy is just plain "shallow".
I feel sorry for the actually talented women on the TV show, including wonderful, adorable Christine Ebersole, Vivian Bang and tartly funny Jodi Long.
If you are one of the few beer guzzling, simple minded fans of this show, which tries but fails miserably to recapture ANY of the warmth and edginess of 'Cheers" and "All in the Family", I still recommend that you not take the time or spend the money to see these guys live.
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