Bob Saget graced the stage of the Charlottesville Performing Arts Center Friday night with his very own "risqué brand of comedy." Risqué? Very. Comedy? Shakily.
Saget's show, though labeled "stand-up comedy," materialized more as an improvised, audience-interaction-based gig with bits of prepared material jammed into the cracks. Saget's on-his-toes comments to delinquent audience members demonstrated genuine hosting talent and were, at times, funny. Yet while this kind of entertainment would suffice for laughs around the punch bowl at an eighth-grade dance, one would expect a seasoned professional to hold himself to a higher standard of humor.
Saget spent a hefty portion of his less-than-hour-long show reminding the audience of how desperately lame "Full House" was and then justifying himself for taking on the acting role of super dad Danny Tanner. It was an unnecessary stratagem. By measure of audience enthusiasm, it was clear that people loved Full House -- after all, let us not forget that Saget would not have an audience if not for that classic, albeit cheesy, family sitcom.
At the same time, using "Full House" as the departure point for so much of his humor was too easy and obvious for Saget, and one wonders where he possibly could have acquired the stand-up material he used in his pre-TV-dad days.
What time he did not spend recounting the "House" of horror, Saget devoted to his "unique"-ly lewd sexual commentary and constant cursing. Within seconds of taking the stage, Saget began teasing the University Programs Council mascot, the bee. At this point, the man behind the bee removed part of his costume. Saget took the bee headpiece and proceeded to direct it toward his own crotch, moving the headpiece up and down in a not-so-subtle simulation. Upon returning the headpiece, Saget added a comment about the student sweating inside the costume, noting especially a certain pair of male body parts.
This initial impression (so far, not very impressive) permeated the rest of the show. The potty humor never pulled up to par.
After his intimate encounter with the bee's head, Saget addressed a few students walking near the stage in search of a seat. Not only did he succeed in noticing one girl's cleavage, he promptly announced this observation to the audience. Throughout the course of the show, Saget made intermittent references to the student's breasts, at one point predicting that her boyfriend would enjoy the rest of the night thanks to his girlfriend's generous endowment. (Only Saget didn't quite use those words.)
Sometimes, Saget multi-tasked, combining the themes of "Full House" and sex. Dave Courier (who played the character of Joey) shaving his genital area was an oft-repeated mantra, and for additional excitement, Saget threw in a homosexually-tinted joke involving himself and John Stamos (Uncle Jesse). He returned to Stamos again later in the show, when he called him using a cell phone.
Saget's stage presence was strong and his ability to engage the audience undeniable. When one heckler in the front row complained that he had wasted his $8, there were no worries for Saget. He coolly retrieved a $20 bill from his pocket and offered it to the young man as a refund. Addressing him as "sir," Saget insisted that the student leave if he was not enjoying himself. The student stayed and kept the 20 bucks.
Still, despite Saget's obvious talent for showmanship, interacting with the audience should be an enhancement and not a replacement for solid comic material.
Furthermore, his recurrent fallback themes amounted to a weak performance. Saget's pointed (and repeated) enunciation of the F-bomb was hardly impressive, his references to his own genitalia were less shock than yuck, and his overtly sexual jokes lacked the nuanced presentation that such humor demands. In fact, they were not even jokes -- they could be defined more accurately as obscene comments. Dirty humor can be hilarious, but there's a right way and a right time to do it. When you're 47 years old and trying to shake off a life-long typecast role, it would seem advisable to focus on witty instead of dirty.
A highlight of the show was Saget's concluding medley of songs, half on the spot and half prepared. His guitar playing and singing showcased more of his talent -- it's unfortunate he didn't apply his skill more successfully. He concluded his mini-concert in, what was one of the funnier moments, an improvised song about a student he had called earlier onto the stage. The charming little ditty's refrain was "Brian is an ass****." Admittedly, this segment was funny to a point, but its level of humor was all too definitive of the entire show.
Ultimately, it seemed, the aim of Saget's performance was to amend his spic-n-span former persona. Yet, as much as he emphasizes the fact that he's not Danny Tanner, it's also hard to believe that this raunchy new character is the full-time Bob Saget. He's trying to go from loveable to laudable, but he's approaching his target from the wrong direction.
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